Open AccessAssociations among childhood threat and deprivation experiences, emotion dysregulation, and mental health in pregnant women.
Author(s) -
Carolyn A. Greene,
D. Betsy McCoach,
Margaret J. BriggsGowan,
Damion J. Grasso
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
psychological trauma
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.059
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1942-9681
pISSN - 1942-969X
DOI - 10.1037/tra0001013
Subject(s) - mental health , neglect , psycinfo , psychology , sexual abuse , child abuse , domestic violence , clinical psychology , emotional dysregulation , physical abuse , psychological abuse , poison control , social support , psychiatry , pregnancy , suicide prevention , medicine , medline , medical emergency , biology , political science , law , psychotherapist , genetics
Women who have experienced childhood maltreatment are at increased risk for experiencing mental health problems. When these occur during pregnancy, they are associated with birth complications and worse developmental outcomes for children. Emotion dysregulation (ED) may be an important, and potentially modifiable, mechanism that links women's maltreatment experiences with their mental health. However, there is limited information about the emotion regulation skills of pregnant women to guide treatment. The current study examines the unique effects of childhood threat (physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and exposure to violence) and deprivation (physical and emotional neglect and separation from primary caregivers) experiences on pregnant women's ED, posttraumatic stress and negative emotional symptoms, and social support.