(PS4-B45) Clarifying the Link Between Assaultive Trauma and Risky Behavior Across Cisgender Women and Men

Experiencing a traumatic event is surprisingly common with rates as high as 80% in the United States (Benjet et al., 2016). Although it is well-established that trauma exposure has long-term negative sequelae, such as psychopathology (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder), recent accumulating evidence has also revealed a strong association between trauma exposure and engagement in risky behavior, such as substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, and self-harm (Lusk et al., 2017). However, the factors underlying this relationship remain incompletely characterized. Further, while gender differences in trauma exposure are well-established, the extent to which mechanisms may differ across gender groups have not yet been explored. Therefore, the current study aimed to clarify the link between trauma exposure and risky behavior across genders. Specifically, in a sample of 375 community adults aged 18-55 (M/SD=32.98/10.64) with high rates of trauma (76.27% reporting at least one assaultive trauma), we examined whether emotional reactivity mediated the relationship between assaultive trauma and past month risky behavior and explored whether this effect varied as a function of gender (178 identified as cisgender women, 47.60%) at each path in the mediation model (i.e., moderated-mediation). Results revealed that emotional reactivity partially mediated the relationship between assaultive trauma and past month risky behavior, as the direct effect from assaultive trauma to past month risky behavior remained significant (𝛽 = 0.21, SE=0.03, p < 0.001) when accounting for the significant indirect effect via emotional reactivity (𝛽 = 0.02, SE=0.01; 95% CI = 0.002/0.056). Further, the index of moderated-mediation was also significant (Index = -0.142, 95% CI = -0.325/-0.009), which indicates that emotional reactivity mediated the relationship between assaultive trauma and past month risky behavior for women but not for men. These results have important clinical implications, as they suggest that emotional reactivity may be a proximal target for clinical intervention to aid in the reduction of post-trauma risk taking for women; however, this may be less effective for men. Therefore, to increase person-centered clinical interventions, future work should aim to clarify the factor(s) linking assaultive trauma to risky behavior for men.