A-195 The Indirect Effects of Repetitive Negative Thinking and Emotion Dysregulation on the Association Between Attentional Control and Anxiety Symptoms

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Attentional control has been found to influence the ability to effectively down-regulate negative emotional states and attenuate intrusive negative thinking. The present study aims to clarify the unique effects of attentional control on anxiety symptoms through perseverative negative thinking and emotional dysregulation. Method: A sample of undergraduate psychology students (n=741) completed the Attentional Control Scale-Straightforward (ACS), the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ), the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale-Short Form (DERS-SF), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). A parallel mediation model was tested in the PROCESS macro in SPSS using 10,000 sample bias-corrected bootstrapping. Results: Attentional control was negatively associated with emotional dysregulation, B=-.30, [-.41, -.18], repetitive negative thinking, B=-.37, [-.50, -.24], and anxiety symptoms, B=-.07, [-.11, -.02]. Repetitive negative thinking, B=.13, [.11, .16], and emotional dysregulation, B=.06, [.03, .09], were both positively associated with anxiety symptoms. There was an indirect effect of attentional control on anxiety symptoms through both repetitive negative thinking, B=-.05, [-.07, -.03], and emotional dysregulation, B=-.02, [-.03, -.01]. The direct effect was no longer significant after accounting for repetitive negative thinking and emotional dysregulation in the model, B=.00, [-.04, .04]. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the relationship between attentional control and anxiety symptoms can be explained by emotion dysregulation and repetitive negative thinking. Future research focusing on whether the use of attentional and cognitive resources can prospectively predict emotion regulation and perseverative negative thinking may assist with better understanding the mechanism of attentional and cognitive intervention techniques.