ABSTRACT

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a form of child maltreatment which has been increasingly recognized as a common experience among men. Research on male CSA remains under-developed but suggests many negative mental health impacts. The current study examined the link between mental health outcomes and different emotion regulation strategies among 69 adult men. Men completed measures on their current mental well-being, and participated in a clinical interview about emotion regulation strategies used to manage memories about their sexual victimization. Results indicated that the most frequently used emotion regulation strategies were expressive suppression, rumination, and cognitive avoidance. For perceived effectiveness, men identified cognitive avoidance, self-medication, and behavioral avoidance as being most helpful in managing their CSA-related distress. Finally, greater use of deliberate self-harm, rumination, and behavioral avoidance was associated with more internalizing difficulties, while greater use of deliberate self-harm and self-medication was linked with more externalizing difficulties. Greater perceived efficacy of positive reappraisal was associated with fewer externalizing behaviors. Although these findings require replication through larger mixed-methods studies, they suggest the importance of incorporating emotion regulation strategies into interventions aimed at improving mental well-being among men with CSA histories.

摘要

童年性虐待 (CSA) 是一种虐待儿童的形式，越来越被认为是男性的普遍经历。对男性 CSA 的研究仍不发达，但表明存在许多负面的心理健康影响。目前的研究检查了 69 名成年男性的心理健康结果与不同情绪调节策略之间的联系。男性完成了对他们当前心理健康的测量，并参加了关于情绪调节策略的临床访谈，这些策略用于管理他们的性受害记忆。结果表明，最常用的情绪调节策略是表达抑制、反刍和认知回避。对于感知的有效性，男性确定了认知回避、自我药物治疗、和行为回避最有助于管理他们与 CSA 相关的痛苦。最后，更多地使用故意自残、反刍和行为回避与更多内化困难相关，而更多地使用故意自残和自我治疗与更多外化困难相关。积极重新评估的更大感知功效与更少的外化行为相关。尽管这些发现需要通过更大规模的混合方法研究进行复制，但它们表明将情绪调节策略纳入旨在改善有 CSA 病史男性心理健康的干预措施的重要性。而更多地使用故意的自我伤害和自我药疗与更多的外化困难有关。积极重新评估的更大感知功效与更少的外化行为相关。尽管这些发现需要通过更大规模的混合方法研究进行复制，但它们表明将情绪调节策略纳入旨在改善有 CSA 病史男性心理健康的干预措施的重要性。而更多地使用故意的自我伤害和自我药疗与更多的外化困难有关。积极重新评估的更大感知功效与更少的外化行为相关。尽管这些发现需要通过更大规模的混合方法研究进行复制，但它们表明将情绪调节策略纳入旨在改善有 CSA 病史男性心理健康的干预措施的重要性。