Emotion Regulation and Cognitive Function As Mediating Factors for the Association Between Lifetime Abuse and Risky Behaviors in Women of Color

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2023 Oct 30

PMID 37903096

Authors

Karina Villalba

Lisa H Domenico

Robert L Cook

Julia OConnor

Kyndester Michael-Samaroo

Maria Jose Del Pino Espejo

Pilar Martin

Jessy G Devieux

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The relationship between lifetime abuse (i.e., childhood abuse, intimate partner violence) and risky behaviors is well established. One proposed mechanism is poor emotion regulation and executive functioning, as a potential mechanism that may explain the relationship between lifetime abuse and risky behaviors. However, research on executive functioning and emotion regulation as mediators of this relationship has been limited. In the present study, we examined this association. We hypothesized that lifetime abuse would be significantly associated with executive function and emotion regulation which in turn would be associated with greater alcohol use and risky sex.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 150 women with a history of lifetime abuse who were assessed for hazardous alcohol use using the AUDIT Score; emotion regulation was measured using the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS); risky sex was measured using the question: "in the last 90 days, how many people did you have anal or vaginal sex without using a condom? Executive function was assessed using the NIH Toolbox.

Results: The mediation model followed the self-regulation theory, which proposes executive function as the higher-order cognitive process. Results showed that executive function deficit and poor emotion regulation significantly mediated the relationship between lifetime abuse and hazardous alcohol use (indirect effect = .097, SE .031, 95% CI = .035 to .158).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest a higher-order cognitive process with executive function promoting emotion regulation as a potential mechanism for alcohol problems in women of color who experienced lifetime abuse.

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