No study to date has investigated both emotional dysregulation and executive function as potential mediators within the same multiple mediation model of childhood abuse and health-risk behaviors. Exposure to childhood abuse has detrimental effects across the lifespan by increasing the risk of emotional dysregulation and impaired cognition in adulthood. Women with emotional dysregulation may rely on maladaptive strategies including alcohol abuse and sexual risk behaviors for regulating negative emotions. Risky sex is the primary mode of HIV transmission among women in general and South Florida has the highest rates of HIV infections in the U.S. with African American and Latina women accounting for the majority of HIV diagnoses among all women.
The overall goal of the study is to determine whether emotional regulation and executive functioning exert a mediation effect in the relationship between childhood abuse and adult risk-behaviors. This was a mixed-methods design to examine the associations between emotion regulation, executive functioning, childhood abuse, and risk-behaviors (sexual and alcohol abuse) and to explore perceptions of childhood trauma. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase 1 (quantitative), we enrolled 150 women of color (African American and Latina) with and without a history of childhood abuse at risk for HIV. In Phase 2 (qualitative) a sample (N=20) of women of color (African American and Latina) with a history of childhood abuse, followed an by in-depth individual interview were asked about perceptions of childhood trauma and emotional dysregulation and the effects on risk behaviors.
Villalba, K., Domenico, L. H., Cook, R. L., O’Connor, J., Michael-Samaroo, K., Pino Espejo, M. J. D., Martin, P., & Dévieux, J. G. (2023). Emotion regulation and cognitive function as mediating factors for the association between lifetime abuse and risky behaviors in women of color Plos One. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.07.22283182
Villalba K., Del Pino Espejo MJ, Attonito J, Cook R. (2023). Exposure to Childhood Abuse and Later Alcohol Use in Women: The Indirect Role of the Emotion Regulation Dimensions. Violence Against Women (In press).
Shyfuddin A, Thadar S, Algarin AB, Sajdeya R, Zhou Z, Vaddiparti K, Wang Y, Villalba K, Ennis E, Morano JP, Cook R, Ibañez GI. Gender, Race, and Substance Use: Association with comorbidities among people living with HIV Florida HIV Community, Providers, and Researchers (CPR) Conference. Virtual Meeting 2021.