The Mediating Role of Emotional Inhibition on the Relationship between Emotion Awareness Levels and Life Events with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome

The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of emotional inhibition in the relationship between emotion awareness levels and life events associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. The study’s statistical population consisted of all individuals who visited counseling centers in Khorramabad, Doroud, and Boroujerd between 2019 and 2020. A convenience sampling method was employed to select 400 individuals, of whom 283 were women and 117 were men. The research method was descriptive-correlational. Kellner’s Emotional Inhibition Scale (EIS), the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale by Lane and Schwartz (LEAS), the Life Events Checklist by Weathers et al. (LEC-5), and the PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (PCL-5), Fifth Edition by Weathers et al. are all research instruments. The data was analyzed using the structural equation modeling method, and the fit of the measurement model was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis, AMOS 24.0 software, and maximum likelihood (ML) estimation. The indirect path coefficient between life events and post-traumatic stress disorder was positive in the current study, while the indirect path coefficient between emotion awareness levels and post-traumatic stress disorder was negative and significant at the 0.01 level. Based on the results of the present study, psychotherapists and specialists in this field are advised to concentrate on the level of awareness and emotional inhibition of individuals by analyzing their life events in order to mitigate post-traumatic stress syndrome.