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BACKGROUND: The co-occurrence of childhood abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among United States military veterans is highly prevalent and clinically significant. Emotion dysregulation is one factor that has been found to underlie the association between childhood abuse and PTSD, yet past research has focused exclusively on dysregulation stemming from negative emotions. OBJECTIVE: The current study extends existing research by clarifying the role of positive emotion dysregulation in the relation between childhood abuse and PTSD in a community sample of military veterans. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants were 465 trauma-exposed military veterans in the community (M(age) = 38.00, 71.6% women, 69.5% White). METHOD: Using structural equation modeling, we tested the indirect association of childhood abuse to PTSD symptom severity through positive emotion dysregulation. RESULTS: The hypothesized model showed adequate model fit, χ(2) (32, n = 465) = 176.22, p <.001, CFI = .97, RMSEA = .10, 90% CI [.08, .11], SRMR = .04. Results showed that childhood abuse was indirectly associated with PTSD symptom severity through positive emotion dysregulation. CONCLUSIONS: This finding highlights the potential utility of targeting positive emotion dysregulation in the detection and treatment of PTSD symptoms in veterans who experienced childhood abuse.

Pregnant Hispanic women are at increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in part due to greater risk of childhood maltreatment, intimate partner violence (IPV), and pregnancy-related vulnerabilities. However, PTSD, is a highly heterogenous diagnosis with numerous presentations. Individual PTSD symptoms may be differentially associated with specific types of maltreatment, IPV. Determining how IPV exposure across the lifespan is associated with specific symptoms of PTSD in pregnant Hispanic women is necessary to develop group-relevant models of this disorder and targeted interventions. The present study examined a network model of PTSD symptoms, childhood maltreatment, and adulthood IPV in a sample of pregnant Hispanic women ( N = 198). Childhood emotional abuse and adulthood psychological distress had the highest bridge centrality. These types of exposures were most strongly associated with social isolation. Childhood emotional abuse was associated with more individual PTSD symptoms than any IPV type. These findings suggest that associations between PTSD symptoms and different types of IPV exposure vary. In addition, robust associations between childhood emotional abuse and PTSD symptoms suggest that this domain may be particularly important for the clinical assessment and intervention for pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: 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. METHOD: Data were collected from 465 trauma-exposed military veterans in the community (M(age)= 38.00, 71.4% male, 69.5% white) who responded to an online survey. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS: 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.

INTRODUCTION: The co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol misuse presents a pervasive and clinically relevant concern among US military veterans. OBJECTIVE: The current investigation sought to examine the role of positive emotion dysfunction in the relation between PTSD symptomatology and alcohol misuse. To do so, we examined the separate and sequential roles of positive emotional intensity and positive emotional avoidance in the relation between PTSD symptoms and alcohol misuse among US military veterans. METHOD: Cross-sectional data were collected from 468 US military veterans (M age= 37.74, 70.5% male, 69.0% White) who responded to an online survey. RESULTS: Findings suggest that positive emotional avoidance, separately, and positive emotional intensity and positive emotional avoidance, sequentially, mediated the relation between PTSD symptoms and alcohol misuse. CONCLUSIONS: Findings advance theory on the role of positive emotions and related processes in the co-occurrence of PTSD and alcohol misuse, and highlight important avenues for future research and treatment focused on the PTSD-alcohol misuse co-occurrence.

INTRODUCTION: Alcohol misuse is a significant clinical concern among military and veteran populations, particularly among individuals who have experienced military sexual trauma (MST). Emotion dysregulation may be an important factor influencing alcohol misuse among individuals with MST. OBJECTIVE: The current study, thus, examined the role of negative and positive emotion dysregulation in the association between MST type and alcohol misuse among military veterans. METHOD: Data were collected from a community sample of 515 veterans (M age= 37.48, 71.3% male, 70.5% White). RESULTS: Mediation analyses indicated that negative and positive emotion dysregulation (separately) explained the relation between military sexual assault and alcohol misuse, but not military sexual harassment. CONCLUSIONS: Findings emphasize the clinical relevance of addressing negative and positive emotion dysregulation in relation to alcohol misuse among veterans with a history of sexual assault MST.

Research has identified heterogeneous subgroups of individuals based on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms. Using data collected from veterans in India (N = 146) and U.S. (N = 194), we examined (1) best-fitting latent class solution; (2) multi-group invariance of the class solution; and (3) construct validity of optimal class solution. Results indicated that the optimal 4-class solution differed in severity and severity/type in the India and U.S. samples respectively. With similarity in the optimal number of classes across cultural samples, the meaning/nature of classes differed. In the India sample, anxiety severity predicted the Low Severity Class vs. all other classes, and the Moderately High Severity/High Severity Classes vs. the Moderately Low Severity Class; number of traumas predicted the High Severity vs. other classes; and resilience predicted the Moderately Low Severity vs. Moderately High Severity Classes. In the U.S. sample, alcohol use predicted the High Severity Class vs. all other classes, and the High Depression-Low PTSD Class vs. the Low Severity Class; rumination significantly predicted the High Severity and High Depression-Low PTSD Classes vs. each of the High PTSD-Low Depression and Low Severity Classes. Thus, meaning and nature of PTSD-depression subgroups may vary culturally; hence, culturally-sensitive interventions need to account for this heterogeneity.