Abstract

According to the cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), negative appraisals and negative emotions are key factors in PTSD symptoms. Moreover, emotion regulation strategies (ERS) may affect the severity of PTSD symptom differ ently. This study investigated the reported types and frequency of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors, and the effects of counterfactual thinking (CFT) and ERS on trauma-related emotions in daily life via ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Data from 59 women who experienced IPV within the past year were analyzed. The results demonstrated that cognitive re appraisal may modulate the relationship between upward CFT and trauma-related emotions (B= -0.012, p= .005), but the ef fect of emotion suppression was not statistically significant (B= -0.006, p= .365). Especially, upward CFT may demonstrate a greater impact on trauma-related emotions in individuals who use a lower degree of cognitive reappraisal in daily life than in participants employing a higher degree. Conversely, although downward CFT also increased trauma-related emotions, nei ther type of ERS moderated this relationship (cognitive reappraisal: B= -0.069, p= .129; emotion suppression: B= -0.004, p= .947). These findings extend prior research on the effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal by reinforcing its ecological valid ity and emphasize the need for further investigations.