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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
A preliminary investigation of the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and posttraumatic stress
Matthew T Tull1, Heidi M Barrett, Elaine S McMillan
1Center for Addictions, Personality, and Emotion Research and Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. MTull@psyc.umd.edu
Abstract:
This study examined the relationship between posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and particular aspects of emotion regulation difficulties among trauma-exposed individuals. Participants were an ethnically diverse sample of 108 undergraduates from an urban university. PTS symptom severity was found to be associated with lack of emotional acceptance, difficulty engaging in goal-directed behavior when upset, impulse-control difficulties, limited access to effective emotion regulation strategies, and lack of emotional clarity. Further, overall difficulties in emotion regulation were associated with PTS symptom severity, controlling for negative affect. Finally, individuals exhibiting PTS symptoms indicative of a PTSD diagnosis reported greater difficulties with emotion regulation than those reporting PTS symptoms at a subthreshold level. The implications of these findings for research and treatment are discussed.
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