Emotion regulation difficulties mediate the childhood trauma–misophonia relationship

In a 2026 study, Kılınçel examined whether emotion regulation difficulties mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and misophonia symptoms by administering the CTQ, DERS, and Misophonia Scale to 294 university students and estimating bootstrapped mediation models and a full path analysis. Childhood trauma, emotion regulation difficulties, and misophonia symptoms were positively correlated. Emotion regulation difficulties fully mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and misophonia, with impulse control difficulties emerging as the most consistent mediator across trauma subtypes. The authors concluded that emotion regulation difficulties may be an important mechanism linking childhood trauma to misophonia symptoms and that interventions should emphasize skills for managing sudden, intense emotional and behavioral reactions (Kılınçel et al., 2026).