Impact of alexithymia as a mediator in the relationship between early traumatic experiences and emotion regulation difficulties in young adults

BackgroundEarly traumatic experiences have been associated with later difficulties in emotion regulation; however, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship remain insufficiently understood. The objective of the present study was to determine whether alexithymia exerts a mediating role between early traumatic experiences and difficulties in emotion regulation in young adults from Trujillo in 2025.MethodsThe study followed a quantitative approach with a non-experimental, correlational explanatory design of explanatory scope. The sample consisted of 108 young adults, both men and women, aged between 18 and 25 years, from the city of Trujillo, selected through non-probabilistic sampling. The instruments used were the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ), the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ), and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-27).ResultsFindings indicated that a medium level predominated in early traumatic experiences (62%), alexithymia (56%), and difficulties in emotion regulation (72%). Mediation analysis revealed that alexithymia exerted a significant indirect association (95% CI [0.04, 0.31]) in the relationship between early traumatic experiences and difficulties in emotion regulation.ConclusionsThese results suggest that early trauma is associated with emotion regulation difficulties through alexithymia, highlighting its central role as an underlying psychological mechanism in young adults.