Exploring the Relationship Between Childhood Abuse and Analogue Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The Mediating Role of Emotion Dysregulation

Despite emerging evidence for the central role of emotion dysregulation in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), little is known about the factors that may increase the risk for this dysregulation. One factor that may be worth investigating is childhood abuse, previously found to be associated with both emotion dysregulation and GAD. To begin to explore the interrelationships among these phenomena, the present study examined the mediating role of emotion dysregulation in the relationship between various forms of childhood abuse (i.e., physical, sexual, and emotional abuse) and analogue GAD status in a sample of 396 undergraduates. Findings provided evidence for the mediating role of emotion dysregulation in the relationship between emotional abuse in particular and analogue GAD.