UK survey links cognitive distortions, not emotion dysregulation, to IED violence

In a cross-sectional survey of 791 UK adults, greater severity of intermittent explosive disorder symptoms was strongly associated with more frequent violent behaviour. The analysis found that aggression-supportive cognitive distortions, but not emotion dysregulation, statistically mediated this association in the parallel model tested. Because the study collected survey data at a single point in time, the results show statistical relationships rather than establishing cause, direction or changes over time.

The research, published in BMC Psychology, examined whether cognitive distortions and emotion dysregulation could account for different parts of the relationship between IED symptoms and violent behaviour. The researchers tested competing statistical architectures: a parallel model, in which the two proposed mediators account for the association separately, and a serial model, in which cognitive distortions influence emotion dysregulation before the relationship with violent behaviour is assessed. These models were evaluated using bias-corrected bootstrapped inference.

The sample was recruited through Prolific and included 791 adults aged 19 to 81 years. The researchers used validated, multidimensional assessments covering IED symptom severity, aggression-supportive cognitive distortions, emotion dysregulation, trait impulsivity and the frequency of violent behaviour. Trait impulsivity was included as an exogenous covariate, while interaction terms were used to examine whether gender moderated the relationships under study. Robust regression and cross-validation were included in sensitivity analyses.

IED symptom severity had a substantial zero-order association with violent-behaviour frequency, with r = .58. In the parallel mediation model, cognitive distortions were the only statistically significant mediator. The indirect effect through emotion dysregulation was not significant, and the proposed sequential pathway from cognitive distortions to emotion dysregulation was not supported. This does not demonstrate that cognition causes violence or that emotion dysregulation is irrelevant; rather, within the measures and models used, only the cognitive pathway accounted for a unique indirect association.

Gender moderated the direct association between IED symptoms and violent behaviour, with the relationship reported as stronger among males than females. That finding applies to the study sample and its measures and should not be treated as a universal difference between men and women. The authors described aggression-supportive cognitions as a priority for further research on violence-risk formulation and intervention in people characterized by impulsive anger dyscontrol. However, the survey evidence did not test an intervention or establish clinical benefit, and the findings do not support a specific treatment recommendation.

Subject of Research: Cross-sectional analysis of cognitive distortions, emotion dysregulation and violent behaviour in a UK adult sample.

Article Title: Cognitive distortions and emotion dysregulation in the association between intermittent explosive disorder symptom severity and violent behaviour

Article References: Liu, F., Lennox, C., & Leonard, S. (2026). Cognitive distortions and emotion dysregulation in the association between intermittent explosive disorder symptom severity and violent behaviour. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05402-8

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05402-8

Keywords: intermittent explosive disorder, violent behaviour, cognitive distortions, emotion dysregulation, statistical mediation, cross-sectional survey, trait impulsivity, gender moderation, Cognitive, distortions, emotion, dysregulation