A Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship Between Emotion Dysregulation and Partner Violence Perpetration Among Individuals with PTSD and Alcohol Dependence
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The current study examines the link between emotion dysregulation and intimate partner violence (IPV) among 77 individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol dependence. Participants were recruited from a residential substance abuse treatment program as part of the eligibility screening for an IRB-approved clinical trial examining the efficacy of an exposure-based intervention in individuals dually diagnosed with alcohol dependence and PTSD. Participants reported on PTSD symptoms, alcohol use disorder symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and physical and verbal aggression in their intimate relationships during the past year. Findings demonstrated that difficulties with emotion regulation are associated with physical and verbal IPV perpetration in a clinical sample. Although facets of emotion regulation emerged as significant predictors of IPV in the models, alcohol and PTSD symptom severity did not emerge as predictors of IPV. These findings suggest targeted emotion regulation skills training may benefit substance abusers who engage in IPV and that emotion dysregulation may be an important target for future research aimed at understanding elevated rates of IPV perpetration in mental health samples.
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Psychiatric comorbidities such as post-traumatic stress disorder may impact emotion regulation.
“Furthermore, psychiatric comorbidities such as post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may also impact emotion regulation [86] and many studies did not assess comorbidities.”
From Emotion regulation in substance use disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2023) · cites this paper as [86]
Higher DERS scores are associated with greater alcohol dependence severity and with experiencing more motives to drink alcohol.
“It has been found that higher DERS scores are associated with greater alcohol dependence severity [13, 86, 87] and experiencing more motives to drink alcohol [88].”
From Emotion regulation in substance use disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2023) · cites this paper as [86]
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Emotion regulation in substance use disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis
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“Furthermore, psychiatric comorbidities such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may also impact emotion regulation [86] and many studies did not assess comorbidities.”
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- Authors
- Watkins, L. E., Schumacher, J. A., & Coffey, S. F.
- Affiliations
- University of Mississippi Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Schumacher, Julie A.
- Venue
- Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2016-03-15
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 305-314
- ISSN
- 1092-6771 (ISSN-L)
- 1545-083X
- PMC
- PMC4904838
- OpenAlex
- W2322485546
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2025: 6 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 3.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Aggression Maltreatment & Trauma (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA016816)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Keywords
- emotional dysregulation, intimate partner violence, violence perpetration, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, dual diagnosis, physical aggression, verbal aggression, addiction treatment
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