The Role of Emotion Regulation as a Mediator Between Difficulties in Emotion Regulation and Aggression and Bullying Behavior in Motorcyclists with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be a cause of criminal behavior, affecting various aspects of an individual's mental health. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of difficulties in emotion regulation on psychiatric symptoms among patients with mild TBI. Methods: This research was a retrospective cohort study that included 120 motorcyclists with mild TBI referred to the psychiatric clinic of Shahid Mostafa Khomeini Hospital, Ilam, during a 23 -month period from January 2017 to March 2019. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with P < 0.05. Results: The results of AMOS analyses revealed a direct path from maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and an indirect path from adaptive cognitive emotion regulation to the relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation (DERS), bullying behavior, and aggression in 120 motorcyclists with TBI. Conclusions: Reducing TBI rates, which is a major public health necessity, may have benefits in terms of reducing crime and improving clinical services.