Profiles of Emotion Regulation and Post-Traumatic Stress Severity among Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Emotional dysregulation is a construct that has drawn substantial attention as a transdiagnostic contributing factor to the loss of health. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a term used to describe physical, psychological, or sexual assault of a spouse or sexual partner. The aim of the study was to determine the variability of emotional dysregulation among women with different types of IPV revictimization and post-traumatic stress. The cross-sectional survey included 120 women attended by the Integrated Monitoring System of Gender Violence of Madrid, Spain, due to a gender violence complaint. The presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (DSM 5 criteria), emotional dysregulation (Emotional Processing Scale (EPS)), childhood trauma, and type of revictimization were evaluated. Cluster analysis found three profiles of emotional regulation: Emotionally Regulated, Avoidance/Non-Impoverished, and Emotional Overwhelm. The results showed that the Emotional Overwhelm group was characterized by a general dysregulation of emotional experiences and a greater intensity of post-traumatic stress symptoms. In addition, women who have suffered several episodes of IPV by different partners showed a differential pattern of emotional regulation than the rest of the victims that entailed greater psychopathology. Findings confirm that emotional dysregulation is a critical pathway to the decrease of health among IPV victims.

The Relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and Online Help-Seeking: A Moderated Mediation Model of Emotion Dysregulation and Perceived Anonymity

“…Secondly, this study identifies a new psychological mechanism underlying an IPV victim's WOHS. Although previous studies have shown that IPV causes PTSD [27], we further found that IPV can also induce ED symptoms in victims. When victims feel ED, they will have WOHS.…”

“…The index of moderated mediation and its 95% CI, as estimated by PROCESS, were used to determine and quantify the statistical significance of the moderated mediation effect [ 49 ]. The PROCESS macro has been widely used in the psychology field [ 27 ].…”

“…Research and theory suggest that ED is closely correlated with experiencing IPV [ 12 ]. IPV is associated with several poor health outcomes, including ED [ 12 , 27 ]. ED is characterized by maladaptive responses to emotions, including: (1) a lack of awareness, understanding, and acceptance of emotions; (2) the inability to control behavior when experiencing emotional distress; (3) a lack of access to situationally appropriate strategies for modulating the duration and intensity of emotional responses in order to meet individual goals and situational demands; and (4) an unwillingness to experience emotional distress as part of pursuing meaningful activities in life [ 29 ].…”

“…Muñoz-Rivas et al [ 27 ] demonstrated that there is a general difficulty in regulating emotions among victims who have experienced IPV. According to the general model of ED by Fryc et al [ 12 ], ED is one factor that may be especially relevant among survivors with a history of IPV.…”

Hypersexuality as a tip of the iceberg of a primary psychopathology: a joined position statement of the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine (SIAMS) and of the Italian Society of Psychopathology (SOPSI)

“…The term "emotional dysregulation" defines several conditions for which the patient appears to be unable to be aware of the emotions, to control impulsive behaviors, and to behave in line with the emotional status [44,45]. EDys seems to have a central role in many psychiatric diseases and internalized problems [12,[46][47][48]. The link between EDys and hypersexuality is dual.…”