Mechanisms Of Emotion Regulation Research Articles

Guided internet-based LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy: A randomized controlled trial among sexual minority men in China

ObjectiveLGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) addresses minority stress to improve sexual minority individuals’ mental and behavioral health. This treatment has never been tested in high-stigma contexts like China using online delivery. MethodChinese young sexual minority men (n=120; ages 16-30; HIV-negative; reporting depression and/or anxiety symptoms and past-90-day HIV-transmission-risk behavior), were randomized to receive 10 sessions of culturally adapted asynchronous LGBTQ-affirmative internet-based CBT (ICBT) or weekly assessments only. The primary outcome included HIV-transmission-risk behavior (i.e., past-30-day condomless anal sex). Secondary outcomes included HIV social-cognitive mechanisms (e.g., condom use self-efficacy), mental health (e.g., depression), and behavioral health (e.g., alcohol use), as well as minority stress (e.g., acceptance concerns), and universal (e.g., emotion regulation) mechanisms at baseline and 4- and 8-month follow-up. Moderation analyses examined treatment efficacy as a function of baseline stigma experiences and session completion. ResultsCompared to assessment only, LGBTQ-affirmative ICBT did not yield greater reductions in HIV-transmission-risk behavior or social-cognitive mechanisms. However, LGBTQ-affirmative ICBT yielded greater improvements in depression (d=-0.50, d=-0.63) and anxiety (d=-0.51, d=-0.49) at 4- and 8-month follow-up, respectively; alcohol use (d=-0.40) at 8-month follow-up; and certain minority stress (e.g., internalized stigma) and universal (i.e., emotion dysregulation) mechanisms compared to assessment only. LGBTQ-affirmative ICBT was more efficacious for reducing HIV-transmission-risk behavior for participants with lower internalized stigma (d=0.42). Greater session completion predicted greater reductions in suicidality and rumination. ConclusionsLGBTQ-affirmative ICBT demonstrates preliminary efficacy for Chinese young sexual minority men. Findings can inform future interventions for young sexual minority men in contexts with limited affirmative supports.

The impact of negative cognitive bias on NSSI: mediating non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies

BackgroundIndividuals may be more likely to engage in NSSI due to negative cognitive bias, while the use of negative emotional regulation mechanisms may further contribute to NSSI. Currently, there is a dearth of studies regarding the correlation among the three variables.MethodThe study employed convenience sampling to collect data via online platforms from a total of 572 college students in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China, over the period of January 2024 to February 2024. The questionnaires comprise the Non-Adaptive Cognitive Emotion Srategy Regulation Subscale, the Negative Cognitive Processing Bias Questionnaire, and the NSSI Questionnaire.OutcomeNegative cognitive bias significantly and directly influences NSSI, as indicated by a beta coefficient of 0.3788 and a confidence interval of [0.2878, 0.4698]. The existence of negative cognitive bias significantly enhances the impact of non-adaptive cognitive emotion control approaches (β = 0.5613, CI [0.4808, 0.6418]). Non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies showed a significant effect on NSSI, as indicated by a beta coefficient of 0.2033 and a confidence interval of [0.0942, 0.3125]. The non-adaptive cognitive emotion control strategy serves as an intermediary between negative cognitive bias and NSSI, explaining 30.12% of the overall impact.In conclusionThe results demonstrate that non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies play a partially moderating role in the relationship between negative cognitive bias and NSSI among nursing students. We emphasize the importance of non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, negative cognitive biases, and NSSI among nursing students. In order to reduce the occurrence of NSSI, it is important for schools, families, and teachers to work together closely and implement a well-organized and efficient intervention to protect the mental well-being of nursing students.

Neural mechanism of non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation in patients with non-suicidal self-injury

BackgroundThe incidence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been on the rise in recent years. Studies have shown that people with NSSI have difficulties in emotion regulation and cognitive control. In addition, some studies have investigated the cognitive emotion regulation of people with NSSI which found that they have difficulties in cognitive emotion regulation, but there was a lack of research on cognitive emotion regulation strategies and related neural mechanisms. MethodsThis study included 117 people with NSSI (age = 19.47 ± 5.13, male = 17) and 84 non-NSSI participants (age = 19.86 ± 4.14, male = 16). People with NSSI met the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, and non-NSSI participants had no mental or physical disorders. The study collected all participants' data of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore the differences in psychological performance and brain between two groups. Afterwards, Machine learning was used to select the found differential brain regions to obtain the highest correlation regions with NSSI. Then, Allen's Human Brain Atlas database was used to compare with the information on the abnormal brain regions of people with NSSI to find the genetic information related to NSSI. In addition, gene enrichment analysis was carried out to find the related pathways and specific cells that may have differences. ResultsThe differences between NSSI participants and non-NSSI participants were as follows: positive refocusing (t = −4.74, p < 0.01); refocusing on plans (t = −4.11, p < 0.01); positive reappraisal (t = −9.22, p < 0.01); self-blame (t = 6.30, p < 0.01); rumination (t = 3.64, p < 0.01); catastrophizing (t = 9.10, p < 0.01), and blaming others (t = 2.52, p < 0.01), the precentral gyrus (t = 6.04, pFDR < 0.05) and the rolandic operculum (t = −4.57, pFDR < 0.05). Rolandic operculum activity was negatively correlated with blaming others (r = −0.20, p < 0.05). Epigenetic results showed that excitatory neurons (p < 0.01) and inhibitory neurons (p < 0.01) were significant differences in two pathways, “trans-synaptic signaling” (p < −log108) and “modulation of chemical synaptic transmission” (p < −log108) in both cells. ConclusionsPeople with NSSI are more inclined to adopt non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Rolandic operculum is also abnormally active. Abnormal changes in the rolandic operculum of them are associated with non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Changes in the excitatory and inhibitory neurons provide hints to explore the abnormalities of the neurological mechanisms at the cellular level of them.Trial registration number NCT04094623

A Narrative Review of the Efficacy of Interventions for Emotional Dysregulation, and Underlying Bio-Psycho-Social Factors.

In this narrative, comprehensive, and updated review of the literature, we summarize evidence about the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing emotion dysregulation and improving emotion regulation in children, adolescents, and adults. After introducing emotion dysregulation and emotion regulation from a theoretical standpoint, we discuss the factors commonly associated with emotion regulation, including neurobiological and neuropsychological mechanisms, and the role of childhood adverse experiences and psycho-social factors in the onset of emotion dysregulation. We then present evidence about pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions aiming at improving emotion dysregulation and promoting emotion regulation across the lifespan. Although our review was not intended as a traditional systematic review, and the search was only restricted to systematic reviews and meta-analyses, we highlighted important implications and provided recommendations for clinical practice and future research in this field.

Exploring emotion regulation mechanisms and attachment styles in individuals with childhood traum

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between childhood trauma and attachment styles, as well as emotional regulation strategies. Data were collected using valid questionnaires examining Childhood Trauma Questionnaire by Bernstein &amp; Fink (2003), Attachment Style scale by Becker &amp; Gilbert (1997) and Emotion Regulation scale by Gross and John (2003). A sample of 150 participants aged 18 to 30 years was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman correlation tests. The analysis revealed a significant correlation between childhood trauma and the use of expressive suppression as an emotion regulation strategy. Individuals with trauma tended to rely more on suppression than cognitive reappraisal. Additionally, anxious and avoidant attachment styles were predominant among participants with childhood trauma, suggesting disruptions in attachment formation due to childhood trauma. In conclusion, childhood trauma significantly influences attachment styles and emotion regulation strategies in individuals.

Influencing Factors and Impact of Emotion Regulation

Emotion regulation refers to the process of regulating and controlling emotions through cognition, emotion and behavior when individuals face different situations. Emotion regulation is a form of human self-control that helps individuals better adapt to their social and life environment. This paper mainly studies the factors that affect emotion regulation strategies. Through a review of these papers, the researcher finds that emotion-related processes change with age. When looking up the articles about the relationship between emotion and age, it is also found that in addition to age, there are many factors affecting the regulation of emotion. Such as mental illness, environmental, background factors, etc. Studies have found that the efficiency of emotional regulation improves with age, and studies have shown differences in emotional expression between boys and girls. In addition, the influence of situational factors on emotion regulation is multifaceted. This article comprehensively considers the influence of different factors on emotion regulation, and provides relevant viewpoints for the study of the mechanism of emotion regulation.

A crowd simulation model based on emotional cognition and contagion for emergency evacuation

Emotion is a crucial factor which influences evacuation effects. However, the studies and quantitative analysis of evacuation emotions, including the emotion generated by external factors and internal personality or cognition levels, emotional contagion evolution, and the regulation mechanism of pedestrians to negative emotion, are still rare. In this paper, an evacuation model based on emotional cognition and contagion (EMECC) is presented. Firstly, individual’s emotion is generated and quantified based on Lazarus’s cognitive theory. Secondly, the emotional contagion between individuals is simulated by SIS (Susceptible Infected Susceptible) infectious disease model. Combining with cellular automata model, an emotion-driven moving rule is proposed to guide pedestrians move towards the directions with more positive individuals so that positive emotions can be spread effectively. Various experiments on model parameters, obstacles, and emotional contagion process are implemented to verify the effectiveness of the EMECC model. The simulation and experimental results show that emotional regulation mechanism can improve pedestrian’s decision-making ability and contagion of positive emotion can accelerate evacuation process. The EMECC model can simulate emotional changes dynamically and guide pedestrians efficiently and reasonably in emergency evacuation.

Exploring the Mechanisms of Emotion Elicitation and Regulation through Music in Music Therapists

This qualitative study investigates the personal emotional experiences and strategies employed by music therapists in India for emotion elicitation and regulation through music. Fifteen certified music therapists participated in semi-structured interviews. An explanatory qualitative research design was employed to gain a comprehensive understanding of these concepts. Interviews were meticulously transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The analysis revealed five broad themes and focus on the integration of personal and professional realms in music therapy, emphasizing tailored interventions, cultural inclusivity, and the transformative potential of music in emotional regulation. Recommendations for future research include longitudinal studies with diverse samples, investigation of technique efficacy across populations, and exploration of cultural competence in music therapy practices.

Emotional Regulation Mechanisms of University Students in Group Work Situations.

A total of 107 students from a Chilean university and a Spanish university, all of them enrolled in the degree in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, participated in the study. The instrument used was the Adaptative Instrument for Regulation of Emotions questionnaire. The analysis of the data shows that there are some significant differences (p ≤ 0.05), between the groups of students who worked virtually and those who worked in hybrid situations, in the aspects related to personal motivations (learn from my classmates, not to disappoint my working group, and enjoying the experience of working in a group). The students who worked online resolved conflicts mainly through individual regulation mechanisms with significant differences in relation to the students who worked in hybrid mode. No significant differences were found in the socioemotional challenges or in the balance of the metacognitive experience. The group that worked in hybrid learning valued group purposes over personal purposes and used the social regulation mechanism over individual regulation in conflict resolution. On the other hand, the group that worked virtually valued group and personal purposes equally and used the mechanism of individual regulation and social regulation to solve difficulties. Differences between students who worked in virtual and hybrid environments may be due to greater social interaction and group dynamics in hybrid environments, as well as differences in culture and access to resources and technology.

Shared and distinct prefrontal cortex alterations of implicit emotion regulation in depression and anxiety: An fNIRS investigation

BackgroundEmotion regulation deficits, particularly in cognitive reappraisal, are crucial in depression and anxiety. However, research on the neural mechanisms of implicit emotion regulation is lacking, and it remains unclear whether these mechanisms are shared or distinct between the two disorders. MethodsWe investigated the neural mechanisms of implicit cognitive reappraisal in 28 individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD), 25 with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and 30 healthy controls (HC) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Participants completed an implicit cognitive reappraisal task and underwent neuropsychological and clinical assessments. ResultsWe found that MDD patients reported higher levels of rumination and lower utilization of cognitive reappraisal, while GAD patients reported reduced use of perspective-taking. Notably, both MDD and GAD patients exhibited decreased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) compared to HC participants during implicit cognitive reappraisal. Specifically, inadequate OFC activation was observed in MDD patients, while GAD patients demonstrated OFC deactivation during the task. Furthermore, DLPFC activation showed a negative correlation with depression severity in MDD patients, while OFC activation was positively correlated with perspective-taking in GAD patients. LimitationsfNIRS has limited depth and spatial resolution. ConclusionOur fNIRS study is the first to reveal shared and distinct neurobiological profiles of depression and anxiety in implicit emotion regulation. These findings underscore the significance of reduced DLPFC/OFC activation in emotion regulation impairment and highlight unique OFC activation patterns in these disorders. These insights have potential implications for developing cognitive-behavioral therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation as treatment approaches.

Impaired implicit emotion regulation in patients with panic disorder: An event-related potential study on affect labeling.

Panic disorder (PD) involves emotion dysregulation, but its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Previous research suggests that implicit emotion regulation may play a central role in PD-related emotion dysregulation and symptom maintenance. However, there is a lack of studies exploring the neural mechanisms of implicit emotion regulation in PD using neurophysiological indicators. To study the neural mechanisms of implicit emotion regulation in PD with event-related potentials (ERP). A total of 25 PD patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) underwent clinical eva-luations. The study utilized a case-control design with random sampling, selecting participants for the case group from March to December 2018. Participants performed an affect labeling task, using affect labeling as the experimental condition and gender labeling as the control condition. ERP and behavioral data were recorded to compare the late positive potential (LPP) within and between the groups. Both PD and HC groups showed longer reaction times and decreased accuracy under the affect labeling. In the HC group, late LPP amplitudes exhibited a dynamic pattern of initial increase followed by decrease. Importantly, a significant group × condition interaction effect was observed. Simple effect analysis revealed a reduction in the differences of late LPP amplitudes between the affect labeling and gender labeling conditions in the PD group compared to the HC group. Furthermore, among PD patients under the affect labeling, the late LPP was negatively correlated with disease severity, symptom frequency, and intensity. PD patients demonstrate abnormalities in implicit emotion regulation, hampering their ability to mobilize cognitive resources for downregulating negative emotions. The late LPP amplitude in response to affect labeling may serve as a potentially valuable clinical indicator of PD severity.

Impact of Acute Alcohol Consumption on Sexuality: A Look at Psychological Mechanisms.

Alcohol's link with sexuality is long-standing and prominent. While research continues to document robust associations between drinking and sexual behavior, attention now centers primarily on evaluating mechanisms and attendant theoretical frameworks to advance our understanding of how alcohol exerts a causal impact. We describe four domains with reliable evidence of alcohol effects: sexualized social perceptions, sexual arousal, sexual risk taking, and sexual assault. We consider three contextual frames: distal factors associated with encountering opportunities for alcohol-involved sex, proximal factors associated with alcohol's acute effects, and distal-proximal interactions. We then examine the empirical support for mechanisms embedded within four theoretical frameworks: alcohol disinhibition, alcohol expectancy, alcohol myopia, and emotion regulation. Support for disinhibition mechanisms is evident with sexual arousal only. Expectancy and myopia mechanisms enjoy support across domains and make up bases for integrative expectancy-myopia causal explanations. Emotion regulation mechanisms evidence preliminary support in risk taking and sexual assault. Implications and future directions are considered. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, Volume 20 is May 2024. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Emotion Regulation in Depression of Physical Achievement Based on Machine Learning

Depression is a clinical disease, mainly accompanied by mood or emotional abnormalities, mainly depression, slow thinking, often accompanied by emotional abnormalities, cognitive behavior, psychophysiological and interpersonal changes or disorders. Here, using static and task-state MRI data, we present a comprehensive study of abnormal neural activity in patients with depression through spatiotemporal, static, and dynamic measures, demonstrating its validity as an underlying biological trait. In order to effectively study the role of emotion regulation in depression, a brain dynamic network synthesis method based on support vector machine model and community detection algorithm was established. We selected data on the mental state of 45 patients from a hospital’s psychiatric disease control center. They had no history of hearing impairment and normal (or corrected) vision. All procedures are agreed in writing by each participant. The results show that this method can effectively reduce the depression degree of the subjects, and the multi-level features of the integration of task activation and task regulation connection reach 81% ( &lt; 0.0010, surrogate test) and 83% (&lt;0.0016, surrogate test), respectively. The recovery of its depressive psychological state has a significant impact. Numerous studies have used various forms of emotional stimuli to reveal abnormal behaviors and neural responses in multi-channel emotional processing in patients with depression, providing valuable insights into the mechanism of multi-channel emotion regulation in depression.

Athletes with Disability: Does Emotional Regulation Affect Mental Toughness?

This study aims to determine the contribution of emotional regulation to mental toughness among athletes with disabilities. The approach used in this research is quantitative. The sampling technique used in this study is saturated sampling. All members of the population became participants in this study. A total of 69 athletes with disabilities who are members of the East Java National Paralympic Committee in Indonesia took part in the XVI National Paralympic Week. Participants aged 14–56 years (mean 29.855; SD 12.008) were grouped into three research based disabilities categoriies based on IPC (International Paralympic Committee) namely physical impairment, intellectual impairment, and vision impairment. The instruments used were the IERQ4S (Indonesian Emotion Regulation Questionnaires for Sport) and the Mental Toughness Scale. JASP (Jeffyes’s Amazing Statistic Program) software was used to analyze the data using linear regression. The results of the study show that emotional regulation contributes 57.6% to the mental toughness of athletes with disabilities in Indonesia with p &amp;lt; .001 and r 0.759. Through the emotional regulation mechanism, athletes with disabilities are able to have mental toughness during training and competition. This study has highlighted the contribution that emotional regulation to mental toughness in athletes with disabilities. This study suggests that athletes with disabilities should be aware of the importance of emotional regulation if they want to be mentally tough. As a conclusion, in addition to physical exercise, sports mental training programs in the field of emotional regulation must be designed.

Specificity of frequency-spatial organization of brain activity in coronary heart disease associated with self-assessment of emotion control in men and women

BACKGROUND: Deficit in the regulation of emotional stress is considered as an important factor in the development of coronary heart disease (CHD). The functions of assessment and regulation of emotions are performed by the structures of the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, the activation and interaction of which differs in men and women. In this regard, the question of the gender specificity of the cortical mechanisms of emotional regulation associated with coronary artery disease is relevant. AIM: To find out the significance of self-assessment of emotional control of behavior (EC) in the frequency-spatial organization of brain activity in men and women with CHD. METHODS: The study was performed in a cardiology clinic involving 56 men (61.2±8.5 years) and 19 women (67.4±4.8 years) diagnosed with CHD. To analyze the frequency-spatial organization of the resting EEG, we used 64-channel EEG recording and calculation of the power of rhythms in six frequency ranges from 4 to 30 Hz using a fast Fourier transform. Spearman's non-parametric correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation of EC as a personality trait according to the questionnaire of emotional intelligence and EEG power indicators. RESULTS: Correlation analysis of EC and average EEG power indicators revealed positive relationships in the range of 4–13 Hz in the group of men and negative in the group of women (0.19 rs 0.28 and –0.20 rs –0.40, respectively; p 0.030). The regional specificity of the detected effect was characterized by a significant relationship between EC and the power of theta 2, alpha 1, 2, presented in the anterior part of the cortex with the dominance of the left hemisphere in men, but in the posterior part of both hemispheres — in women, and the latter effect was limited by theta 2 and alpha 1 frequency. CONCLUSION: The results of the performed analysis of the relationship of EC and regional indicators of resting EEG power in the 6–13 Hz range indicate different forms of control of the emotional state in women and men with CHD.

Impact of IAD on Teenagers Emotion Regulation and Anxiety

The probability of adolescents becoming addicted to the Internet has increased as a result of the increasing number of adolescents using the Internet and media. Internet addiction disorder (IAD) cannot be ignored for the mental health of adolescents. This study examines the harm of IAD on adolescents in terms of mental health from two perspectives: the impact of IAD on adolescents emotion regulation and the cause of adolescents anxiety disorders. IAD affects adolescents proper emotion regulation mechanisms from the step of reconceptualization that affects the process of emotion regulation and causes adolescents to suffer from anxiety disorders, which manifests itself in the impact on adolescents social life and lack of self-confidence in their body image Impact. This study calls for increased societal attention to the impact of IAD on adolescent mental health. This study also may provide a basis for future research on IAD prevention strategies by researchers and mental health professionals.

EEG-based multivariate pattern analysis reveals the control mechanisms of emotion regulation through distancing

Background/objectiveA neurocognitive model of distancing has systematically identified a set of brain regions that support the control mechanisms for emotion regulation (ER). However, the temporal dynamics of these control mechanisms during ER remains unclear. MethodTo address this issue, we recorded behavioral and electroencephalogram (EEG) data to compare proactive and reactive ER modes in an adapted ER task (N = 30 adults). In different ER modes, participants were instructed to downregulate their negative emotional experiences by applying the reappraisal tactic of distancing. ResultsThe behavioral results showed that proactive ER, which involves preparing for the upcoming regulation, reduced the negative emotional experience more than reactive ER, which involves no preparation process, in the reappraisal-negative condition. This indicated that proactive ER was more effective than reactive ER in regulating negative emotions. Event-related potential (ERP) and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) results showed that ER through distancing involved two phases: First, the reappraisal cue enhanced the allocation of attention to activate the mental building blocks and constructed a new perspective in the preparation process. Second, participants who benefited from the preparation process initiated the ER earlier and adaptively re-engaged in the ER if time permitted. ConclusionsTaken together, the control mechanisms underlying the preparation process influence the timing of ER, while the control mechanisms underlying the regulation process determine the regulatory effect.

Emotion regulation effects of Ayahuasca in experienced subjects during implicit aversive stimulation: An fMRI study

Ethnopharmacological relevanceAyahuasca is a beverage used in Amazonian traditional medicine and it has been part of the human experience for millennia as well as other different psychoactive plants. Although Ayahuasca has been proposed as potentially therapeutic as an anxiolytic and antidepressant, whilst no studies have been carried out so far investigating their direct effect on brain emotional processing. Aim of the studyThis study aimed to measure the emotional acute effect of Ayahuasca on brain response to implicit aversive stimulation using a face recognition task in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Materials and methodsNineteen male experienced Ayahuasca users participated in this study in two fMRI sessions before and after 50 min of the Ayahuasca ingestion. Subjects were presented with pictures of neutral (A) and aversive (B) (fearful or disgusted) faces from the Pictures of Facial Affect Series. Subjects were instructed to identify the gender of the faces (gender discrimination task) while the emotional content was implicit. Subjective mood states were also evaluated before Ayahuasca intake and after the second fMRI session, using a visual analogue mood scale (VAMS). ResultsDuring the aversive stimuli, the activity in the bilateral amygdala was attenuated by Ayahuasca (qFDR<0.05). Furthermore, in an exploratory analysis of the effects after intake, Ayahuasca enhances the activation in the insular cortex bilaterally, as well as in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (qFDR<0.05). In the psychometric VAMS scale, subjects reported attenuation of both anxiety and mental sedation (p < 0.01) during acute effects. ConclusionsTogether, all reported results including neuroimaging, behavioral data and psychometric self-report suggest that Ayahuasca can promote an emotion regulation mechanism in response to aversive stimuli with corresponding improved cognition including reduced anxiety and mental sedation.

Attenuated maladaptive emotion processing as a potential mediator of the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and mental health

The emotion processing and regulation mechanisms by which dispositional (personality trait) mindfulness exerts its positive effects on mental health remain unclear. Here, we tested, using structural equation modeling, whether the relationship between higher dispositional mindfulness and better mental health is mediated by reduced maladaptive processing of emotional information (e.g., expressive suppression, impoverished emotional experiences, unprocessed emotions, avoidance, externalizing strategies) and associated lower negative affect, enhanced adaptive processing of emotional information (e.g., cognitive reappraisal) and associated higher positive affect, or a combination of these two emotion processing styles. Dispositional mindfulness, mental health, diverse emotional constructs with adaptive and maladaptive dimensions (including range and differentiation of emotional experiences, use of specific emotion regulation strategies, emotion processing deficits, negative affect repair strategies, negative mood regulation expectancies), and positive and negative affect were assessed using self-report measures in a non-clinical sample of 256 adults. The relationship between higher dispositional mindfulness and better mental health was found to be best explained by reduced maladaptive emotion processing styles and associated lower negative affect, rather than by enhanced adaptive emotion processing and higher positive affect. Further research should investigate whether the same mechanisms explain psychological benefits of cultivated mindfulness in people with low dispositional mindfulness and/or with mental health disorders following mindfulness skills training.

Potential Correlation Between Self-Compassion and Bedtime Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation.

The present research aims to investigate the potential correlations between self-compassion and bedtime procrastination, a significant behavior related to sleep. In this research, we put forward the hypothesis that a reduction in negative affect and the implementation of adaptative emotion regulation strategies can elucidate the established connections between self-compassion and a decreased tendency for bedtime procrastination. Two cross-sectional online surveys (Survey I: n=241 and Survey II: n=546) were carried out via a convenient sampling method. Prior to their inclusion, all participants underwent a thorough assessment to confirm no evidence of clinical insomnia. The study participants in both survey investigations were asked to complete various psychometric assessments, including self-compassion, positive and negative affect, and bedtime procrastination; however, the study participants in Survey II additionally underwent the administration of a cognitive reappraisal assessment. In Survey I, a multiple mediation analysis was conducted to examine the mediating effects of self-compassion on reducing bedtime procrastination through a reduction in negative affect. The results supported the hypothesized relationships, indicating that self-compassion had the expected mediated effects by mitigating negative affective states. However, contrary to expectations, higher positive affect did not mediate the relationship between self-compassion and reduced bedtime procrastination. The findings of Survey II were confirmed through the utilization of path analysis. Moreover, this analysis provided additional evidence to suggest that the mechanism of cognitive reappraisal could account for the observed decrease in negative affect associated with self-compassion. The present study found a notable and sustained impact of self-compassion on reducing instances of delaying bedtime activities. The present research contributes novel empirical evidence suggesting a negative association between self-compassion and the propensity to engage in bedtime procrastination. This relationship can be attributed partly to the implementation of an adaptative emotion regulation mechanism that effectively alleviates negative affect.