The Role of Emotion Dysregulation, Impulsiveness and Rumination in Psychopathology: Evidence from an Italian Sample of Adolescents and Young Adults

Background: Adolescence and emerging adulthood are periods of heightened risk for the onset of psychopathology. Emotion dysregulation (ED), impulsiveness, and rumination are transdiagnostic processes implicated across symptom domains, but their relative contributions in clinical youth samples remain unclear. This study examined these three self-regulatory processes simultaneously in first-time help-seeking adolescents and young adults, addressing their differential associations with psychopathological symptom dimensions at an early stage of clinical contact. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study with a cross-sectional design in outpatients aged 16–25 years presenting for a first-time psychiatric outpatient consultation at a university hospital in Catania, Italy. Participants completed self-report measures of rumination (RRS), impulsiveness (BIS-11), ED (DERS), and psychopathological symptoms (SCL-90-R). Associations were examined using Spearman’s and partial correlations. Multivariate multiple regression, followed by outcome-specific multiple linear regression models, assessed the relative associations of rumination, ED, and impulsiveness across symptom dimensions. Results: Rumination showed the broadest pattern of unique associations, with FDR-significant associations with eight SCL-90-R domains; the largest coefficient was observed for depression (B = 0.053, 95% CI [0.042, 0.064]). ED was associated with obsessive–compulsive symptoms, depression, anxiety, anger–hostility, and phobic anxiety. Impulsiveness showed more limited associations, remaining significant for anger–hostility and psychoticism. Conclusions: Findings are consistent with a transdiagnostic framework in which rumination and ED relate to multiple symptom dimensions, whereas impulsiveness shows more domain-specific associations. Because the study was cross-sectional and based on self-report measures, these associations should be tested in larger longitudinal and multimethod studies.