The Moderating Role of Cognitive Flexibility in the Relationship Between Maltreatment and Emotion Regulation in Adolescence with Childhood Trauma

Background: Adolescence is a developmental period when adverse childhood experiences have a significant impact due to the changes in brain structure and functioning during this period. This research aimed to investigate the relationship between maltreatment and emotion regulation with moderating role of cognitive flexibility in adolescence with childhood trauma. Methods: This study was a descriptive and correlational design. The population of the study consisted of all adolescents who were referred for treatment to the psychological and psychiatric disorders clinics and medical clinics of Shiraz, Iran, in the spring semester of 2021. The population was 250 individuals and among them, 175 were selected as the sample of the research by simple random sampling according to Morgan's table. The research tools were the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ), the Cognitive Flexibility Questionnaire, The psychological maltreatment scale (AMI-24), and the Emotional Regulation Scale. After completing the questionnaires, the data was entered into the SPSS software version 23 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The Pearson test and regression were used to analyze the study.  Results: The results showed that there was a significant negative correlation between maltreatment with emotion regulation (r=-0.531), (P<0.001). The results showed that the interaction of these three variables indicated that cognitive flexibility has a moderating role in the relationship between maltreatment and emotional regulation (β = -0.90, p < 0.01). Moreover, these results indicate that the relationship between maltreatment and emotion regulation in adolescence with high flexibility is higher than in those with low flexibility. Conclusion: This study presents evidence that cognitive flexibility may be moderate when considering the impact of trauma. The developed task could provide a novel way to assess this flexibility within an emotional context.