The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation on Self-harm among Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Minority (LGBTQ+) Individuals.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to (1) investigate the role of emotion regulation difficulties among self-harming Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, or Questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals and (2) to test for a mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties in self-harm among LGBTQ + individuals. METHOD: This study investigated the relationship between LGBTQ + status, self-reported levels of emotion regulation difficulties, and self-harm in a community sample (N = 484, aged 16-63), using an online cross-sectional survey. RESULTS: LGBTQ + individuals reported more emotion regulation difficulties and were almost seven times more likely to self-harm than non-LGBTQ + participants. Being an LGBTQ + participant was associated with greater self-harm frequency when controlling for age, income, and difficulties in emotion regulation. Emotion regulation difficulties mediated the association between LGBTQ + status and both self-harm status and frequency. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest that treating emotion regulation difficulties might reduce both the prevalence and lifetime frequency of self-harm episodes among gender identity and sexual orientation minority individuals. Targeting emotion regulation might be used as an early prevention strategy among LGBTQ + individuals who are at risk for self-harm. Further, enhancing emotion regulation skills among self-harming LGBTQ + individuals might replace maladaptive emotion regulation strategies with healthy alternatives, and can, therefore, foster resilience. HIGHLIGHTSLGBTQ + individuals are at high risk for self-harm.ER-mediated the association between LGBTQ + status and self-harm.Targeting emotion regulation in LGBTQ + people may help reduce self-harm.

Disentangling the associations between past childhood adversity and psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating roles of specific pandemic stressors and coping strategies.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) display heightened symptoms of psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, no study has investigated what aspects of the pandemic are of particular concern for this population and ways in which strategies to coping with pandemic stressors may exacerbate their clinical symptomatology. OBJECTIVE: This study explores what pandemic stressors and coping strategies are associated with ACEs, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the COVID-19 pandemic, before investigating whether the identified chief stressors and coping styles mediate the effects of ACEs on depression and PTSD. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 1107 Greek adults were sampled from the general population. METHODS: Participants completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire, Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5, Pandemic Stressor Scale, and Brief Cope Scale. RESULTS: ACEs and depression were both predominantly associated with difficult housing conditions as a stressor (b = 0.079, p < .001 and b = 0.046, p < .001, respectively), whereas PTSD was mainly related to fear of contracting the COVID-19 virus (b = 0.065, p < .001). Self-blame was the main coping strategy associated with both ACEs (b = 0.046, p = .010), depression (b = 0.071, p < .0005), and PTSD (b = 0.088, p < .0005). Difficult housing conditions and self-blame further demonstrated a significant serial mediation effect in the relationship between ACEs with both depression (b = 0.105, 95% CI [0.0607, 0.158]) and PTSD (b = 0.019, 95% CI [0.011, 0.031]). CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that policy makers should identify ways of ameliorating challenging housing conditions, and that service providers should target self-blame in the psychological treatment of adults with ACEs during the COVID-19 pandemic.