Emotion Regulation Difficulties as Moderators in the Relation Between Perceived Stress and the Severity of Somatic Symptoms

This study aimed to test whether difficulties in emotion regulation (i.e., strategy, goal, impulse, nonacceptance, awareness, and clarity) moderate the association between perceived stress and the severity of somatic symptoms. Data were collected via an online survey packet including demographic information form, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the somatization subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory. The sample consisted of 759 adults aged between 18 and 62 (M = 22.22, SD = 4.37). Of the participants, 61.3% were female (n = 465), and 38.7 were male (n = 294). The moderation analyses results showed that the total emotion regulation difficulties, as well as two distinct dimensions, i.e., difficulty in strategy and impulse, separately moderated the association between perceived stress and the severity of somatic symptoms. Overall, these findings suggest that total emotion difficulties and difficulties in using effective strategies and avoiding impulsive behaviors when emotions are present might strengthen the association between perceived stress and the severity of somatic symptoms.