What It Means to Believe: Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Emotion Beliefs Moderate the Relationship Between Emotion Experiences and Emotion Dysregulation

Military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibit heightened rates of deliberate self-harm, yet few studies have explored underlying mechanisms. Addressing this critical gap in the literature, the present study examined the roles of negative and positive emotion dysregulation in the relation between PTSD severity and deliberate self-harm. Data were collected from 465 trauma-exposed military veterans in the community (Mage = 38.00, 71.4% male, 69.5% White) who responded to an online survey. Findings indicated that PTSD severity was indirectly related to deliberate self-harm through overall positive (but not negative) emotion dysregulation. Secondary analyses indicated an underlying role of the negative emotion dysregulation domains of difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors when experiencing negative emotions and lack of emotional clarity and the positive emotion dysregulation domains of nonacceptance of positive emotions, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior when experiencing positive emotions, and difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors when experiencing positive emotions in the association between PTSD severity and deliberate self-harm. This study offers preliminary evidence for specific domains of negative and positive emotion dysregulation as possible pathways linking PTSD severity and deliberate self-harm. Findings highlight new avenues for research and treatment focused on the effects of emotion dysregulation on deliberate self-harm among trauma-exposed military veterans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Childhood trauma and risky sexual behaviors: Comparing positive and negative emotion-related processes.

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are at heightened risk for developing posttraumatic stress (PTS). Emotion dysregulation has been linked to both IPV and PTS, separately, however, unknown is the role of emotion dysregulation in the relation of IPV to PTS among women who experience IPV. Moreover, existing investigations in this area have been limited in their focus on negative emotion dysregulation. Extending prior research, this study investigated whether physical, sexual, and psychological IPV were indirectly associated with PTS symptom severity through negative and positive emotion dysregulation. Participants were 354 women who reported a history of IPV recruited from Amazon's MTurk platform (Mage = 36.52, 79.9% white). Participants completed self-report measures assessing physical (Conflict Tactics Scale), sexual (Sexual Experiences Scale), and psychological (Psychological Maltreatment of Women) IPV; negative (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) and positive (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Positive) emotion dysregulation; and PTS symptom severity (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5) via an online survey. Pearson's correlation coefficients examined intercorrelations among the primary study variables. Indirect effect analyses were conducted to determine if negative and positive emotion dysregulation explained the relations between physical, sexual, and psychological IPV and PTS symptom severity. Physical, sexual, and psychological IPV were significantly positively associated with both negative and positive emotion dysregulation as well as PTS symptom severity, with the exception that psychological IPV was not significantly associated with positive emotion dysregulation. Moreover, negative and positive emotion dysregulation accounted for the relationships between all three IPV types and PTS symptom severity, with the exception of positive emotion dysregulation and psychological IPV. Our findings provide support for the potential underlying role of both negative and positive emotion dysregulation in the associations of IPV types to PTS symptom severity. Negative and positive emotion dysregulation may be important factors to integrate into interventions for PTS among women who experience IPV.

Introduction Trauma-exposed individuals are at risk of developing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which has been linked to both sleep disturbances and sleep-related daytime impairment. A growing body of literature suggests affective processes, such as negative and positive emotion regulation, may influence associations between PTSD and sleep. Therefore, our study aimed to examine if there was a direct effect of negative and positive emotion dysregulation on sleep disturbances and sleep-related impairment above the influence of PTSD symptoms. Methods Participants were 460 trauma-exposed college students (69.8% female; 62.0% White; Mage = 20.13 ± 2.94) recruited from the University of North Texas. Trauma exposure was assessed with the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5. Participants completed demographic questionnaires, the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (excluding sleep-related questions), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation – Positive (DERS-P), the PROMIS Sleep Disturbance (PROMIS-SD), and Sleep-Related Impairment (PROMIS-SRI) Short Forms. Multiple regression models with robust standard errors were conducted to examine associations between both positive and negative emotion dysregulation on sleep disturbances and sleep-related impairment, covarying for PTSD symptoms, age, gender, race, and ethnicity. Results Greater negative emotion dysregulation was associated with greater sleep disturbances (b = 0.06, SE = 0.03, p = .015, ηp2 = 0.01) above the influence of positive emotion dysregulation, PTSD symptoms, age, gender, race, and ethnicity (R2 = 0.28). Greater negative emotion dysregulation was also associated with greater sleep-related impairments (b = 0.20, SE = 0.03, p < .001, ηp2 = 0.08) above the influence of the same covariates (R2 = 0.31). Positive emotion dysregulation was not associated with sleep disturbances or sleep-related impairments. Conclusion Results suggest that more difficulty regulating negative emotions is linked to disturbed sleep among trauma-exposed individuals. Additional experimental work is needed to understand if regulating negative emotions via cognitive-behavioral strategies (e.g., mindfulness, cognitive restructuring) can lead to downstream improvements in sleep. Support (if any)

Negative and positive emotion regulation are important to psychological well-being. However, most individual-difference measures of emotion regulation focus primarily or exclusively on negative emotion regulation. In the present research, we sought to expand the widely used Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) by including items assessing positive as well as negative emotion regulation. In Studies 1 and 2, we evaluated the new DERS-Expanded (DERS-X) with Chinese student and clinical samples. Findings demonstrate the DERS-X's robust factor structure, high internal consistency, good test-retest reliability of the test scores, and excellent convergent, discriminant, incremental, and predictive validity of the test score interpretations. The DERS-X consists of 11 first-order factors, where the six negative scales (Inattention, Unclarity, Nonacceptance, Ineffectiveness, Disinhibition, Disruption) and the five positive scales (Inattention, Nonacceptance, Ineffectiveness, Disinhibition, Disruption) contribute to two second-order factors: positive emotion dysregulation and negative emotion dysregulation. Additionally, the scores from the positive and negative emotion dysregulation scales can be combined to yield a total emotion dysregulation score. In Study 3, measurement invariance testing indicates the comparability of scores across genders but cautions against direct comparisons between clinical and student populations. This study establishes a link between DERS-X scores and depression and anxiety, highlighting its clinical implications as well as its potential for informing interventions. We conclude that the 33-item DERS-X may be a useful tool for assessing negative and positive emotion dysregulation in diverse settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Borderline personality disorder and multidimensional impulsivity: The roles of positive and negative emotion dysregulation

Background and Objectives: Research provides robust support for an association between traumatic exposure and emotion dysregulation. Less understood is the relation of emotion dysregulation stemming from positive emotions to traumatic exposure, or the extent to which negative and positive emotion dysregulation may be uniquely related to specific trauma types. Design and Methods: The present study explored the associations between negative and positive emotion dysregulation and specific trauma types in a community sample of 433 adults (M age = 43.81, 68.4% women). Results: Results highlighted three main findings: (1) negative and positive emotion dysregulation were significantly higher among individuals with vs. without exposure to six and nine specific trauma types, respectively; (2) negative and positive emotion dysregulation were significantly and positively related to total number of specific traumatic events; and (3) negative emotion dysregulation was significantly higher among individuals with Victimization Traumas in the overall sample as well as the no-PTSD and no-MDD subsamples, and positive emotion dysregulation was significantly lower among individuals with Accidental/Injury Traumas and Victimization Traumas in the PTSD subsample. Conclusions: Results underscore the relative and unique roles of negative and positive emotion dysregulation in trauma types; these findings may inform future research.

Emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic construct with relevance to a wide range of mental health outcomes. A growing literature highlights the contribution of positive emotion dysregulation to mental health outcomes. However, there remains limited understanding of the interplay of negative and positive emotion dysregulation on mental health outcomes. To address this limitation, the current study examined whether the association of positive emotion dysregulation to the mental health outcomes of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and alcohol and drug misuse was attenuated by negative emotion dysregulation. Participants were 373 trauma-exposed individuals recruited from Amazon's MTurk (Mage = 35.74 years; 57.1% female; 75.9% White). Both negative and positive emotion dysregulation were positively related to PTSD, depression, and alcohol and drug misuse. Moderation analyses showed that negative emotion dysregulation did not attenuate the relations between positive emotion dysregulation and PTSD, depression, and alcohol and drug misuse. These findings suggest that the relation of positive emotion dysregulation to mental health outcomes may not be dependent on negative emotion dysregulation, supporting the utility of both negative and positive emotion dysregulation in identifying and treating mental health outcomes in trauma-exposed individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a serious public health concern that can be understood within an emotion dysregulation framework. The current study adds to the literature by utilizing a micro-longitudinal study design and advanced statistical modeling to test the bidirectional associations between emotion dysregulation and NSSI, as well as the moderating effect of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Participants were 131 sexual assault survivors with a history of NSSI (Mage = 35.54; 65.6% female; 81.7% white) recruited from the community who self-reported on symptoms of negative and positive emotion dysregulation, NSSI, and PTSS. Findings provided valuable information on the nuanced relation between emotion dysregulation and NSSI, highlighting the impact that NSSI may have on subsequent abilities to effectively down-regulate negative emotions. Furthermore, results detected a moderating influence of increased PTSS on between-individual differences in elevated NSSI and negative emotion dysregulation, as well as within-individual increases in NSSI over time. Information from this study may be useful for future research and intervention development.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the moderating role of racial-ethnic identity in the relation between emotion dysregulation and alcohol use and related harms among Asian Americans. An adult sample of Asian Americans (N = 105, 67.6% women) participated in a study examining emotional experiences across different racial and ethnic groups that assessed emotion dysregulation (Difficulties With Emotion Regulation; Difficulties With Emotion Regulation-Positive), alcohol use and related harms (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test), and ethnic-racial identity (Ethnic Identity Scale). Negative and positive emotion dysregulation were both significantly positively associated with alcohol use and related harms. A series of moderation analyses revealed that different dimensions of ethnic-racial identity moderated this relationship. Negative emotion dysregulation was significantly positively associated with alcohol use and related harms at lower levels of ethnic-racial identity Affirmation, and positive emotion dysregulation was significantly positively associated with alcohol use and related harms at higher levels of ethnic-racial identity Resolution. This study is the first to test the moderating role of ethnic-racial identity in the associations between negative and positive emotion dysregulation and alcohol use and related harms among Asian Americans. Results of this study suggest that emotion dysregulation may play a key role in the maintenance of alcohol use and related harms among Asian Americans. Findings also suggest that an assessment of ethnic-racial identity may help identify Asian Americans who are most likely to benefit from interventions targeting negative and positive emotion dysregulation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Research examining emotion dysregulation and alcohol use has increased exponentially over the past decade. However, these studies have been limited by their use of cross-sectional designs and narrow definitions of emotion dysregulation. To address these significant gaps in the extant literature, this study utilized state-of-the-art methodology (i.e., experience sampling) and statistics (i.e., dynamic structural equation modeling) to examine potential reciprocal associations between negative and positive emotion dysregulation and alcohol use at the momentary level. Participants were 145 community women (mean age=40.56, 40.3% white) experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and using substances. Surveys assessing negative and positive emotion dysregulation and alcohol use (i.e., number of standard drinks) were administered three times a day for 30 days using phone-based interactive voice recording. Significant contemporaneous effects indicated that negative and positive emotion dysregulation both co-occurred with alcohol use. However, levels of negative and positive emotion dysregulation did not predict later alcohol use, nor did alcohol use predict later levels of negative or positive emotion dysregulation. There was significant variability among participants in cross-lagged effects. Findings showed that negative and positive emotion dysregulation co-occurred with alcohol use and that there was significant interindividual variability in the cross-lagged associations between negative and positive emotion dysregulation and alcohol use. Research using idiographic approaches may identify women experiencing IPV for whom negative and positive emotion dysregulation drive alcohol use and alcohol use drives negative and positive emotion dysregulation.

Sexual victimization and disordered eating among community individuals: The influence of negative and positive emotion dysregulation

Difficulties with positive, but not negative, emotion regulation moderate the association between positive alcohol expectancies and alcohol use in college students.

Research has demonstrated links between autobiographical memory retrieval and hazardous substance use. However, limited work has examined relations between positive autobiographical memories and hazardoussubstance use, as well as moderating factors influencing these relations. Thus, we examined the potential moderating roles of negative and positive emotion dysregulation in the relations between count of retrieved positive memories and hazardous substance use (alcohol and drug use separately). Participants were 333 trauma-exposed students (Mage = 21.05; 85.9% women) who completed self-report measures assessing positive memory count, hazardous alcohol and drug use, negative emotion dysregulation, and positive emotion dysregulation. Positive emotion dysregulation significantly moderated the association between positive memory count and hazardous alcohol use (b = 0.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.01, 0.06], p = 0.019), as well as the association between positive memory count and hazardous drug use (b = 0.02, 95% CI [0.01, 0.03], p = 0.002). Individuals with more positive emotion dysregulation had stronger associations between increases in positive memory count and increased hazardous substance use. Findings indicate that trauma-exposed individuals who retrieve more positive memories and experience difficulties regulating positive emotions report greater hazardous substance use. Positive emotion dysregulation may be an important target for memory-based interventions among trauma-exposed individuals who report hazardous substance use.

A fast-growing body of literature linking emotion dysregulation to substance use has almost exclusively relied on cross-sectional designs and has generally failed to assess dysregulation stemming from positive emotions. The current study measured the momentary associations between both negative and positive emotion dysregulation and substance use, as well as the moderating role of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Micro-longitudinal momentary data were collected three times per day for 30 days using phone-based interactive voice recording. Northeastern United States. A total of 145 community women (M, age = 40.56, 40.3% white) experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and using substances were recruited from 2018 until 2020. Momentary surveys assessed negative and positive emotion dysregulation and alcohol, drug, and cigarette use. PTSD diagnosis was derived from a structured diagnostic interview. Between-person relations that remained significant after covariate adjustment and correction for multiple testing were found for negative emotion dysregulation and both number of drinks (internal rate of return [IRR] = 1.45; 95% CI = 1.07, 1.93; β = 0.37) and drug use (OR = 3.78; 95% CI = 1.86, 7.69; β = 1.33), and positive emotion dysregulation and number of cigarettes (OR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.07, 1.82; β = 0.34). Of six interactions tests, PTSD was only shown to moderate the within-person relation between positive emotion dysregulation and drug use, even after controlling for relevant covariates and adjusting for multiple testing (OR = 1.26; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.51; β = 0.23), such that women experiencing intimate partner violence with versus without PTSD were more likely to use drugs when experiencing periods of elevated positive emotion dysregulation. Women experiencing intimate partner violence with higher levels of negative dysregulation relative to others may use more alcohol and be more likely to use drugs. Women experiencing intimate partner violence with higher levels of positive dysregulation relative to others may use more cigarettes. Women experiencing intimate partner violence who also have posttraumatic stress disorder may be more likely to use drugs when experiencing momentary elevated levels of positive emotion dysregulation than those who do not also have posttraumatic stress disorder.