Emotion dysregulation - A bridge between ACE and aggressive antisocial behavior

Purpose: Forensic populations have high prevalence rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACE), but specific pathways from childhood victimization to adult victimizing behavior remain unclear. Difficulties in emotion regulation may prove to be a more proximal risk factor that functions as a pathway between ACE and aggressive antisocial behavior (AAB). In this study, we investigated concurrent associations between ACE, AAB, and diffi-culties in emotion regulation and tested the mediational role of emotion dysregulation. Methods: A forensic psychiatric inpatient sample (N = 97) was recruited from a maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital in Sweden. Data were collected through file reviews and self-reports and analyzed with mediation and correlation analyses. Results: Widespread bivariate associations among the study variables emerged, with small to moderate effect sizes. Distinct emotion regulation difficulties had unique relations to ACE and to different forms of AAB respectively. Evidence of significant indirect effects was limited and inconsistent across different types of analyses. Conclusions: Deficits in emotion regulation might be an important target of change in efforts to reduce AAB in forensic psychiatric patients with past ACE exposure. Attention to different dimensions of emotion regulation is crucial to deliver comprehensive interventions.

Automated summary

This study investigates the concurrent associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACE), aggressive antisocial behavior (AAB), and difficulties in emotion regulation among forensic psychiatric inpatients. The results suggest that deficits in emotion regulation may be an important target for reducing AAB in this population. However, the evidence for significant indirect effects is limited and inconsistent.