Abstract
The aim of the present study was to assess the role of empathy in mediating the association between difficulties in emotion regulation and hostility. Three hundred and sixty young Italian adults (220 women and 140 men) were enrolled in the study. Psychopathological assessments included the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the Buss–Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI). Perspective taking (PT) and Personal distress (PD) are significantly associated with both DERS total score and BDHI total score. A mediational model analyzing the direct and indirect effects of DERS on BDHI through the mediating role of PT and PD showed that the relation between DERS and BDHI was partially mediated by PT total score (b = 0.16; se = 0.01; p = 0.02). Taken together our findings support the possibility that PT skills could play a crucial role in inhibiting hostility behaviors.
Highlights
Emotion regulation consists of “the extrinsic and intrinsic processes responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions, especially their intensive and temporal features, to accomplish one’s goals” (Thompson, 1994)
Preacher and Hayes’ (2008) strategy indicated that the total effect of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) on the Buss–Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI) was significant (b = 0.25; se = 0.02; p < 0.001), with more severe difficulties in emotion regulation being associated with more severe hostility (Figure 1)
The relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation and hostility was partially mediated only by Perspective taking (PT), with higher scores on the DERS being associated with lower PT scores, which were associated with higher BDHI scores [b = 0.02; se = 0.01; p = 0.02;]
Summary
Emotion regulation consists of “the extrinsic and intrinsic processes responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions, especially their intensive and temporal features, to accomplish one’s goals” (Thompson, 1994). Difficulties in emotion regulation have been increasingly associated with the development and maintenance of several mental-health problems and maladaptive behaviors (Amstadter, 2008; Gillanders et al, 2008; Aldao et al, 2010; Jimenez et al, 2010; Marroquín, 2011; Aldao and Mennin, 2012; Berking et al, 2012; Svaldi et al, 2012). Difficulties in emotion regulation seem to be related with both internalizing (e.g., major depression and anxiety disorders) (Mennin et al, 2007; Nolen-Hoeksema et al, 2008; Contardi et al, 2013) and externalizing behavior problems (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) in adolescents and young adults (for a review see Steinberg and Drabick, 2015).
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