The role of mediating emotional dysregulation in the relationship between early childhood misbehavior and major depression in adulthood Women referring to medical centers and counseling in Tabriz

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of emotional dysregulation in the relationship between early childhood misbehavior and major depression in adulthood of women referred to clinical and counseling centers in Tabriz city. The method of this research was descriptive and based on the mediation model. The statistical population was women with severe depression in Tabriz city who had been referred to medical and counseling centers and received the diagnosis for this disorder. Among them, a sample was selected by non-random sampling method, and Beck Depression Test (BDI-II) was used for accurate diagnosis. And after confirming the said disorder, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Difficulty Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS) were administered to the selected sample. After collecting the data, using SPSS.26 and AMOS.26 software, the first to fourth hypotheses were analyzed using path analysis. The results obtained from the path analysis showed that the total path coefficient between trauma and depression, emotion dysregulation and depression, and trauma and emotion dysregulation (β=0.333, p < 0.01) was positive and significant at the 0.01 level. The use of Baron and Kenny's formula also showed that the coefficient of the indirect path between trauma and depression through emotional dysregulation was positive and significant at the 0.01 level (P <0.01, β = 0.199). It was concluded that emotion dysregulation positively and significantly mediates the effect of trauma on depression. However, because the trauma was significantly and directly related to depression, this mediation was partial.