Davis, Justin; Hinkson, Kent; Brooks, Malisa; Bryan, Craig (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Hinkson, Kent (University of Utah, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences)
Emotion Regulation is broadly defined as a person's ability to modulate or maintain emotional states in order to achieve a goal. Evidence is mounting that among veterans, emotional regulation is a critical and core component directly related to veterans' abilities to work through clinical protocols for PTSD and suicidality, transition to civilian populations, reintegrate with families, and to experience overall well-being. Several academic, research, and governmental organizations have undertaken the tasks associated with understanding causal and correlative factors associated veteran suicide, and in the milieu this endeavor has shed light on suicidal phenomena more broadly applicable to general populations. As such, clinicians, researchers, and the general public have a stake in understanding emotion regulation in ways that inform development of normative mental health and various etiologies and courses of psychopathology. More specifically, among student veterans with PTSD, emotional dysregulation has been associated with greater psychological distress and higher rates of health-risk behaviors such as binge-drinking, drinking and driving, and physical aggression. Current research shows a moderate inverse relationship between the experience and expression of joy and Criterion D (negative alterations in cognitions and mood) of PTSD such that positive affective experiences may be suppressed or attenuated in those student veterans who endorse moderate to severe symptoms. This emotional reticence, whether personal or public, is likely to reinforce avoidant behavioral schemas, contributing to and maintaining the emotional dysregulation sequelae of PTSD well after military service and into the future across many contexts. The main aim of this study was to better understand and conceptualize the relationship between negative alterations in cognition and mood and emotion regulation among trauma-exposed veterans. This understanding will help support future research, screening, and prevention programs for PTSD and suicide along with conceptualization and application of emotion regulation intervention protocols in clinical veteran populations.