Sease, T. B., Perkins, D. R., Sandoz, E. K., & Sudduth, H. (2021). Automatic Thoughts: Understanding the Precursors of Self-Concealment within the Psychological Flexibility Framework. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 22, 68-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2021.09.008
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.
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