Negative Life Events and Psychological Distress: The Mediating Role of Thought Suppression
Keywords:
Negative life events, psychological distress, thought suppressionAbstract
This study aimed to examine the mediating role of thought suppression in the relationship between negative life events and psychological distress in a South African adult population. A descriptive correlational design was employed with 423 participants selected based on Morgan and Krejcie's sampling guidelines. Participants completed three standardized instruments: the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5) to assess exposure to negative life events, the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI) to measure thought suppression, and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) to evaluate psychological distress. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated using SPSS-27 to examine bivariate relationships, while structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted in AMOS-21 to test the hypothesized mediating model and assess model fit. Pearson correlation results revealed significant positive associations among negative life events, thought suppression, and psychological distress (r = .41 to .52, p < .001). SEM analysis confirmed that thought suppression partially mediated the relationship between negative life events and psychological distress. The direct effect of negative life events on psychological distress was significant (β = .33, p < .001), as was the path from negative life events to thought suppression (β = .41, p < .001), and from thought suppression to psychological distress (β = .39, p < .001). The indirect effect of negative life events on psychological distress through thought suppression was also significant (β = .16, p < .001). Model fit indices indicated a good fit (χ²/df = 2.37, CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.056, TLI = 0.94). The findings highlight thought suppression as a significant cognitive mechanism that partially explains the link between life adversity and psychological distress. Interventions targeting maladaptive cognitive strategies such as suppression may be essential for mitigating distress, particularly in high-adversity sociocultural contexts.
Downloads
References
1. Baziliansky S, Cohen M. Emotion Regulation and Psychological Distress in Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis. Stress and Health. 2020;37(1):3-18. doi: 10.1002/smi.2972.
2. Boyes M, Hasking P, Martin G. Adverse Life Experience and Psychological Distress in Adolescence: Moderating and Mediating Effects of Emotion Regulation and Rumination. Stress and Health. 2015;32(4):402-10. doi: 10.1002/smi.2635.
3. Pignatiello GA, Griggs S, Hickman RL. Sociocultural Moderators of Emotion Regulation in Family Members of the Critically Ill. Western Journal of Nursing Research. 2022;44(12):1183-92. doi: 10.1177/01939459221124652.
4. Xiaoqing L, Wang B, Tong H, Liu S, Tang HY, Hong J. Predictive Model of Psychological Distress in Patients With Lung Cancer. Cancer Nursing. 2022;45(1):E59-E67. doi: 10.1097/ncc.0000000000000837.
5. Chan JY, Ng DWL, Fielding R, Lam W. Comparing the Experiences of Cancer Survivors Living With Sleep Disturbances Between Differing Levels of Psychological Distress: A Qualitative Study. BMC Psychiatry. 2024;24(1). doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-06344-4.
6. Jin X, Wong CL, Li H, Yao W. ‘I Cannot Accept It’ Distressing Experiences in Parents of Children Diagnosed With Cancer: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2024;81(3):1476-88. doi: 10.1111/jan.16339.
7. Priede A, Hoyuela F, Umaran‐Alfageme O, González‐Blanch C. Cognitive Factors Related to Distress in Patients Recently Diagnosed With Cancer. Psycho-Oncology. 2019;28(10):1987-94. doi: 10.1002/pon.5178.
8. Ragan K, Pugh L, Degnan A, Berry K. Associations Between Coping, Thought Control and Psychological Distress. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist. 2016;9. doi: 10.1017/s1754470x1600012x.
9. Pistorello J, Hayes SC, Costello E, Simpson E, Begin A, Rosen KH, et al. Suppression, Acceptance, and Monitoring of Personally-Relevant Unwanted Thoughts in Women Diagnosed With Borderline Personality Disorder. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology. 2015;6(4):411-32. doi: 10.5127/jep.042614.
10. Talask G, Freitas SBd, Rasmussen MEW, Silva MS, Costa RTd, Dias GP, et al. White Bear Suppression Inventory: Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese. Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. 2018;40(1):47-52. doi: 10.1590/2237-6089-2017-0082.
11. Tedjawidjaja D, Christanti D. Effect of Social Comparison in Social Media on Psychological Distress in Adolescents: Role of Emotion Regulation as Moderator. Journal of Educational Health and Community Psychology. 2022;11(4):836. doi: 10.12928/jehcp.v11i4.25056.
12. Pakenham KI. Investigation of the Utility of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Framework for Fostering Self-Care in Clinical Psychology Trainees. Training and Education in Professional Psychology. 2015;9(2):144-52. doi: 10.1037/tep0000074.
13. Tork AN, Sajjadian I. The Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Based Therapy on Psychological Distress and Negative Automatic Thoughts in Mothers of Children With Cerebral Palsy. Quarterly Journal of Child Mental Health. 2020;6(4):156-67. doi: 10.29252/jcmh.6.4.15.
14. McConachie DAJ, McKenzie K, Morris PG, Walley R. Acceptance and Mindfulness-Based Stress Management for Support Staff Caring for Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2014;35(6):1216-27. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2014.03.005.
15. Lisle Sd, Dowling NA, Allen JS. Mechanisms of Action in the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Problem Gambling Behaviour. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. 2014. doi: 10.1007/s11469-014-9475-4.
16. Nakatani Y, Iwamitsu Y, Kuranami M, Okazaki S, Shikanai H, Yamamoto K, et al. The Relationship Between Emotional Suppression and Psychological Distress in Breast Cancer Patients After Surgery. Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2014;44(9):818-25. doi: 10.1093/jjco/hyu089.
17. Silver JH, Lewton M, Lewis H. Mediators of Negative Content and Voice‐related Distress in a Diverse Sample of Clinical and Non‐clinical Voice‐hearers. British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2022;62(1):96-111. doi: 10.1111/bjc.12396.
18. Nishiyama S, Saito S. Retrieval Stopping Can Reduce Distress From Aversive Memories. Cognition & Emotion. 2022;36(5):957-74. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2022.2071845.
19. Karlou I, Karakasidou E. The Predictive and Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in Substance Use Disorders. The European Journal of Counselling Psychology. 2025. doi: 10.46853/001c.133794.
20. Nelson T, Cherry M. Sister Outsider: Superwoman Schema, Emotion Regulation, and Psychological Distress Among Black College Women. Journal of Black Psychology. 2024. doi: 10.1177/00957984241284985.
21. Zeigler‐Hill V, Lico MP, Rhodes J. Escape From an Unclear Self: Escapism Mediates the Association That Self-Concept Clarity Has With Psychological Distress. International Journal of Personality Psychology. 2024;10:65-76. doi: 10.21827/ijpp.10.41683.
22. Lam W, Yoon S, Sze W-M, Ng A, Soong I, Kwong A, et al. Comparing the Meanings of Living With Advanced Breast Cancer Between Women Resilient to Distress and Women With Persistent Distress: A Qualitative Study. Psycho-Oncology. 2016;26(2):255-61. doi: 10.1002/pon.4116.
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
