The role of emotional functioning in military-related PTSD and its treatment.

This two-part study investigated the cross-sectional and across-treatment relationships among measures of emotional functioning and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology for veterans receiving specialized treatment for military-related PTSD. Cross-sectional analyses revealed overlap among emotion regulation, affective control, depressive symptoms, and PTSD symptoms at pre-treatment. In regression analyses, fear of losing affective control was most predictive of PTSD symptoms. Bivariate analyses of residualized change scores showed that changes in emotion regulation and fear of losing affective control were associated with changes in PTSD and depressive symptoms across treatment. Regression analyses revealed that changes in fear of losing affective control most strongly predicted changes in PTSD and depressive symptoms. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed, including an understanding of the differences between emotion regulation and affective control processes. Future research directions are offered, including improved measurement of emotional functioning and longitudinal research delineating the likely bi-directional relationship between emotional functioning and PTSD.