Abstract

Background and Aim: Suicide and self-mutilation are considered as two of the most unpleasant psychological and social events in adolescents and young people. It may become an important issue in some social conditions; therefore, the present study aims to identify the role of emotion regulation strategies in emotional disorders of soldiers with the history of self-mutilation behaviors. Methods: This is a descriptive study. The study population consisted of all soldiers who served in three military centers (Zanjan, Qazvin, and Tehran) from 2017 to 2018 (August 2017 to November 2018) and had a history of self-mutilation harming behaviors. 92 soldiers who reported at least one self-harm behaviors in the form of self-harm and drug abuse were included in a census. Data were collected using a computerized version of the Millon 3 Multivariate Clinical Trial Questionnaire and the Short Form of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Results: 92 soldiers with mean age of 19.33±7.5 years, and mean length of military service of 14.50±4.9 months participated. More than 71 of them had diplomas. The results of stepwise regression showed that adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies can significantly predict the variance of depressive personality disorder (R2 = 0.21) and anxiety (R2 = 0.11) in soldiers with a history of self-mutilation behaviors. Conclusion: According to the findings, it can be concluded that maladaptive emotion regulation strategies can predict emotional disorders in soldiers with a history of self-harm behaviors. Therefore, it can be effective in preventing some unpleasant actions in these people. © 2020 Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.