Impaired Emotional Regulation in Females with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

The growing awareness of mental health issues has brought trauma and its aftereffects to light, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This paper emphasizes the gendered aspect of PTSD, namely the increased frequency of diagnosis in women who have been victimized by intimate partner violence (IPV). Emotion dysregulation has been identified as a difficulty experienced by many individuals who are diagnosed with IPV-led PTSD. By carefully examining recent studies, the research highlights the connection between PTSD symptoms and emotion dysregulation, clarifying the intricacies of positive and negative emotion regulation mechanisms in female IPV victims. The extent of the influence of positive emotion dysregulation on the severity of PTSD symptoms is still up for debate, whereas negative emotion dysregulation is found to be closely connected to more severe PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, the paper critically evaluates the efficacy of expressive writing as a promising approach to mitigate PTSD symptoms among IPV survivors. Lastly, the paper highlights the lack of inclusivity of subjects as a limitation. In sum, the paper accentuates the urgency of addressing IPV-led PTSD, advocating for tailored interventions that take the multifaceted emotional regulation challenges faced by victimized women into account.