Coping Self-Efficacy and PTSD in Individuals with Substance Use Disorder: The Role of Emotion Regulation

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can result from experiencing a single or multiple traumatic event(s), and often co-occurs with substance use disorders (SUD). Coping self-efficacy (CSE) and emotion regulation difficulties have been independently associated with both PTSD and SUD. However, no studies have examined these constructs in tandem as predictors of PTSD, nor has this been studied among a sample of individuals with SUD. The purpose of the current study was to assess the main effects and interaction between CSE and emotion regulation difficulty as predictors of PTSD symptom severity in a sample of 126 individuals in residential substance use treatment. Regression analyses indicated that CSE and emotion regulation difficulty independently predicted PTSD. However, when placed in the model together, CSE did not predict PTSD and there was no interaction between CSE and emotion regulation. These findings suggest that emotion regulation ability may be more significant than CSE in predicting PTSD.