Emotion Regulation Difficulties and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Cluster Severity Among Trauma-Exposed College Students

The present investigation examined the role of emotion regulation difficulties in predicting severity of the 3 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters (i.e., reexperiencing, hyperarousal, avoidance) in a sample of undergraduates who reported exposure to at least 1 DSM-IV-TR Criterion A traumatic event (n = 297; 77.1% female, M-age = 20.46, SD = 4.64, range = 18-50 years). Results indicated that greater difficulties with emotional acceptance significantly predicted greater avoidance and hyperarousal symptom severity above and beyond the effects of number of trauma types endorsed and negative affect. Emotion regulation difficulties were not significantly predictive of reexperiencing symptom severity. Results from an exploratory analysis indicated that greater difficulties with emotional acceptance and greater difficulties accessing effective emotion regulation strategies when upset significantly predicted the DSM-5 negative alterations in cognitions and mood symptom cluster. These findings suggest that difficulties accepting one's emotional responses, in particular, may heighten emotional responding to and avoidance of trauma-related cues. Thus, individuals who experience such difficulties may be more likely to experience negative outcomes after experiencing a traumatic event.