Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science (JCBS)
Volume 22, October 2021, Pages 68-73
Authors
Thomas B. Sease, David R. Perkins, Emily K. Sandoz, Hunter Sudduth
Abstract
Within the framework of psychological flexibility, self-concealment is a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy that functions to attenuate negative thoughts and feelings. While research in this area has linked self-concealment to poor physical and psychological health, the antecedents of concealment behavior remain poorly understood. Using a cross-sectional design, this study tested whether negative automatic thoughts mediated the relationship between psychological maltreatment in childhood and self-concealment. It was hypothesized that psychological maltreatment would predict more negative automatic thoughts, which in turn would predict more self-concealment. Results showed psychological maltreatment was positively associated with negative automatic thoughts. Moreover, negative automatic thoughts were positively correlated with self-concealment, indicating that negative automatic thoughts statistically mediated the relationship between psychological maltreatment and self-concealment. This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting negative automatic thoughts may explain the relationship between psychological maltreatment and self-concealment.