Difficulties in emotion regulation among inpatients with substance use disorders: The mediating effect of mature defenses mechanisms

Objective: Although the relationship between Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) and emotion regulation is a topic of great scientific interest, little is still known about the nature of this association. The aim of the present study is to clarify which specific difficulties in emotion regulation describe SUD inpatients, studying whether this relationship is mediated by the use of defense mechanisms. Method: Difficulties in emotion regulation and defense mechanisms were evaluated in 58 SUDs inpatients and 73 community participants. Results: Results showed that SUDs are associated with limited access to emotion regulation strategies when negative emotions are experienced. This relationship between difficulty in accessing emotion regulation strategies and the presence of SUDs was mediated by mature defenses. The more difficulties in accessing such strategies were, the less mature defenses were used; the less mature defenses were used, the more likely the presence of SUDs was. Conclusions: These findings suggest the importance of considering mature defense mechanisms in understanding difficulties in emotion regulation among SUD inpatients. Research and Clinical implications are discussed.