Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Drug Use: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Difficulties

Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is a risk factor for drug use, which has the potential to negatively impact survivor health and well-being. However, few studies have explored the role of emotion regulation in the association between IPV exposure and drug use. Understanding whether difficulties with emotion regulation mediate the association between IPV victimization and drug use may be important to better understand the mechanisms driving drug use and identify potential intervention targets. Thus, the present study aims to test the role of emotion dysregulation in the link between IPV exposure and drug use among violently injured adults. A total of 367 adults who had experienced a violent injury from any source (M_age = 32.7, 73% male, 80% Black/African-American) from an Urban Level 1 Trauma Center were recruited. Participants completed self-report surveys on their IPV victimization experiences, emotion regulation difficulties, and drug use. Results showed that IPV victimization was associated with greater emotion regulation difficulties and higher levels of drug use. In addition, several domains of emotion regulation difficulties (strategies, non-acceptance, goals, and impulse) were associated with more engagement in drug use, and those domains of emotion regulation difficulties partially mediated the associations between IPV victimization and drug use. These findings highlight the importance of exploring mechanisms of IPV victimization outcomes, such as drug use that can guide education (e.g., stigma prevention), prevention (e.g., early and hospital-based screening), and intervention (e.g., treatments to target emotion regulation) efforts.