Emotional reactivity: Potential Mediator Between Childhood Maltreatment Severity and Dissociation Severity

Rauch, Antonina (2024) Emotional reactivity: Potential Mediator Between Childhood Maltreatment Severity and Dissociation Severity. Master thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Childhood maltreatment is widely accepted to have serious implications on well-being (Lewis et al., 2019). One of the proposed consequences is dissociation, often causing distress in affected individuals (Dalenberg et al., 2012). This study examines the relationship between childhood trauma and dissociation, focusing on the mediating role of emotion reactivity. The sample consists of n = 255 first-year psychology students from the University of Groningen (Age; M = 19.99 SD = 2.09). Measures include the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) to assess childhood maltreatment severity, the Emotion Reactivity Scale (ERS) for emotion reactivity, and the Dissociative Response Associated with Disrupted Emotions subscale of the Responses to Script-Driven Imagery Scale (RSDI) for dissociation severity. Participants underwent an eye-to-eye gazing session, in order to induce state dissociation (Caputo, 2015). Results indicated significant positive associations between childhood maltreatment severity and both dissociation severity (b = .02, p = <.001) and emotion reactivity (b = .02, p = <.001). Emotion reactivity also positively predicted dissociation severity (b = .43, p = <.001) and partially mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment severity and dissociation severityn (b = .0088, 95% CI [0.0045, 0.0139]). These findings highlight emotion reactivity as a relevant factor in understanding the impact of childhood trauma on dissociative symptoms, suggesting that heightened emotional reactivity may contribute to the development of dissociative states following traumatic experiences. Keywords: Childhood Maltreatment, Dissociation, Emotion Reactivity, Mediation, Eye-to-Eye Gazing

Item Type:	Thesis (Master)
Supervisor name:	Daniels, J.K. and Ostafin, B.D.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	Clinical Forensic Psychology and Victimology (FP) [Master Psychology]
Date Deposited:	04 Feb 2025 11:19
Last Modified:	04 Feb 2025 11:19
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4588

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