Adverse Childhood Experiences and Chronic Medical Conditions: Emotion Dysregulation as a Mediator of Adjustment

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to contribute to long-term harmful effects on mental health in young adults. Research has demonstrated that having a chronic medical condition (CMC) can also be conceptualized as being a potentially traumatic experience, and that young adults with a CMC are also at risk for negative adjustment. Emotion dysregulation, or difficulty identifying and regulating one's emotions, is common among individuals with ACEs, and is a predictor of young adult adjustment. Given the mediational link between ACEs, emotion dysregulation, and young adult adjustment, it is likely that emotion dysregulation may demonstrate a similar linkage to adjustment in individuals with a CMC. The current study compared the effects of ACEs and having a CMC on depressive and anxious symptoms, while also examining emotion dysregulation as a possible mediator for both ACEs and CMC on adjustment outcomes, specifically depressive and anxious symptoms. College students (N = 1911) completed online questionnaires that assessed history of ACEs, emotion regulation difficulties, adjustment, and chronic illness status. Path analyses demonstrated a significant correlation between ACEs and depressive and anxious symptoms, as well as having a CMC and depressive and anxious symptoms. Furthermore, emotion dysregulation demonstrated a significant mediation between ACEs and negative adjustment, as well as between having a CMC and negative adjustment. This study highlights the importance of emotion dysregulation in understanding outcomes for individuals with a CMC and/or ACEs.