title: Trauma-related reactivity and regulation of emotion: associations with posttraumatic stress symptoms.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Both emotional reactivity to traumatic event cues and difficulties regulating emotion have been linked to posttraumatic stress symptom severity. The current study uniquely extended these two lines of research by examining the degree to which these two factors alone, and in combination, account for variability in posttraumatic stress symptom severity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-reported emotion regulation difficulties, and both subjective and physiological reactivity in response to a script-driven imagery procedure, were assessed among a community sample of 21 adult women with a history of interpersonal assault. Relationships with an interview-based measure of posttraumatic stress symptom severity were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results were consistent with hypotheses. Both traumatic event-related emotional reactivity and emotion regulation difficulties independently predicted posttraumatic stress symptom severity. A significant interaction also emerged such that traumatic event-related emotional reactivity and posttraumatic stress symptom severity were only significantly associated at relatively elevated levels of emotion regulation difficulties.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Limitations included the use of a self-report questionnaire to assess emotion regulation difficulties, relatively small sample size, and lack of evidence regarding generalizability across gender or other traumatic event types.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results highlight that the interaction of heightened emotional reactivity and difficulties regulating emotion may be particularly influential in posttraumatic stress symptom severity.
authors.affiliation: University of Arkansas, 216 Memorial Hall, Department of Psychological Science, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA. cbadour@uark.edu
authors.forename: Christal L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Badour
authors.forename: Matthew T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Feldner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008016:Life Change Events; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D057566:Self Report; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D055815:Young Adult