(PS3-46) Unraveling pathways from reactive aggression to depression: The role of emotion regulation

Abstract Text: Emotion regulation plays a critical role in children's psychological development and is often associated with a range of adverse emotional and behavioral outcomes, including depression and aggression. Studies suggest that children who experience both depression and aggression may struggle with particularly severe deficits in emotion regulation (Maughan et al., 2014). For instance, children who exhibit reactive aggression may be more likely to experience co-occurring depressive symptoms due to their heightened emotional sensitivity and difficulty regulating negative affect (Orobio de Castro et al., 2005). The goal of this study was to explore relationships between emotion regulation, depression, and reactive aggression in children. We hypothesized that a) poor emotion regulation and poor coping skills would be significantly associated with more depression and reactive aggression and that b) there would be a significant indirect effect of XYZ. SOS. Children (N = 418) between 6 and 17 years old who were receiving either inpatient or outpatient mental health care completed the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), Proactive/Reactive Aggression measure (Dodge & Coie, 1987), and the Children’s Emotion Regulation (CEMS; Anger and Sadness) at the initiation of treatment. The CEMS provides 2 subscales including coping and dysregulation for each emotion. The coping and dysregulation subscales for Anger and Sadness were combined to make a single coping or dysregulation subscale for analyses.
The sample was primarily Black (53%) or White (41%). Most children in the sample were male (73%) with a mean age of 9.44 (SD=2.38). Bivariate correlations established significant relations between CEMS: Dysregulation, CEMS: Coping, reactive aggression, and CDI scores. Results of a serial path model indicated significant direct effects of Dysregulation on depression (β = .20, p < .001), reactive aggression (β = .46, p < .001), and Coping (β = -.27, p <.001). There was also a significant direct effect of reactive aggression on Coping (β = -.15, p = .003). However, the effect of reactive aggression on depression was not significant. Finally, the direct effect of Coping on depression was significant (β = -.17 p < .001). Examination of indirect effects revealed that the indirect effect of the model: dysregulation to reactive aggression to coping to depression was significant (CI = .002 to .05). Results of a Wald Chi-Squared test (χ2 [6, 418] = 31.53 p < .001) indicated that the combined direct and indirect effects in the overall model significantly predicted depression, thus supporting the fit of the model to the data. The findings suggest that poor emotion regulation is related to both reactive aggression and depression, and the relation between emotion regulation and depression can be partially explained by reactive aggression and coping. The results of the current study contribute to a better understanding of the complex emotional processes underlying childhood mental health and behavioral problems and provides support for one way in which emotion regulation influences important psychological and behavioral outcomes.