Emotion Regulation Abilities Research Articles

Differential effects of trait-like emotion regulation use and situational emotion regulation ability across the affective and anxiety disorders spectrum: a transdiagnostic examination

Here, we investigated the association of different emotion regulation (ER) indices with symptom severity across a large transdiagnostic sample of patients with emotional disorders (cross-sectional approach) and the predictive validity these ER indices have for the outcome of routine care CBT (longitudinal approach). We assessed the trait-like use of adaptive (reappraisal) and maladaptive (suppression, externalizing behaviors) ER strategies via questionnaire as well as the situational ability to regulate emotions with an experimental ER paradigm. Psychopathology was assessed dimensionally using the depression, anxiety, and stress scale. Cross-sectionally symptom severity was predicted by less trait-like use of adaptive and more trait-like use of maladaptive ER strategies, but no associations were found for situational ER ability. This association was more pronounced for depression and stress symptoms rather than anxiety symptoms. In a striking dissociation, the longitudinal analyses revealed the reverse picture: Better situational ER ability, but not trait-like use of ER strategies was associated with less symptom severity after the CBT treatment. Our data argues in favor of a distinction between trait-like and situational ER abilities in individuals with emotional disorders, highlighting challenges in applying adaptive ER strategies in daily life despite demonstrating intact ER skills in experimental settings. Our findings also inform transdiagnostic models of psychopathology and suggest that distress/depression rather than anxiety symptomatology to be driving forces for the occurrence of ER deficits across the depression/anxiety disorders spectrum.

The relationship between emotion regulation ability and anxiety in adolescents: independent and collaborative mediating roles of adaptive and nonadaptive emotion regulation strategies

The relationship between emotion regulation ability and anxiety in adolescents: independent and collaborative mediating roles of adaptive and nonadaptive emotion regulation strategies

Emotion dysregulation in misophonia: Findings from a nationally representative sample

A core feature of misophonia is the emotional distress that occurs in response to specific sounds (e.g., slurping, pen clicking). Despite the theorized connection between emotion dysregulation and misophonia, there is very little research on this topic. Examining emotion dysregulation and identifying the specific emotion regulation deficits that are associated with worse misophonia symptoms would advance our understanding of potential transdiagnostic factors central to misophonia symptoms; thereby informing the development of more targeted interventions. The current study sought to: 1) characterize emotion dysregulation among individuals with misophonia, 2) compare emotion dysregulation between individuals with clinical and subclinical misophonia, and 3) examine the unique role of emotion dysregulation across three domains of misophonia symptoms. This study included a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (N = 4005; 51.5% female; 62.5% White, non-Hispanic). Participants completed self-report questionnaires to assess misophonia symptoms (i.e., misophonia sounds, emotional and behavioral reactions to misophonia sounds, and misophonia-related impairment), stress, and emotion dysregulation. The results revealed participants with misophonia reported significantly worse emotion regulation abilities compared to individuals with subclinical levels of misophonia. In addition, emotion dysregulation was significantly associated with sensitivity to misophonia sounds, reactions to misophonia sounds, and misophonia-related impairment, even after accounting for covariates. Results support emotion dysregulation as an important element in misophonia and suggest certain dimensions of emotion dysregulation should be considered in future research and in the evaluation of treatment strategies used to reduce misophonia symptoms.

Cognitive and affective links between childhood adversity and psychological adjustment in emerging adults with chronic medical conditions.

Childhood adversity has been linked to poor psychological adjustment and decreased emotion regulation (ER) abilities. The extended process model of ER outlines the pivotal role of cognitive appraisals in the generation and expression of emotion as well as the pursuit of ER. The aim of the current study is to examine whether illness-related cognitive appraisals (i.e., illness uncertainty and illness intrusiveness) and emotion dysregulation serially mediate the relationship between childhood adversity and psychological adjustment for emerging adults with chronic medical conditions (CMCs). Participants included 557 undergraduate college students (Mage= 19.53 years, SD = 1.34) enrolled in a Midwestern public university with self-reported CMCs. Participants completed measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), illness uncertainty, illness intrusiveness, emotion dysregulation, anxious symptoms, and depressive symptoms. A path analysis was conducted examining ACEs → cognitive appraisals (i.e., illness uncertainty, illness intrusiveness) → emotion dysregulation → depressive and anxious symptoms. The overall model was significant and predicted 63.5% of the variability in anxious symptoms and 60.2% of the variability in depressive symptoms. All anticipated direct and indirect paths were significant. The current study indicates that greater childhood adversity is indeed associated with negative appraisals of one's CMC, such as greater perceived uncertainty and intrusiveness. Negative illness-related cognitive appraisals thus may limit one's ability to effectively employ adaptive strategies to regulate emotions, which could contribute to greater depressive and anxious symptoms.

Feeling the distance: The relationship between emotion regulation and spatial ability in childhood.

Research has shown experimentallythat if children are taught to use language to create distance (socially, physically, and temporarily) when they revisit a potentially traumatic experience they reduce the intensity of their emotions. Building on this, this study was carried out to explore whether children with better spatial skills are better at such downregulation because of their very aptitude in understanding the concept of distance. Using data from a general-population birth cohort in the UK, the study examined the bidirectional association between emotional dysregulation and spatial ability among children aged 5 and 7 years. The findings reveal a significant reciprocal relationship even after adjusting for family, contextual, and individual confounders including verbal ability: spatial skills at age 5 years were inversely related to emotional dysregulation at age 7 years, and conversely, greater emotional dysregulation at age 5 years was associated with poorer spatial ability at age 7 years. The two paths were equally strong and there was no evidence of differences between them on the basis of sex. Our results suggest that enhancing spatial abilities could be a potential avenue for supporting emotion regulation in middle childhood.

Emotion regulation motives in adolescence shape regulatory strategy use.

Emotion regulation (ER) motives (i.e., the reasons individuals regulate their emotions) are key factors influencing the development of adolescents' ER abilities. However, age- and gender-related trends in adolescents' ER motives, as well as their impact on the use of ER strategies, remain unclear. We recruited 5629 participants from two schools in Southwest China (M = 15.18, SD = 1.73; 45.11% male) to complete the Emotion Regulation Goals Scale and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Linear and polynomial regression analyses were conducted to examine age- and gender-related differences in ER motive patterns. We then tested whether different patterns of ER motives were also associated with participants' habitual use of two common ER strategies. This study revealed nonlinear and diverse age-related differences in adolescents' contra-hedonic and pro-social motives, with notable fluctuations in contra-hedonic motives. Boys exhibited higher levels of contra-hedonic motives, while girls showed higher levels of performance motives. Moreover, ER motives were significantly and broadly associated with individuals' habitual use of reappraisal and suppression. More specifically, pro-hedonic motives were associated with greater use of reappraisal, while contra-hedonic motives were linked to higher levels of suppression. Furthermore, instrumental motives (i.e., performance, pro-social, and impression management) were positively related to both reappraisal and suppression. These findings enhance our understanding of how adolescents' ER motives vary by age and gender, as well as the crucial role different ER motives play in shaping patterns of ER strategy use.

중학생이 지각한 부모 공감과 학교생활적응 간의 관계에서 자기격려와 정서조절능력의 매개효과

The purpose of this study is to increase school life adaptation by confirming the mediating effects of self-encouragement and emotional regulation ability in middle school students' parental empathy and school life adaptation. To this end, 233 middle school students in Busan and Gyeongnam were surveyed, and the data were analyzed with SPSS Ver 27.0. Correlation analysis between variables was conducted, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to verify the mediating effects of self-encouragement and emotional regulation ability, and significance was verified by the method of bootstrapping. The results of the study are as follows. First, there was a positive correlation between parental empathy, self-encouragement, emotional regulation ability, and school life adaptation perceived by middle school students. Second, there was a complete mediating effect on self-encouragement and emotional regulation ability in middle school students' parental empathy and school life adaptation, and emotional regulation ability had a partial mediating effect. These results suggest the importance of self-encouragement and emotional regulation ability that influence middle school students' adaptation to school life through parental empathy.

The role of family conflict and cohesion in adolescents' social responsibility: Emotion regulation ability as a mediator.

The social context is crucial for the adolescent development of self-regulatory skills and social responsibility. To understand the role of social context in adolescent development, the present study examined family predictors (i.e., family cohesion and conflict) of social responsibility, with emotion regulation ability as a mediating process. A total of 828 Chinese adolescents (35.6% female; mean age = 13.92 years, SD = 1.34) were recruited from major Chinese cities, including Hong Kong and Macau. Path analysis revealed that emotion regulation ability mediated the relation between family factors (i.e., family cohesion and family conflict) and social responsibility. That is, the ability to regulate emotions serves as a process between family factors and social responsibility. More specifically, family cohesion was positively associated with emotion regulation ability, whereas family conflict was negatively associated with emotion regulation ability. In turn, emotion regulation ability was positively associated with social responsibility. The results suggested that the family environment and adolescent's emotion regulation ability are important contextual and intrapersonal factors contributing to their development of social responsibility. As an implication, policymakers and practitioners might allocate resources to enrich positive family interactions and cultivate emotional competency to support adolescents' development of social responsibility.

Dance Education in Promoting Children's Sociality and Study on the Role and Mechanism of Emotion Development

As a unique form of education, dance education has a significant impact on children's social and emotional development. Through dance activities, while enjoying the charm of art, children can learn social rules and emotional expression through body language and collective interaction, thus enhancing social communication ability and emotional regulation ability. Dance education not only improves children's physical coordination and creativity, but also promotes the cultivation of empathy and the development of self-cognition through non-verbal emotional communication. This study deeply discusses the mechanism of dance education in children's social and emotional development, and provides a valuable reference for preschool education practice.

The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies between Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Anxiety-Depression Problems in Children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies of ADHD and anxiety-depression problems in children. Using a cross-sectional research design, this study collected a sample of children with ADHD and assessed their ADHD symptoms, anxiety-depression status, and emotion regulation strategies utilizing standardized tools. The data analysis results showed that emotion regulation strategies played a significant mediating role between ADHD symptoms and anxiety-depression problems, indicating that emotion regulation ability in children with ADHD may be an important factor affecting their anxiety and depression. This study not only provides a new perspective for understanding the emotional and behavioral problems of children with ADHD but also offers empirical evidence for developing targeted intervention measures. In the future, training in emotion regulation strategies is expected to become an important part of interventions for children with ADHD.

Meating of the minds: Who denies animal mind in response to the meat paradox?

Most people abhor animal cruelty but choose to eat meat. To resolve feelings of conflict associated with this so-called “meat paradox”, meat-eaters appear to downplay the capacity of animals to think and feel. However, the strength of animal mind denial seems likely to vary between individuals—according to one’s concern for animal welfare or enjoyment of meat, for instance. Across two pre-registered studies (S1: N = 355, S2: N = 251), we examined personality traits, attitudes, and beliefs that may predict the strength of animal mind denial in relation to the meat paradox. Results suggest that those lower in openness/intellect or emotion regulation ability, or higher in meat-commitment, deny animal mind more strongly when reminded of the link between meat eating and animal suffering. We discuss the degree to which these findings align with dissonance-based explanations for animal mind-denial in response to the meat-paradox.

Effectiveness of acute aerobic exercise in regulating emotions in individuals with test anxiety

High levels of test anxiety can cause negative emotional interference and have adverse effects in multiple aspects. It is currently unclear whether acute aerobic exercise can effectively reduce a series of negative emotions triggered by test anxiety. This study investigates the impact of 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on the subjective emotional responses and frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) in individuals with high test anxiety. Forty-four college students with high test anxiety were randomly assigned to an aerobic exercise group and a control group. Each group underwent two tests, involving subjective scale measurements and resting-state EEG recordings, with a seven-day interval between tests. Results showed that after 30 min of moderate-intensity acute aerobic exercise, the intervention group had significantly reduced scores in subjective negative emotional experiences, and FAA indicators significantly increased. The study suggests that acute aerobic exercise can enhance the emotional regulation ability of college students with high test anxiety and reduce their negative emotions.

Parent Facilitation of Child Emotion Regulation in ASD: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.

Parents play a substantial role in their children's emotion regulation (ER) abilities. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulties regulating their emotions, which can manifest as externalizing behavioral issues. Parents of children with ASD facilitate their children's ER development in response to unique challenges and stressors, often developing resiliency but other times contributing to their children's dysregulation and behavioral challenges. It is unclear how much momentary stress attenuates parents' emotional facilitation of child ER and its effect on child behavioral functioning. Using an ecological momentary assessment approach, the current study explores this process by considering how parents of children with ASD facilitate child ER through (1) parent ER ability, (2) emotion socialization style, and (3) expressed emotion. Multilevel models explored the relative influences of parent ER facilitation on the association between momentary parent stress and behavioral intensity. Results suggest that parent ER abilities and specific emotion socialization styles interact with momentary parent stress and child behavior, whereas emotional climate of the home impacts child behavior more directly. The role of parent ER facilitation in the context of parent stress and children with ASD and behavioral problems is complex and multifaceted. Implications for further supporting children's emotional development via parent involvement are discussed.

Predictive utility of emotional regulation abilities for assessing cognitive improvement in depression

ObjectiveTo construct a predictive model for the improvement of cognitive function in patients with depressive disorder treated with SNRIs, based on emotional regulation abilities, and to provide personalized treatment for depressed patients. MethodsClinical data from 170 patients with depressive disorder treated with SNRIs at Tongji Hospital, Shanghai, from December 2017 to May 2023 were collected. Based on whether the MoCA-B total score at 3–6 months post-treatment was at least 2 points higher than at baseline, patients were divided into the cognitive function improved group (n = 80) and the cognitive function not improved group (n = 90). Stepwise logistic regression and LASSO regression were used to select predictive factors, and logistic regression analysis was applied to construct predictive models solely based on emotional regulation abilities, combined with executive functions and HAMD scores. The models were further validated through Bootstrap internal validation, calibration curve plotting, and C-index calculation, and a comparison between the two models was performed. ResultsAn ER model with an area under the ROC curve of 0.817was established using four emotional regulation ability indicators: the valence of reappraised images, the arousal of negative images, the arousal of neutral images, and the success of reappraisal (arousal). Internal validation using Bootstrap showed a C index of 0.817, and clinical decision curves indicated that this model has a significant net benefit with a probability of improved cognitive function ranging from about 20 to 85%. Additionally, an EREH model including emotional regulation ability, executive function, and HAMD score as predictors was constructed using Lasso and logistic regression methods. This model reached an area under the ROC curve of 0.859and clinical decision curves showed high net benefits with probabilities of improved cognitive function ranging from 10 to 100%. The calibration curves of both models coincided well with the actual curves, with the latter having a higher AUC and significant statistical differences between the two models. ConclusionThis study suggests that emotional regulation ability may serve as a predictor for the improvement of cognitive functions in patients with depression depressive disorder treated with SNRIs. However, it is important to note that there may be other factors not covered or included in this study.The predictive model that includes executive functions and HAMD scores offers better differentiation and consistency and is more feasible in clinical practice.

Impact factors for Adolescents’ Emotion Regulation Ability and Choice of Strategy: An Overview

Impact factors for Adolescents’ Emotion Regulation Ability and Choice of Strategy: An Overview

Decision fatigue experience of front-line nurses in the context of public health emergency: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

BackgroundDecision fatigue is a new concept in the field of psychology and refers to a state of fatigue alongside impaired cognitive processing and emotional regulation ability. Previous studies have confirmed that nurses are prone to decision fatigue, and nurses who experience decision fatigue may implement nursing measures that are inconsistent with clinical evidence, thus affecting patients’ benefits. COVID-19, as a large-scale global public health emergency, increased the workload and burden of nurses and aggravated decision fatigue. However, the factors leading to decision fatigue among nurses have not yet been identified.MethodsThis study is guided by interpretative phenomenology. During the epidemic period of COVID-19: From November 2022 to February 2023, a one-to-one, semi-structured in-depth interview was conducted among nurses with decision fatigue experience who were participating in front-line work in Jilin Province using homogenous sampling. The interview recordings and related data were transcribed into text within 24 h, and data analysis was assisted by NVivo 12.0 software.ResultsAfter a total of 14 front-line nurses were analyzed in this study, The thematic level reaches saturation, the findings present a persuasive and coherent narrative, and the study is terminated, and finally extracted and formed three core themes: “Cognition, influence and attitude of decision fatigue”, “Approaching factors of decision fatigue” and “Avoidant factors of decision fatigue”.ConclusionThis study confirmed that decision fatigue was widespread in the work of front-line nurses, affecting the physical and psychological health of nurses, the quality of nursing work, the degree of benefit of patients and the clinical outcome. However, nursing staff do not know enough about decision fatigue, so the popularization and research of decision fatigue should be strengthened. Improve the attention of medical institutions, nursing managers and nursing staff.Some suggestions are put forward for the intervention of decision fatigue through personnel, task, tool and technology, organization and environment.

Psychometric examination of the Japanese version of Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory

ABSTRACT Objective The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) was developed to assess emotion regulation abilities for negative and positive emotions. This study aimed to develop a Japanese version of the PERCI and to examine its psychometric properties. Methods Before the following surveys, we developed a draft of the Japanese version, intending to translate the questions into easy-to-understand Japanese to avoid spoiling the original version’s meaning. We conducted a preliminary survey of 23 undergraduate students, and the results confirmed the face validity of the Japanese PERCI. Second, the first cross-sectional survey examined descriptive statistics, factor structure, internal consistency, and construct validity of the PERCI with Japanese adult participants (165 men and 179 women, mean = 52.07 years, SD = 13.51, age range = 19–83). We also conducted the follow-up survey (103 participants aged 25–83 years) to evaluate the test-retest reliability and construct validity. Results Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the Japanese version had an eight-factor structure. Moreover, it demonstrated good internal consistency, acceptable test-retest reliability, and good evidence of construct validity. PERCI scores were not significantly correlated with expressive suppression, indicating that expressive suppression cannot be considered a maladaptive strategy in Japanese adults and is not directly associated with emotion dysregulation. Conclusions The Japanese PERCI can help assess the ability of Japanese adults to regulate positive and negative emotions. Our findings are expected to further clarify aspects of emotion dysregulation in the Japanese population and can be used as a tool for measuring the effectiveness of psychological interventions.

Knowing me, knowing you: Are people good at regulating their emotions good at regulating another's emotions?

Sometimes we regulate our emotions, and other times we need to regulate the emotions of others. In this investigation, we tested whether the ability to regulate one's own emotions and the ability to regulate other's emotions are related. We assessed regulators' self-oriented emotion regulation ability by measuring their own emotional experiences in a self-oriented emotion regulation task. We assessed regulators' other-oriented emotion regulation ability by measuring the emotional experiences of their targets in an other-oriented emotion regulation task. We found that self-oriented and other-oriented emotion regulation abilities were not significantly related. However, people were better able to regulate targets who were better at regulating themselves. People who frequently used self-oriented emotion regulation strategies (e.g., distraction) had greater self-oriented, but not other-oriented, emotion regulation ability. People with greater self-oriented emotion regulation ability made themselves feel less unpleasant emotions upon regulating their emotions. People with greater other-oriented emotion regulation ability made both the target of regulation and themselves feel less unpleasant emotions upon regulating the target's emotions. The target and regulator also felt closer to one another when the regulator had greater other-oriented emotion regulation ability. These findings suggest that the ability to regulate the emotions of others might be linked to desirable personal and social outcomes, even in interactions among strangers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Maternal emotion regulation abilities affect adolescent depressive symptoms by mediating their emotion regulation ability: An ERP study

Adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) experience significant difficulties in emotion regulation. This study aimed to explore emotion regulation in adolescents with depression using an emotion regulation paradigm combined with event-related potentials (ERP) while investigating the relationship between maternal emotion regulation and adolescent depressive symptoms through a mediation model. Overall, 38 healthy controls (HC) and 57 adolescents with depression (MDD) rated the pictures they saw according to aversive reappraisal (reappraisal of an aversive picture or down-regulate aversive emotions), aversive watch, and neutral conditions. Adolescents with depression gave more negative ratings to aversive images, and the emotional regulation success index (ERSI) of adolescents with depression was lower than that of healthy individuals. ERP data revealed an elevation in late positive potential (LPP) amplitude during the aversive reappraisal and aversive watch conditions compared with that in the neutral condition in the MDD group. Compared with the HC group, adolescents with depression showed larger LPP amplitudes under aversive watch conditions. The aversive reappraisal condition evoked a larger LPP than that in the other conditions in the HC group in the late time windows. The ΔLPP (separating the variability in the ERP wave associated with emotion regulation) was larger in the HC group than in the MDD group. Mediation analysis revealed that maternal emotion regulation influenced adolescent depression levels through its effect on the adolescent’s emotion regulation. These findings provide important insights into the emotion regulation process in adolescents with depression and offer suggestions for clinical interventions.

Study of the Impact of Singing on University Students

This study focuses on the effects of singing on college students' psychological, physiological and social interaction abilities. First of all, we learnt about the current situation and theoretical basis of singing influence research at home and abroad through literature review, and came to the results that singing has a positive influence on college students' emotional regulation, self-confidence enhancement, and teamwork and interpersonal communication abilities. In addition, singing has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system and respiratory system.