Objective: The current study explored emotion regulation strategies (ie, suppression, cognitive reappraisal, experiential avoidance) as mediators in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and social anxiety.
Participants: One hundred and ninety-three undergraduate students (Mage = 19.5 years; 83.9% female) were recruited from a public university in the northeastern United States.
Methods: Participants completed measures assessing childhood maltreatment, emotion regulation strategies, and social anxiety.
Results: Structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediation paths. Childhood maltreatment was negatively associated with cognitive reappraisal and experiential avoidance, and positively associated with suppression. Higher suppression was associated with higher social anxiety, and higher experiential avoidance was associated with lower social anxiety. The association between childhood maltreatment and symptoms of social anxiety was mediated by suppression and experiential avoidance, but not cognitive reappraisal. All other paths were nonsignificant.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that treatments for childhood maltreatment should aim to bolster experiential avoidance and minimize suppression to address social anxiety symptoms.
Keywords: Childhood maltreatment; college students; emotion regulation; social anxiety.