Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Am J Addict. 2020 Nov;29(6):492-499. doi: 10.1111/ajad.13056. Epub 2020 May 20.
Exposure to early-life trauma may lead to maladaptive characteristics such as alexithymia, and thus to poorer emotional regulation. This relationship may also be influenced by exposure to substances prenatally. We hypothesized that increased alexithymia would be seen in those with prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE). Additionally, we hypothesized that early-life trauma would be associated with alexithymia, and that alexithymia would be associated with poor emotional reappraisal and emotional suppression.
A moderated mediation model was developed to examine whether the hypothesized indirect relationship between trauma and emotional reappraisal through alexithymia was different in young adults with and without PCE (Total N = 57). Thirty-seven young adults with PCE and 20 with no such exposure, all of whom were members of a longitudinal cohort, were recruited for the study, and data concerning childhood trauma, alexithymia, and emotional regulation were collected. Intercorrelations were performed between the scores on each measure and moderated mediation models were constructed separately with emotional neglect or emotional abuse as the independent variable and emotional reappraisal or emotional suppression as the dependent variable.
PCE status was associated with alexithymia, and alexithymia mediated the relationship between emotional neglect and emotional reappraisal in individuals with PCE but not those without.
The data suggest that alexithymia is a mechanism underlying poor use of emotional reappraisal in PCE individuals.
Individuals with early-life trauma and substance exposure may represent a vulnerable population, and alexithymia may play a key role in the development of emotional regulation skills in this population. (Am J Addict 2020;29:492-499).
早期生活创伤可能导致适应不良的特征，如述情障碍，从而导致情绪调节能力下降。这种关系也可能受到产前暴露于物质的影响。我们假设，产前可卡因暴露（PCE）的个体中述情障碍会增加。此外，我们假设，早期生活创伤与述情障碍有关，述情障碍与情绪再评价和情绪抑制不良有关。
建立了一个调节中介模型，以检验在有和没有 PCE 的年轻人中，创伤与情绪再评价通过述情障碍的假设间接关系是否不同（总 N=57）。研究招募了 37 名有 PCE 和 20 名无 PCE 的年轻人，他们都是纵向队列的成员，并收集了有关童年创伤、述情障碍和情绪调节的数据。对每个测量的得分进行了相互关联，并分别构建了调节中介模型，以情感忽视或情感虐待作为自变量，以情绪再评价或情绪抑制作为因变量。
PCE 状态与述情障碍有关，述情障碍在 PCE 个体中中介了情感忽视与情绪再评价之间的关系，但在无 PCE 个体中没有。
数据表明，述情障碍是 PCE 个体情绪再评价能力差的一种机制。
有早期生活创伤和物质暴露的个体可能代表一个脆弱的群体，而述情障碍可能在该群体中情绪调节技能的发展中起关键作用。
