Abstract
Stressful life events can influence the way in which young adults respond to their environments in later years. If a stressful life event is central to one's identity, the individual may respond to stress in maladaptive ways. The current study aimed to look at the relationships among this type of stressful event, emotion dysregulation, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Emotion dysregulation was hypothesized to mediate the relationship between the centrality of a stressful life event and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), as well as between centrality and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The study also aimed to explore the relationship between the experience of stressful life events and negative coping styles, such that emotion dysregulation is a full or partial mediator between centrality and negative coping style. The study recruited young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 (n = 249, M = 23.60). In this young adult sample, 71.9% are White, 39.9% work full-time, and 49.4% attend college/university full-time. The study expected to find support for the idea that centrality influences emotional and psychological responses to stressful stimuli. Common stressful life events include changes in sleep patterns (25.3%), changes in residence (28.1%), and major changes in work hours or conditions (28.1%). In this sample, 12.9% of young adults endorsed self-injury as a coping strategy in the past year, with 17.3% reporting ever engaging in NSSI. In stressful situations, participants report overeating (27.0%), biting fingernails (25.8%), and drinking lots of coffee (25.0%) as maladaptive coping strategies. Indeed, centrality of a stressful life event significantly predicted symptoms of depression and anxiety. Results also found two significant mediator effects. Emotion dysregulation was found to mediate the relationship between centrality and symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as between centrality and a negative coping style. Results of the study indicate that young adults who experience stress have higher levels of emotion dysregulation and use maladaptive coping skills..