Kristen P Morie1,2, Zu Wei Zhai1,3, Marc N Potenza1,2,4,5,6, Linda C Mayes2,7,8. 1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. 2. Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. 3. Department of Psychology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont. 4. Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, Connecticut. 5. Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, Connecticut. 6. Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. 7. Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. 8. Department of Psychology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: 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. METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that alexithymia is a mechanism underlying poor use of emotional reappraisal in PCE individuals. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: 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).
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: 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. METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that alexithymia is a mechanism underlying poor use of emotional reappraisal in PCE individuals. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: 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).
Authors: Ahmad R Hariri; Venkata S Mattay; Alessandro Tessitore; Bhaskar Kolachana; Francesco Fera; David Goldman; Michael F Egan; Daniel R Weinberger Journal: Science Date: 2002-07-19 Impact factor: 47.728
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