标题：The Mediating Role of Catastrophizing in the Relationship Between Emotional Clarity and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Among Earthquake Survivors in Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study
摘要：Difficulties in emotion regulation reportedly contribute to the development and
maintenance of PTSD following exposure to natural disasters. Based on the extended
process model of emotion regulation, the present study hypothesized that maladaptive
emotion regulation strategies will mediate the relationship between emotional clarity
and posttraumatic stress symptoms in a sample of earthquake survivors. A total of
195 adult residents of Gyeongju and Pohang, southeastern coastal cities in Korea,
who had experienced recent earthquakes participated in an online survey study.
They completed questionnaires assessing emotional clarity, emotion regulation, and
posttraumatic stress symptoms a year and 10 months after the Gyeongju earthquake
and 7 months after the Pohang earthquake. Bootstrapping procedures were used to
test for a mediation effect. The results suggest that emotional clarity was indirectly
associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms through maladaptive emotion regulation
strategies, especially catastrophizing. The findings suggest that individuals with low
emotional clarity tend to use maladaptive strategies, catastrophizing in particular, which
may contribute to posttraumatic stress symptoms. This may reflect the mechanism
underlying emotional clarity and offer suggestions for target of treatment in the
management of long-term psychological difficulties in earthquake survivors. Replication
of the current results in a sample of patients diagnosed with PTSD is necessary to
better understand the development and progression of the disorder, as well as effective
interventions for PTSD.
