Emotion Regulation Mediates the Association Between Child Abuse and Adult Suicidal Ideation: An Exploratory Study

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Public Health

Background:

• Emotion regulation (ER) problems are a known link between childhood maltreatment and suicidality.
• Specific types of maltreatment and ER strategies require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression as mediators.
• To understand the association between sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and suicidal ideation.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional online survey of 375 Mexican young adults.
• Mediation models tested for each abuse type with ER strategies as mediators.
• Bootstrapping used to test indirect effects of mediation.

Main Results:

• Expressive suppression mediated the link between physical/emotional abuse and suicidal ideation.
• Lower cognitive reappraisal use mediated the association between sexual abuse and suicidal ideation.

Conclusions:

• Differentiating abuse types and ER strategies enhances understanding of suicidal thought development.
• Findings can inform tailored interventions for specific populations.
• Results provide a foundation for future research.