Patterns of childhood maltreatment predict emotion processing and regulation in emerging adulthood

Jennifer M. Warmingham, Erinn B. Duprey, Elizabeth D. Handley, Fred A. Rogosch, Dante Cicchetti

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Childhood maltreatment is a potent interpersonal trauma associated with dysregulation of emotional processes relevant to the development of psychopathology. The current study identified prospective links between patterns of maltreatment exposures and dimensions of emotion regulation in emerging adulthood. Participants included 427 individuals (48% Male; 75.9% Black, 10.8% White, 7.5% Hispanic, 6% Other) assessed at two waves. At Wave 1, children (10-12 years) from families eligible for public assistance with and without involvement with Child Protective Services took part in a research summer camp. Patterns of child maltreatment subtype and chronicity (based on coded CPS record data) were used to predict Wave 2 (age 18-24 years) profiles of emotion regulation based on self-report, and affective processing assessed via the Affective Go/No-Go task. Results identified associations between task-based affective processing and self-reported emotion regulation profiles. Further, chronic, multi-subtype childhood maltreatment exposure predicted difficulties with aggregated emotion dysregulation. Exposure to neglect with and without other maltreatment subtypes predicted lower sensitivity to affective words. Nuanced results distinguish multiple patterns of emotion regulation in a sample of emerging adults with high exposure to trauma and socioeconomic stress and suggest that maltreatment disrupts emotional development, resulting in difficulties identifying emotions and coping with emotional distress.

Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalDevelopment and psychopathology
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by grants received from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA; R01DA17741), the Spunk Fund, Inc., and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD; P50HD096698 to SLT and DC).

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Keywords

  • affective go/no-go
  • childhood maltreatment
  • emotion regulation
  • person-centered

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