Can Dissociative Symptoms Be Explained by Coping and Emotion Regulation? A Longitudinal Investigation

Objective: Dissociative symptoms are prevalent and are associated with considerable impairments. There are ongoing debates regarding how to conceptualize these phenomena. This study examined whether dissociative symptoms could be explained by coping and emotion regulation strategies. Method: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial. A total of 115 Hong Kong Chinese adults completed standardized self-report assessments of trauma exposure, dissociative symptoms, coping, and emotion regulation at baseline. They provided data regarding dissociative symptoms again after 2 months. Results: After controlling for baseline dissociative symptoms and trauma exposure, baseline active coping (beta = -.157, p = .035) and dysfunctional coping (beta = .227, p = .005) predicted more subsequent dissociative symptoms at follow-up. Furthermore, baseline dysfunctional coping mediated the relationship between trauma exposure and subsequent dissociative symptoms. Conclusions: This study provides insights into the ongoing debate concerning factors that could contribute to dissociation. As dysfunctional coping could particularly predict dissociative symptoms, we call for future studies to evaluate whether coping skills training could effectively prevent and treat dissociative symptoms.