Abstract
Aim of the studyDifficulties with emotion regulation can be found in most mental disorders. However, we know little about the changes in negative and positive emotions during the treatment process. The presented longitudinal study, therefore focuses such changes and investigates acceptance and suppression, separately for negative and positive emotions during the treatment process. The goals were to investigate if there is a measurable change of acceptance and suppression of negative and positive emotions during the course of treatment of depressive patients and to investigate how the results of such patients at the end of their treatment compare to those of healthy controls.Subject or material and methodsSubjects were 40 depressive patients and 29 healthy controls. The Beck-Depression-Inventory and the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory were used to assess the level of symptoms. The Emotion Acceptance Questionnaire - to assess acceptance and suppression of negative and positive emotions - was used twice: once at the beginning and once at the end of the inpatients’ treatment.ResultsDepressive patients reported reduced acceptance of positive and negative emotions compared to controls, but they additionally suppressed emotions more intensively. Suppression of negative and positive emotions throughout the study was related to the level of depression and anxiety symptoms.DiscussionThe analysis showed a significant improvement of emotion regulation strategies, towards the end of treatment. However, patients did not reach the same level of capabilities as healthy controls.ConclusionsFor future research, we suggest to extend the study by observing the specifics of emotion regulation changes over a longer period of time.
Highlights
During the past two decades, emotion regulation has become one of the most intensely developed and functional emotion regulation) [2,3,4,5]
Difficulties associated with adaptive and functional emotion regulation are characteristic to most mental disorders
Acute and long-term negative emotions are typical in anxiety and depressive disorders
Summary
During the past two decades, emotion regulation has become one of the most intensely developed and functional emotion regulation) [2,3,4,5]. Difficulties associated with adaptive and functional emotion regulation are characteristic to most mental disorders. Apart from difficulties in the implementation of individual plans, emotion regulation deficiencies can intensify the experience of emotional states, impact psychosocial functioning and contribute to deterioration in general well-being. Dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies prevent people from stopping, eliminating or alleviating difficult emotional states. What is more, they often lead to mental disorders [6]. Acute and long-term negative emotions are typical in anxiety and depressive disorders This suggests that ineffective emotion regulation has a significant role in the development and maintenance of mental disorders [7,8,9,10,11]. Emotional response can affect health indirectly by activating certain unfavorable or even destructive behavior patterns associated with worsening health, for example in the form of depression or the destructive mechanisms of emotion regulation in alcohol addiction [16,17]
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