Emotion Dysregulation Mediates Between Childhood Emotional Abuse and Motives for Substance Use

The purpose of this study is to assess the relative mediating effects of impulsivity and emotion dysregulation in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and motives for opiate use. Seventy four adolescent users of Tramadol, a synthetic opiate, were recruited from a boot camp for de-addiction and rehabilitation services for the study. Data were collected between May, 2014 and November, 2014. Participants completed assessments of childhood abuse history, difficulties regulating emotions, impulsiveness and motives for substance use as well as a socio-demographic information sheet. The results of the current study indicate that types of abuse may be associated with particular outcomes and can inform treatment planning for substance users. Findings from bootstrap mediator analyses indicated that emotion dysregulation, but not impulsiveness, mediated the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and expansion and enhancement motives for substance use. The current study provides preliminary evidence that difficulties regulating emotions may function as a mechanism linking prior childhood experiences of emotional abuse to subsequent motives for substance use. Clinical implications of these findings suggest that targeting emotion dysregulation problems may be an effective adjunct in the treatment of childhood emotional abuse adolescent victims at risk for substance use.