(PS13-92) Emotion Dysregulation Modulates the Relation Between Emotional Intensity and Biological Stress Dysregulation Among Community Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

IPV is a global health concern (Garcia-Moreno et al., 2006) that is highly prevalent among women, with one in two women reporting IPV during their lifetime (Leemis et al., 2022). The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA)-axis may be particularly important for understanding health outcomes among women experiencing IPV. The HPA-axis plays a central role in regulating the body’s response to stress (McEwen et al., 2003). The HPA-axis is activated in response to both acute and chronic stress exposure (Dempster et al., 2021), resulting in a cascade of events that culminates in the production of glucocorticoids, such as cortisol (McEwen et al., 2003). Elevated levels of cortisol have been documented among women experiencing IPV (Yim & Kofman, 2019). Further, among women experiencing IPV, cortisol has emerged as a treatment-relevant biomarker (Cerda-De la et al., 2023; Goldberg et al., 2023). The current study advances research in this area by examining whether emotion regulation can  modulate cortisol in the daily lives of women experiencing partner violence. Participants were 92 community women experiencing IPV (Mage=41.01, 55.4% white). Participants reported on their negative emotion intensity and regulation thrice daily for 30 days via ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Subsequently, they provided a hair sample, which provided information on average cortisol level (i.e., stress responding) during the 30-day EMA period. Emotion regulation was found to moderate the association between average negative emotional intensity during the 30-day EMA period and hair cortisol levels (b = 0.07, SE = 0.03, t = 2.19, p = .03, 95%CI [0.01, 0.13]). Specifically, negative emotion intensity was significantly and negatively associated with hair cortisol at high (b = -0.37, SE = 0.17, t = -2.21, p = .03, 95%CI [-0.71, -0.04]), but not low (b = -0.09, SE = 0.16, t = -0.57, p = .57, 95%CI [-0.41, 0.23]), levels of emotion dysregulation. Our findings suggest that teaching women experiencing IPV tactics for modulating their negative emotions may reduce their levels of biological stress dysregulation.