Despite the devastating impact of affective dysregulation in posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), there has been little research on how trauma relate
s to affect regulation. This study examines the relationship between the co
gnitive capacity to control mental images and symptoms of individuals with
(N = 23) and without (N = 23) PTSD after exposure to SCUD missile attacks d
uring the Gulf War. The capacity to control mental images, symptoms of post
trauma, anxiety, and anger were assessed. PTSD subjects with a high image c
ontrol reported a higher capacity to control anger, lower levels of anger s
tate and expression, and lower levels of intrusive symptoms compared with P
TSD subjects with low image control. In individuals without PTSD, results s
how that the better the image control, the lower the control of anger and t
he higher the expression of anger. Image control seems to play different fu
nctions in the emotional regulation of normal subjects (facilitatory) and P
TSD patients (protective).