Latent classes of childhood maltreatment, adult sexual assault, and revictimization in men: Differences in masculinity, anger, and substance use.

Male sexual abuse has been associated with a number of maladaptive outcomes; however, there is a dearth of research on male revictimization, that is, experiences of victimization in both childhood and adulthood. The current study examined different patterns of victimization based on five types of childhood maltreatment and characteristics of adult sexual assault via latent class analysis. Further, the present study assessed differences across these latent classes in the domains of masculinity, anger, and substance use. A community sample of 294 men ranging in age from 18 to 66 years (M = 32.71; SD = 9.73) was recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk, an online research forum. The latent class analysis identified four classes, namely, revictimization (10.9%), adult substance-related victimization (4.8%), childhood maltreatment (23.8%), and low victimization (60.5%). Differential patterns emerged for masculinity, anger, and substance use, with the revictimization and childhood maltreatment classes differing significantly from the adult substance-related victimization and low victimization classes. Compared with the low victimization class, the three victimization classes were elevated on multiple facets of masculinity; the revictimization class was higher on anger and alcohol- and drug use. Results provide evidence that research examining childhood or adulthood victimization experiences in isolation may fail to capture the full range of victimization experiences in men. Findings provide important implications for understanding patterns of victimization among men and how interventions may be targeted to address psychological and behavioral outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved

Borderline Personality Disorder and Self-conscious Emotions in Response to Adult Unwanted Sexual Experiences

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with a proneness to unpleasant self-conscious emotions (SCE). Given that BPD is also associated with heightened rates of SCE-eliciting events (including unwanted sexual experiences), research examining the factors influencing SCE in response to these events is needed. This study examined associations between BPD pathology and SCE in response to adult unwanted sexual experiences among 303 community women. Extent of sharing about and perceived personal responsibility for the event were examined as moderators of the association between BPD and current event-related SCE. Both self-reported BPD symptom severity in the full sample and interview-based measures of BPD symptom count and diagnosis in a subsample (n=75) were associated with greater SCE at the event and currently. Moreover, in the subsample, both BPD symptom count and diagnosis were associated with heightened current SCE only when (1) extent of sharing was low, or (2) perceived personal responsibility was high

Borderline Personality Disorder and Self-conscious Emotions in Response to Adult Unwanted Sexual Experiences

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with a proneness to unpleasant self-conscious emotions (SCE). Given that BPD is also associated with heightened rates of SCE-eliciting events (including unwanted sexual experiences), research examining the factors influencing SCE in response to these events is needed. This study examined associations between BPD pathology and SCE in response to adult unwanted sexual experiences among 303 community women. Extent of sharing about and perceived personal responsibility for the event were examined as moderators of the association between BPD and current event-related SCE. Both self-reported BPD symptom severity in the full sample and interview-based measures of BPD symptom count and diagnosis in a subsample (n=75) were associated with greater SCE at the event and currently. Moreover, in the subsample, both BPD symptom count and diagnosis were associated with heightened current SCE only when (1) extent of sharing was low, or (2) perceived personal responsibility was high

Development and Validation of a State-Based Measure of Emotion Dysregulation: The State Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (S-DERS)

Existing measures of emotion dysregulation typically assess dispositional tendencies and are therefore not well suited for study designs that require repeated assessments over brief intervals. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a state-based multidimensional measure of emotion dysregulation. Psychometric properties of the State Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (S-DERS) were examined in a large representative community sample of young adult women drawn from four sites (N = 484). Exploratory factor analysis suggested a four-factor solution, with results supporting the internal consistency, construct validity, and predictive validity of the total scale and the four subscales: Nonacceptance (i.e., nonacceptance of current emotions), Modulate (i.e., difficulties modulating emotional and behavioral responses in the moment), Awareness (i.e., limited awareness of current emotions), and Clarity (i.e., limited clarity about current emotions). S-DERS scores were significantly associated with trait-based measures of emotion dysregulation, affect intensity/reactivity, experiential avoidance, and mindfulness, as well as measures of substance use problems. Moreover, significant associations were found between the S-DERS and state-based laboratory measures of emotional reactivity, even when controlling for the corresponding original DERS scales. Results provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the S-DERS as a state-based measure of emotion regulation difficulties

Lifetime Sexual Victimization and Poor Risk Perception: Does Emotion Dysregulation Account for the Links?

The present study examined whether and which facets of emotion dysregulation serve an interven-ing role in the association between prior victimization and risk perception in an analogue sexual assault vignette. Participants were 714 university women who completed self-report measures of sexual victimization, emotion dysregulation, and a computer-administered written vignette of a col-lege party scene that culminates in acquaintance rape. Approximately 42% of the sample reported lifetime sexual victimization during childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. Two individual aspects of emotion dysregulation, limited access to emotion regulation strategies and impulse control diffi-culties, mediated the association between lifetime victimization and leaving the scenario later. Find-ings suggest the importance of emotion dysregulation in predicting risk perception among victims and of improving victims’ emotion regulation skills in revictimization risk reduction interventions

Emotion Dysregulation and Risky Sexual Behavior in Revictimization

Objective: The current study examined emotion dysregulation as a mechanism underlying risky sexual behavior and sexual revictimization among adult victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) and child physical abuse (CPA). Methods: Participants were 752 college women. Victimization history, emotion dysregulation, and risky sexual behavior were assessed with anonymous, self-report surveys utilizing a cross-sectional design. Results: Approximately 6.3% of participants reported CSA, 25.5% reported CPA, and 17.8% reported rape during adolescence or adulthood. CSA and CPA were associated with increased risk for adolescent/adult rape; 29.8% of CSA victims and 24.3% of CPA victims were revictimized. Path analytic models tested hypothesized relationships among child abuse, emotion dysregulation, adolescent/adult rape and three forms of risky sexual behavior (e.g., failure to use condoms, contraception, or having sex with someone under the influence of alcohol/drugs), including frequency of risky sexual behavior with a regular dating partner, with a stranger, and lifetime number of intercourse partners. Emotion dysregulation mediated revictimization for both CSA and CPA. Emotion dysregulation also predicted lifetime number of sexual partners and frequency of risky sex with a stranger, but not frequency of risky sex with a regular dating partner. Conclusions: Findings suggest that emotion dysregulation is a distal predictor, and risky sex, particularly with lesser known partners, is a proximal predictor of sexual revictimization. Because emotion dysregulation also maintained a significant direct path to revictimization, risky sexual behavior appears to be one of several proximal risk factors for revictimization. Practice implications: Findings confirm that emotion dysregulation is a critical pathway to more proximal risk factors such as risky sexual behavior, and suggest that clinical interventions aimed at improving emotion dysregulation may help reduce risky sexual behavior and risk for revictimization

A prospective investigation of emotion dysregulation as a moderator of the relation between posttraumatic stress symptoms and substance use severity

Despite strong evidence for an association between the experience of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and substance use, little is known about the particular individuals most at risk for prob-lematic substance use in response to PTS symptoms. Consequently, the goal of this study was to conduct a prospective investigation of the moderating role of emotion dysregulation (assessed through self-report and behavioral measures) in the relation between PTS symptoms and substance use 8 months later within a sample of 106 young adult women. No main effect of PTS symptoms on substance use was found. Instead, PTS symptoms were associated only with later substance use in the context of heightened emotion dysregulation. Results provide support for emotion dysregulation as a key factor that may increase risk for substance use among women experiencing PTS symptomsand highlight a target for future interventions aimed at reducing risk for the development of mala-daptive behaviors stemming from PTS symptoms

The Longitudinal Impact of Intimate Partner Aggression and Relationship Status on Women’s Physical Health and Depression Symptoms

Intimate partner aggression (IPA) has many detrimental effects, particularly among young women. The present study examined the longitudinal effects of IPA victimization and relationship status on physical health and depression symptoms in a sample of 375 community women between the ages of 18 and 25 years. All variables were assessed at 4 occasions over a 12-month period (i.e., 1 assess-ment every 4 months). Multilevel modeling revealed that IPA victimization had both between- and within-person effects on women’s health outcomes, and relationship status had within-person effects when women did not report current IPA. Although IPA was generally related to greater physical health problems and depression symptoms, these findings varied depending on both the type of aggression experienced (i.e., psychological vs. physical) and relationship status (i.e., whether partic-ipants were in the same relationship or a new relationship). Findings suggest that IPA can be harmful to both physical and mental health, particularly among young women who stay in abusive relation-ships. Results highlight the importance of developing effective IPA intervention programs and providing help and resources to women who are experiencing physical or psychological IPA in their relationships