Emotion Regulation In Individuals Research Articles

Practice matters: The role of mindfulness skills in emotion dysregulation in borderline personality disorder

Mindfulness skills training constitute a core element of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) that has been proposed as a key component to improve emotion dysregulation (ED) in borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, the relationship between the time spent practicing mindfulness skills at home and changes in ED is not well-understood. This study aimed to determine whether daily mindfulness practice meaningfully improves ED, and, if so, the minimum dose needed to do so. A total of 75 BPD outpatients participated in a 10-week DBT mindfulness skill training program. We systematically tracked the participants' mindfulness practice and their ED levels throughout the sessions. A total of 499 observations were recorded. We used multilevel modeling with a time-lagged approach to investigate the association between weekly practice and ED over time. Greater mindfulness practice predicted improvements in ED in the following week. A bidirectional relationship was also found; a higher level of ED impaired subsequent mindfulness practice. When accounting for the previous week's ED level, participants who practiced ≥3 days and >30 min per week experienced a statistically significant decrease in ED compared to those who did not engage in regular practice. These results highlight the key role of mindfulness practice as a behavioral component to improve emotion regulation in individuals with BPD. These findings suggest that therapists should inform patients about the minimum dose of mindfulness practice needed to improve emotion regulation in order to adjust expectations and improve treatment outcomes.

Towards an Affective Intelligent Agent Model for Extrinsic Emotion Regulation

Emotion regulation is the human ability to modulate one’s or other emotions to maintain emotional well-being. Despite its importance, only a few computational models have been proposed for facilitating emotion regulation. None of them prepare a plan of all the actions necessary for emotion regulation customized to the needs of a specific individual. To address this gap, we propose a computational model for an intelligent agent which, grounded in a multidimensional emotion representation, facilitates emotion regulation in individuals. This computational model is based on J. Gross’s theoretical framework of emotion regulation. An intelligent agent selects the most appropriate regulation strategy to maintain an individual’s emotional equilibrium considering the individual’s personality traits. A dynamic planner prepares a plan of emotion regulation actions which is dynamically adapted according to the emotional changes observed in the individual after applying the previous emotion regulation actions. This refinement of the initial regulatory action plan allows the proposed emotion regulation agent to adapt the plan to the specific characteristics of the individual, facilitating the individual to improve their emotion regulation capabilities and improve their emotional health.

Healing Spaces as a Design Approach to Optimize Emotional Regulation for Patients with Mood Disorders

Healing spaces have played an important role in human history as arenas for healing and restoration of physical health. Current research from across disciplines identifies that engagement with space for people with mental illness can reduce emotional stress and thus improve health. This research leads to the central question of this paper: How do people with mood disorders achieve emotional regulation through healing spaces? In response to this question, this paper investigates the effects of sensory experience and architectural space on emotion regulation, with a particular focus on healing spaces. It proposes a model to analyze and explain how the design and use of healing spaces can create emotional experiences that stimulate patients’ senses and facilitate emotional regulation in individuals with mood disorders. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding how elements of healing spaces affect patients’ senses and contribute to the quality of emotion regulation. The paper argues that healing structures can effectively enhance the emotional experience of a space by creating a positive spatial atmosphere, thereby aiding in the healing process for patients with mood disorders. This paper’s analysis of the existing literature identifies key mechanisms by which healing spaces promote emotion regulation-healing structures-and breaks them down into three main structures: (a) Safety Guarantees Physical and Mental Development; (b) Functionality Supports the Treatment Process; (c) Ambiance Promotes Emotional Comfort, this study examines existing evidence to determine how healing structures promote emotionally regulated treatment. The study also explores representative examples of healing spaces and how they utilize spatial elements to stimulate the patient’s senses. This research results show that healing structures directly influence or facilitate eight primary spatial elements (color and form, light, sound, air and temperature, nature, materials, play and games, and activity and communication) which incorporate one or more dimensions of healing. Therefore, this paper aims to enhance our understanding and awareness of the correlation between interior space, human senses, and healing structures.

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training (DBT-ST) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on Cognitive Emotion Regulation in Individuals with Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder

Objective: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is the most common personality disorder in psychiatric settings and one of the disorders that causes the most harm to individuals. The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training (DBT-ST) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on cognitive emotion regulation in individuals with symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder. Methods and Materials: This research was a semi-experimental study, utilizing a pre-test, post-test design with a control group and a follow-up period. The statistical population included all clients aged 18 to 45 who referred to counseling centers in the city of Sari during the first half of 2022 and had files. From all these individuals, those willing to cooperate were selected through purposive non-random sampling, resulting in a sample of 45 participants. These individuals were then randomly assigned to three groups (Group 1: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training, n = 15; Group 2: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, n = 15; and Group 3: Control group, n = 15). Data collection was conducted using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire by Garnefski et al. (2001). The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training group (2003) participated in 12 weekly 90-minute group sessions, and the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy group (2002) participated in 8 weekly 90-minute group sessions. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Findings: The results indicated that Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy were effective on cognitive emotion regulation in individuals with symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (P = 0.001). There was a significant difference in the effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on cognitive emotion regulation between the experimental groups and the control group. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, through individuals' cognitive coping strategies, can lead to improvements in psychological indicators and enhancement of mental health in individuals with symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder.

EMOTION REGULATION IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: EFFECTS ON ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION- A SCOPING REVIEW

Comorbid conditions, such as anxiety and depression, pose diagnostic challenges due to their complex interaction with core autism spectrum disorder features. Emotion regulation is a key concept in the transdiagnostic framework which suggests shared cognitive and behavioral processes among mental disorders. The review aims to examine the emotion regulation effects on anxiety and depression in autism spectrum disorder. A systematic search was conducted from December 2022. to May 2023., using SCOPUS and Google Scholar, with predefined eligibility criteria. Analysis of the twelve included publications unveiled emotion regulation challenges in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Importantly, these maladaptive strategies were found to be significantly linked to symptoms of anxiety and depression. These findings emphasize the need for interventions that specifically target and improve emotion regulation in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. By enhancing their emotional regulation skills, it may be possible to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression in this population.

Effectiveness of Contextual Schema Therapy for Extreme Perfectionism and Emotion Regulation in Individuals with Perfectionism Disorder

Background: Individuals are consistently influenced by ineffective core beliefs known as maladaptive schemas that develop during childhood and can pave the way for the appearance of problems such as extreme perfectionism. Therefore, therapeutic approaches are needed that can be effective for these schemas. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of contextual schema therapy (CST) on perfectionism and emotion regulation in individuals with perfectionism disorder. Methods: In this study, 12 individuals diagnosed with perfectionism disorder visiting the psychological service centers in Tehran in 2022 were purposively selected for this quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, mid-test, and post-test design. The participants underwent CST in 40 one-hour sessions and completed the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in all three stages of the assessment. The data were analyzed using the repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS-26. Results: The mean and standard deviation (SD) of perfectionism in the pre-test, mid-test, and post-test phases were 151.08 ± 18.97, 94.25 ± 12.48, and 67.58 ± 5.41, respectively. Moreover, the mean ± SD of emotion regulation in the pre-test, mid-test, and post-test phases were 40.25 ± 8.95, 45.50 ± 8.12, and 50.08 ± 7.94, respectively. The results demonstrated that the CST was effective for perfectionism across all assessment stages (P < 0.001); however, this influence was not significant for emotion regulation during the mid-test stage. Conclusions: Contextual schema therapy led to a reduction in extreme perfectionism and an improvement in emotion regulation in individuals with perfectionism. It is suggested that CST be applied in psychological service centers to reduce perfectionism and emotion regulation strategies in clients.

Believing in Change Matters! The Role of Emotion Malleability Beliefs in Emotion Regulation and Paranoid Ideation

Abstract Purpose Beliefs that emotions can be changed (i.e., malleability beliefs) are relevant to emotion regulation. Emotion regulation plays a crucial role in severe mental health symptoms, such as paranoid delusions, but it remains unknown to which extent malleability beliefs contribute to a dysfunctional pattern of emotion regulation in individuals experiencing paranoid ideation. Therefore, we investigated whether malleability beliefs are associated with paranoid ideation and whether emotion regulation accounts for this association. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional assessment in a sample of individuals with psychotic disorders (n = 50) and a community sample (n = 218) and collected self-report data on malleability beliefs, the use of emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal, acceptance, rumination, expressive suppression, experience suppression), and paranoid ideation. Results Multivariate regressions showed that greater beliefs that emotions are malleable predicted more reappraisal and acceptance in both samples and less rumination in the community sample. Malleability beliefs did not predict the strategies of suppressing an emotion or its expression. In the community sample, but not in the clinical sample, greater beliefs that emotions are malleable were associated with less frequent paranoid ideation and emotion regulation accounted for significant variance in the relationship. Conclusions The findings indicate that malleability beliefs do not contribute to paranoid delusions in individuals with psychotic disorders. However, in individuals with subclinical paranoid ideation, a failure to perceive emotions as malleable could hinder adaptive attempts to regulate emotions leading to increased negative affect and thereby pave the way for paranoid ideation. Malleability beliefs may thus represent a promising target for prevention.

Improved depressive symptoms, and emotional regulation and reactivity, in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea after short- and long-term CPAP therapy use

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is associated with high rates of depression; however, if and how treatment of OSA improves depressive symptoms is unclear. To further understand this link we considered the role of emotional regulation – the ability to control and express our emotional responses – thought to be a central component of depression. This study aimed to assess changes in depressive symptoms and emotional responses in individuals with OSA after 4- and 12-months of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment. One-hundred and twenty-one OSA participants (50 female, Mage = 51.93; mean AHI = 36.27) were recruited from a tertiary clinical sleep service prior to CPAP initiation, and randomised to either a CPAP group or a 4 month wait-list group. Participants completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Emotional Reactivity Scale and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale at baseline, and 1-, 2-, and 4-months follow-up. The CPAP group also completed the questionnaires 12-months after CPAP initiation. CPAP use at 1 month and 12 months was 5.1h/night and 4.9h/night, respectively. Significant improvements in depressive symptoms, emotional regulation and reactivity, and subjective sleepiness were observed after 4 months in both groups, however, the within group changes were only significant for those using CPAP. After 12-months of CPAP treatment, these improvements were maintained. There was no association between CPAP treatment adherence and improvements in any outcome. CPAP treatment for 12 months may reduce symptoms of depression and improve emotional regulation in individuals with OSA.

Psychometric Properties of Interpersonal Regulation Questionnaire for Chinese College Students: Gender Differences and Implications for Well-Being.

Intrapersonal emotion dysregulation has been found to be a transdiagnostic predictor in the development of almost all affective disorders. Interpersonal resources are also involved in achieving people's emotion regulation goals. The Interpersonal Regulation Questionnaire (IRQ) has been developed to assess the tendency and efficacy of people using external resources to help manage their emotions. Under the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of interpersonal emotion regulation in individuals' adjustment and well-being remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the optimal factor structure of the IRQ in Chinese culture using an exploratory structural equation modeling approach and to examine the associations between interpersonal emotion regulation, tested by the IRQ, and young people's intrapersonal emotion dysregulation and social and emotional well-being. The sample consisted of 556 college students aged from 17 to 31 from Mainland China. Factor analyses suggested that the four-factor structure was the optimal model for the current data. Females reported a higher tendency to use external resources to regulate their negative emotions and higher efficacy in regulating negative emotions. The Chinese version of the IRQ (C-IRQ) presented adequate psychometric properties and would be a useful tool for measuring interpersonal emotion regulation behaviors.

Anxiety, concerns and emotion regulation in individuals with Williams syndrome and Down syndrome during the COVID-19 outbreak: a global study

Individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) have been reported to experience increased levels of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our study, we document how individuals with Down Syndrome (DS; N = 557; Mage = 16.52; 233 female) and Williams syndrome (WS, N = 247; Mage = 18.43; 113 female) experienced the first wave (April 2020–May 2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world. Using multilevel linear mixed regressions, we studied (a) parental reported anxiety of individuals with DS and WS, (b) these individuals’ specific concerns, and (c) their use and efficacy of emotion regulation (ER) strategies during the first wave of COVID-19. Predictors of anxiety, such as the age of the individual with NDC, type of condition, and time, were investigated. Individuals with WS experienced higher levels of anxiety compared to those with DS and the older the individuals with NDC were the more anxiety they experienced. In terms of concerns, group effects indicated that individuals with WS scored higher for most of the concerns. There were no gender differences in concerns, yet most of the concerns increased with age except for concerns about loss of routine, boredom, loss of institutional support and family conflict. Finally, significant group effects were found and indicated a more frequent use of a variety of adaptive and maladaptive ER strategies in individuals with WS. We did not identify group differences in the efficacy of ER strategies. Our results indicate that individuals with WS are likely to exhibit higher levels of anxiety, but also higher levels of concerns depending on their age. Similarly, individuals with WS use a variety of ER strategies more frequently but these strategies are not necessarily more efficient for them. We discuss the impact of these findings in relation to anxiety identification and support across individuals with NDCs.

Distress tolerance and emotional regulation in individuals with alcohol use disorder.

Previous research suggests that low distress tolerance may be associated with poor emotion regulation, contribute to drinking to cope motives, and predict alcohol-related problems in non-clinical populations. However, little is known about the ability to tolerate distress among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and its association with emotional dysregulation. The aim of this study was to examine the link between emotional dysregulation and a behavioral measure of distress tolerance among individuals with AUD. The sample consisted of 227 individuals with AUD enrolled in an 8-week abstinence-based inpatient treatment program. Behavioral distress tolerance was assessed using a test of ischemic pain tolerance and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) was used to assess emotion dysregulation. Distress tolerance was significantly associated with emotional dysregulation even when accounting for alexithymia, depressive symptomatology, age, and biological sex. The current study provides preliminary support for an association between low distress tolerance and emotion dysregulation in a clinical group of patients with AUD.

Emotional non-acceptance mediates the relationship between insecure attachment and specific psychopathology in women with eating disorders.

Insecure attachment is considered a general risk factor for eating disorders (ED). Emotion dysregulation has been proposed as one of the possible mechanisms by which attachment insecurity may affect ED psychopathology. Aim of the present study was to investigate whether difficulties in acceptance of emotions or emotional clarity may mediate the connection between insecure attachment and ED psychopathology. One hundred and twenty patients participated and completed the Italian version of Eating Disorder Inventory-2, Experience in Close Relationship questionnaire and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. A mediator path model was performed, in which insecure attachment dimensions were set as independent variables, ED specific psychopathology measures as dependent variables, and non-acceptance of emotion and lack of emotional clarity as mediators. The association between both attachment avoidance and anxiety and ED specific symptoms was mediated by emotional non-acceptance, but not by emotional clarity. This study showed the importance to address emotion regulation in individuals with ED, focussing on improving emotional acceptance. Exploring early developmental processes which lead to non-acceptance of emotions could improve this psychological trait in people with ED.

Differing associations of depersonalization with physiological response during rest and breath-focused mindfulness in a trauma-exposed female population

BackgroundDissociative and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are commonly co-occurring responses to psychological trauma. Yet, these two groups of symptoms appear to be related to diverging patterns of physiological response. To date, few studies have examined how specific dissociative symptoms, namely, depersonalization and derealization, relate to skin conductance response (SCR), a marker of autonomic function, within the context of PTSD symptoms. We examined associations among depersonalization, derealization, and SCR during two conditions – resting control and breath-focused mindfulness – in the context of current PTSD symptoms. MethodsSixty-eight trauma-exposed women (82.4% Black; Mage = 42.5, SDage = 12.1) were recruited from the community for a breath-focused mindfulness study. SCR data were collected during alternating resting control and breath-focused mindfulness conditions. Moderation analyses were conducted to examine relations among dissociative symptoms, SCR, and PTSD for these different conditions. ResultsModeration analyses revealed that depersonalization was linked to lower SCR during resting control, B = 0.0005, SE = 0.0002, p = .006, in participants low-to-moderate PTSD symptoms; however, depersonalization was associated with higher SCR during breath-focused mindfulness, B = −0.0006, SE = 0.0003, p = .029, in individuals with similar levels of PTSD symptoms. No significant interaction between derealization and PTSD symptoms on SCR was observed. ConclusionsDepersonalization symptoms may associate with physiological withdrawal during rest, but greater physiological arousal during effortful emotion regulation in individuals with low-to moderate levels of PTSD, which has significant implications for barriers to treatment engagement as well as treatment selection in this population.

Childhood maltreatment and emotion regulation in everyday life: an experience sampling study

Childhood maltreatment is a major risk factor for psychopathology, and increasing evidence suggests that emotion regulation is one of the underlying mechanisms. However, most of this evidence comes from single assessments of habitual emotion regulation, which may not overlap with spontaneous emotion regulation in daily life and which fail to account for within-individual variability in emotion regulation across multiple contexts. In the present study, we investigated the relation between history of childhood maltreatment, positive and negative affect, and multiple dimensions of spontaneous emotion regulation (strategy use, emotion regulation goals, emotion regulation success and effort) in everyday life, using experience sampling method (3 assessments/day, for 10 consecutive days), in a sample of healthy volunteers (N = 118). Multilevel modeling results indicated that childhood maltreatment was associated with lower positive affect and higher negative affect. Childhood maltreatment was also related to lower use of reappraisal and savoring (but not suppression, rumination and distraction), reduced emotion regulation success (but not effort), as well as lower levels of and higher within-individual variability of hedonic (but not instrumental) emotion regulation goals. These results provide ecological evidence for multiple differences in emotion regulation in individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment.

Craving, distress tolerance, emotion dysregulation, and experiential avoidance among patients in early recovery from opioid use disorder in residential programs

ABSTRACT Objective Craving has been identified as a major factor in substance use relapse and studied in conjunction with distress tolerance. This research aimed to investigate the mediating roles of experiential avoidance and difficulties in emotion regulation in individuals recovering from opioid use disorder in the early stages. Methods The research involved 241 adult males in residential treatment centers. To be eligible for inclusion, participants must have a self-reported abstinence period of at least three months at the time of data collection. The structural model showed strong fit indices (GFI = 0.913, RMSEA = 0.075, SRMR = 0.047), with low distress tolerance determining high craving. Furthermore, only experiential avoidance and not emotion dysregulation mediated this path significantly. Conclusions The significant mediating effect of experiential avoidance rather than emotion dysregulation could be interpreted as the study participants would not see their distress as just unpleasant feelings. This implies that craving may be viewed as a private experience comprised of thoughts, feelings, memories, emotions, and bodily sensations. Thus, focusing on experiential avoidance might be more beneficial for individuals in the early stages of recovery from opioid use disorder in a residential program.

Supporting emotion regulation in individuals with ASD , ADHD and bipolar disorder through trauma‐informed instruction and self‐regulation strategies

Supporting emotion regulation in individuals with <scp>ASD</scp> , <scp>ADHD</scp> and bipolar disorder through <scp>trauma‐informed</scp> instruction and <scp>self‐regulation</scp> strategies

Supporting emotion regulation in individuals with ASD, ADHD and bipolar disorder through trauma‐informed instruction and self‐regulation strategies

Since the beginning of the COVID‐19 pandemic, students have endured drastic changes in educational routines. Such disruptions can be especially challenging for students who struggle with executive functioning, self‐regulation and emotion regulation, such as students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder. Using a framework of trauma‐informed instruction, the authors supported classroom teachers in implementing sensory spaces for students with ASD, ADHD and bipolar disorder. The project included professional development and funding for teachers to develop, procure and offer sensory tools and strategies to assist students in recognising and managing emotions. The authors collected data on the effectiveness of the sensory supports, combining teacher surveys and student behaviour data. Results indicated increased teacher knowledge on trauma‐informed instruction and use of sensory supports to promote executive functioning and self‐regulation and decreased target behaviours in students based on structured observation and anecdotal teacher feedback.

Exploring the links between alexithymia and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in internet addiction: A network analysis model.

Alexithymia and emotion regulation are closely related to internet addiction. However, no research has examined how the different components of alexithymia are associated with cognitive emotion regulation in the context of multi-strategy use in internet addiction. The current study aimed to investigate the relation between alexithymia and cognitive emotion regulation in individuals with internet addiction via network analysis. Participants included 560 students with Young’s Internet Addiction Test scores greater than 50 points; they were also asked to complete the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). The results revealed two bridge nodes emerging within the combined alexithymia and cognitive emotion regulation network model: “catastrophizing” and “externally oriented thoughts.” These findings indicate a more specific relation between alexithymia and cognitive emotion regulation and provide empirical evidence for targeted prevention and targeted interventions for internet addiction.

Dysfunction of Emotion Regulation in Mild Cognitive Impairment Individuals Combined With Depressive Disorder: A Neural Mechanism Study.

Depression increases the risk of progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia, where impaired emotion regulation is a core symptom of depression. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the decreased emotion regulation in individuals with MCI combined with depressive symptoms are not precise. We assessed the behavioral performance by emotion regulation tasks and recorded event-related electroencephalography (EEG) signals related to emotion regulation tasks simultaneously. EEG analysis, including event-related potential (ERP), event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP), functional connectivity and graph theory, was used to compare the difference between MCI individuals and MCI depressed individuals in behavioral performance, the late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes, neural oscillations and brain networks during the processing of emotional stimuli. We found that MCI depressed individuals have negative preferences and are prone to allocate more attentional resources to negative stimuli. Results suggested that theta and alpha oscillations activity is increased, and gamma oscillations activity is decreased during negative stimulus processing in MCI depressed individuals, thus indicating that the decreased emotion regulation in MCI depressed individuals may be associated with enhanced low-frequency and decreased high-frequency oscillations activity. Functional connectivity analysis revealed a decrease in functional connectivity in the left cerebral hemisphere of the alpha band and an increase in functional connectivity in the right cerebral hemisphere of the alpha band in MCI depressed individuals. Graph theory analysis suggested that global network metrics, including clustering coefficients and disassortative, decreased, while nodal and modular network metrics regarding local nodal efficiency, degree centrality, and betweenness centrality were significantly increased in the frontal lobe and decreased in the parieto-occipital lobe, which was observed in the alpha band, further suggesting that abnormal alpha band network connectivity may be a potential marker of depressive symptoms. Correlational analyses showed that depressive symptoms were closely related to emotion regulation, power oscillations and functional connectivity. In conclusion, the dominant processing of negative stimuli, the increased low-frequency oscillations activity and decreased high-frequency activity, so as the decrease in top-down information processing in the frontal parieto-occipital lobe, results in the abnormality of alpha-band network connectivity. It is suggested that these factors, in turn, contribute to the declined ability of MCI depressed individuals in emotion regulation.

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Bowenian Family Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment-based Therapy (ACT) on Cognitive Emotion Regulation of Mothers with One Child

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Bowenian family therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on the difficulty in regulating the emotion of mothers with one child. Methods: This was a descriptive quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design with two experimental groups and a control group. The statistical population of the study included all mothers with only one child of preschool age in Kermanshah kindergartens in 2019. A total of 45 people were selected through convenience sampling and 15 people were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. Data were collected in the pretest-posttest stages with a scale of difficulty in emotion regulation (Grotz and Roemer, 2004). After pre-testing, members of the two experimental groups participated separately in eight 1.5-hour weekly sessions of Bowenian family therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy. Analysis of covariance and Bonferroni post-hoc test were used to analyze the data. Results: The results of analysis of covariance showed that the effect of Bowenian family therapy and the effect of acceptance and commitment based therapy on difficulty in emotion regulation in individuals is significant (P&lt;0.05). Also, differences in the two treatment groups for the dimensions of emotional rejection, difficulty in performing behavior, difficulty in controlling impulse, lack of emotional awareness, limited access, and lack of clarity, respectively, the amount of F statistic; 4.771, 4.461, 3.524, 3.399 and 5.720 with significant levels were 0.026, 0.005, 0.011, 0.001, 0.003 and 0.009, respectively. The results of Bowenian test showed that due to the size of the differences, the effectiveness of acceptance-based and commitment-based therapy in combining with other interventions on the difficulty of emotion regulation and its related components was higher (P &lt;0.05). Conclusion: Psychologists, when faced with problems of mother-child interaction, evaluate the mother in terms of the level of cognitive emotion regulation and other psychological variables affecting emotion regulation and use effective treatment methods if there is a problem.