Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY, cilt.45, sa.10, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
The persistence of distressing memories is a core feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both the phenomenological characteristics of these memories and individual differences in emotion regulation are known to influence PTSD maintenance, yet the interplay between these factors is not well understood. This study examined the distinct pathways through which two emotion regulation strategies-cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression-are associated with traumatic stress via their influence on the characteristics of traumatic memory. A sample of 278 adults (211 female, 76%; 67 male, 24%) who reported experiencing a traumatic event completed an online survey assessing emotion regulation styles, phenomenological qualities of their traumatic memory (e.g., vividness, coherence, centrality), and current traumatic stress symptoms. The mean age of the participants found to be 27.80 years (SD = 4.5), with a range of 18 to 43 years. As statistical analyses, two separate structural equation models were tested. Results supported the proposed models. Cognitive reappraisal was found to be associated with traumatic stress through a pathway of enhanced event characteristics and increased voluntary recall. In contrast, suppression was related to traumatic stress through a pathway involving heightened event characteristics and memory intrusion. These findings suggest that emotion regulation strategies do not act in isolation; rather, they shape the way traumatic events are processed in memory, which in turn drives trauma-related distress. This highlights the clinical importance of targeting maladaptive memory processes, such as rumination and intrusion management, in therapeutic interventions for PTSD.