Emotion Regulation Strategies Research Articles

Emotion-specific vocabulary and its relation to emotion understanding in children and adolescents.

Among children and adolescents, emotion understanding relates to academic achievement and higher well-being. This study investigates the role of general and emotion-specific language skills in children's and adolescents' emotion understanding, building on previous research highlighting the significance of domain-specific language skills in conceptual development. We employ a novel inventory (CEVVT) to assess emotion-specific vocabulary. The study involved 10-11-year-old children (N = 29) and 16-17-year-old adolescents (N = 28), examining their emotion recognition and knowledge of emotion regulation strategies. Results highlight the ongoing development of emotion-specific vocabulary across these age groups. Emotion recognition correlated with general vocabulary in the younger group. In the older age group, emotion recognition was related to emotion-specific vocabulary size, but this effect only became apparent when controlling for the depth of emotion-specific vocabulary. Against expectation, there were no significant contributions of general or emotion-specific vocabulary to knowledge of emotion regulation strategies in either age group. These findings enhance our comprehension of the nuanced interplay between language and emotion across developmental stages.

Inhibition and Activation Systems of Behavior and Suicide Mediating Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation

Objective: This study aimed to predict suicide attempts based on behavioral activation and inhibition systems (BAS/BIS) with the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation (CER) strategies among adolescents of Abyek City. Materials and methods: The research methodology was descriptive-correlational. The cluster sampling method was used, and the resulting sample included 194 adolescents who responded to the BAS/BIS questionnaire (Carver & White, 1994), CER questionnaire, and Beck scale for suicide ideation. Path analysis was employed to evaluate the proposed model using AMOS 24.0 and SPSS 27 softwares. Results: The findings indicate that the proposed model is fitted with the data well. The results of path analysis showed that the BAS/BIS systems explain 27% of the variance of maladaptive CER and 61% of the variance of adaptive CER. In addition, maladaptive CER, BAS, and BIS explain 65% of the variance of suicide attempts. Conclusion: Low levels of BAS, high levels of BIS, and the use of maladaptive CER skills can be considered risk factors for suicide attempts in adolescents.

Maternal distress during the COVID-19 outbreak: A socio-ecological perspective.

Mothers faced an increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other populations. However, there is little data on the factors that placed mothers at increased risk of distress. The present study explored a range of individual, familial, and environmental factors associated with psychological distress in mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This repeated cross-sectional study was composed of a convenience sample of mothers who completed an online survey that included a demographic questionnaire, an emotion regulation questionnaire, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scale. The survey was administered during the second and third lockdowns in Israel in 2020-2021. The study included 575 mothers (M age = 39). The findings of a hierarchical regression indicated that individual-level factors, composed of age and emotion regulation tendencies predicted psychological distress. The family-level factors of household income and number of children in the family also predicted distress. In terms of environmental-level factors, COVID-19-related media consumption and school status (open or closed) were also significant predictors of psychological distress. Importantly, the results showed that the most important predictors of psychological distress in mothers during the COVID-19 outbreak were school closures, household income, and the use of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. The findings highlight the intersection of individual, familial, and environmental factors in mothers' mental health during crises.

You’re not alone: imagery rescripting for adolescents who self-harm

IntroductionNon-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), which refers to the deliberate act of causing harm to one’s own body without the intent to commit suicide, occurs in 20% of youth. Interestingly, approximately 90% of individuals who engage in self-harm report intrusive mental imagery thereof shortly prior to the act of NSSI. Previous research has demonstrated that imagery rescripting (IR) is an effective technique to treat intrusive mental images and associated clinical symptoms, such as emotion dysregulation, in various psychiatric disorders. However, there is no research on IR for adolescents who self-harm. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of a two-session short-intervention using IR to reduce NSSI and associated clinical symptoms in adolescents. The intervention was supported by an app-based digital health intervention (DHI).MethodsA single case series A-B design with three post-assessments (1 week, 1 month, and 3 months post-intervention) was implemented. Seven adolescents received two treatment sessions of IR, supported by a DHI between sessions. NSSI (SITBI), emotion regulation (ERQ), emotional distress (BDI-II, STAI-T), self-efficacy (WIRKALL_r), and treatment satisfaction (BIKEP) were evaluated.ResultsThere was an increase in adaptive emotion regulation strategies up to 3 months post-intervention. Furthermore, patients improved regarding their self-efficacy, depressiveness, anxiety, and NSSI symptomatology. The developed DHI was described as a helpful and supportive tool.ConclusionThe intervention has shown initial evidence to be feasible and beneficial for adolescents conducting NSSI. The DHI has demonstrated to be a valuable tool in the treatment of self-harming youth.

Relationships between emotion regulation strategies and executive functions in adolescence: Exploring the effects of discrete emotions and age.

Emotion regulation (ER) develops during adolescence and contributes to psychosocial adjustment. Individual differences in the development of ER strategies may be related to cognitive processes responsible for managing goal-directed behaviors, namely executive functions (EFs). This study examined (1) examined how difficulties in specific EFs (i.e., inhibition, flexibility and working memory) predict the use of ER strategies (i.e., reappraisal, distraction, expressive suppression, rumination, support-seeking) in an emotion-specific approach and (2) investigated these links across three different age groups (corresponding to early, middle and late adolescence), considering the nonlinear evolution of the relationships between EF and ER strategies during adolescence. The sample was composed of 1076 adolescents aged from 12 to 19 years old who completed questionnaires on EF difficulties (i.e., inhibition, flexibility, and working memory) and ER strategies (i.e., distraction, reappraisal, expressive suppression, social support-seeking, and rumination). Results showed various complex relationships between EFs and ER. Flexibility issues were related to rumination at all ages, while inhibition and flexibility difficulties were negatively linked to reappraisal in mid- to late adolescence. Many relationships were emotion- and age-dependent. These findings support the link between cognitive and emotional regulatory processes. Its complex evolution during adolescence opens a new avenue for future research.

Momentary Emotion Regulation Strategies and Pain Experience Among Adults With Chronic Pain: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.

The intention of this study was to characterize the real-time momentary relationship between emotion regulation strategies and the pain experience (ie intensity, interference, and negative affect) among adults with chronic pain. Chronic pain is a significant public health concern. Psychological treatments are effective for treating chronic pain, but long-term follow-up studies are limited, and treatment effect sizes are small. Identifying modifiable treatment targets, such as emotion regulation (ER), is critical to improve interventions. ER (ie, cognitive and attentional strategies to modulate or maintain emotional experience) has been linked to psychopathology and pain experience in adults. Yet, the existing work is limited and has largely focused on the relationship between emotional experience, not ER, and pain. The current study utilized ecological momentary assessment 53 adults with chronic pain. Participants completed ecological momentary assessments of pain experience and ER strategies 5 times a day for 7 days. Associations by specific strategy type were also examined, highlighting the importance of worry, experiential avoidance, rumination, and expressive suppression in pain experience. Results of the current study provide evidence for the association between within-person maladaptive ER strategies and pain intensity ( b = 2.11, SE = 0.37, P < 0.001), pain interference ( b = 1.25, SE = 0.40, P = 0.002), and pain-related negative affect ( b = 2.20, SE = 0.41, P < 0.001). (77.4% females; M age = 27.10 y, SD = 5.16 y). Given that ER is readily targeted in psychological treatments for chronic pain, the results from the current study provide initial evidence to target these ER strategies in treatment.

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

The Level of Meta-Emotional Skills and Emotional Regulation Strategies among Mothers of Children with Cancer

The current study aimed to discover the level of meta-emotional skills and emotional regulation strategies among mothers of children with cancer. The sample of the study consisted of (102) mothers of children with cancer in the House of Wisdom Association at Irbid. Moreover, to achieve the objectives of the study two scales were used: meta-emotional skills (Paterson, et al, 2012), and the emotional regulation strategies scale (Araujo, et al, 2020). The results of the study showed that the level of meta-emotional skills and emotional regulation strategies among mothers of children with cancer was low, as well as there was a positive correlation between the level of meta-emotional skills and emotional regulation strategies among mothers of children with cancer. One of the most prominent recommendations was developing meta-emotional skills and emotional regulation strategies among mothers of children with cancer through treatment programs that focus on emotions.

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.

Regulating others' emotions: An exploratory study of everyday extrinsic emotion regulation in university students

Emotion regulation predicts important life outcomes including psychopathology, social outcomes, work performance, and academic achievement. Extrinsic emotion regulation strategies (the strategies used to influence others' emotions) are under-studied relative to intrinsic regulation strategies (the strategies used to regulate one's own emotions). In the current study, we used experience sampling to examine participants' extrinsic emotion regulation strategies. Participants (165 university students) reported the strategies they used to regulate others' emotions on 30 occasions over 5 days. The findings suggest that participants frequently report regulating others' emotions and report using receptive listening and reframing more than humor and distraction. Empathy, conscientiousness and agreeableness were associated with differences in the use of extrinsic emotion regulation strategies. These findings help characterize everyday extrinsic emotion regulation strategies and how these strategies relate to other individual differences.

중년기 은퇴불안이 심리적 안녕감에 이르는 적응과정

Background/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of each variable by applying the Double ABC-X model to the adaptation process from middle-aged retirement anxiety to psychological well-being. Methods: Collected data from 361 working middle-aged were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 23.0. Results: T he accumulated stressors(aA), resources(bB), cognitions(cC), coping, and adaptation(xX) variables of the model were substituted with middle-aged retirement anxiety(aA), self-efficacy(bB), emotional awareness clarity(cC), adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategy(coping), and psychological well-being(xX). The study results were as follows: first, aA was found to have a negative direct effect on bB, cC, and coping. Second, bB and cC in the middle-aged had a direct positive(+) effect on coping. Third, bB, cC, and coping in the middle-aged had a direct positive(+) effect on xX. Final, the aA indirectly affects psychological well-being through bB, cC, and coping, and bB and cC have an indirect effect on xX through coping. As a result of confirming the goodness of fit of the Double ABC-X model, the goodness of fit for the structural model of this study was CMIN/DF=1.940, GFI=.955, AGFI=.926, RMR=.034, RMSEA=.054, NFI=.945, CFI=.972, TLI=.961, which met the acceptance criteria, and as a result of pathway analysis, all 8 pathways were found to be significant at the p&lt;.05 or higher level. Conclusion/Implications: As the influence of the variables applied from the Double ABC-X model is all significant, it is meaningful that the adaptation process of middle-aged retirement anxiety to psychological well-being was explained using the Double ABC-X model. In addition, the importance and application of cognitive emotion regulation strategy intervention were discussed and suggested.

Somatoform Symptoms and Functional Impairments During Middle Childhood

Abstract: Theoretical Background: Studies have shown that attachment is associated with somatoform symptoms in childhood, yet factors that mediate the association need to be explored. Objective: To examine emotion regulation strategies as a mediator between insecure attachment dimensions and somatoform symptoms and symptom-related impairments in quality of life (QoL). Method: A total of 221 fourth-grade school children in Germany completed the SOMS-KJ, FEEL-KJ, and ECR-RC. Results: In the path model, attachment-related anxiety was positively associated with social support seeking and emotional expression, while attachment-related avoidance was negatively associated with these, yet positively associated with emotional suppression. Both emotional suppression and social support seeking were positively associated with somatoform symptoms and symptom-related impaired QoL. Discussion and Conclusion: Differential pathways exist from insecure attachment dimensions to increased somatoform symptoms, indicating that children require specialized emotion competence training.

Links Between Daily Life and Laboratory Emotion Regulation Processes: The Role of Age and Cognitive Status.

This study investigates how daily use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies predicts ER processes in the laboratory among young adults and cognitively diverse older adults. Young adults (aged 21-34, n=66), cognitively normal older adults (CN; aged 70-83, n=87), and older adults with researcher-defined mild cognitive impairment (MCI; aged 70-84; n=58) completed an experience sampling procedure (7x/day for 9 days) reporting their distraction and reappraisal use in daily life. In a laboratory task inducing high-arousal negative emotion, they reported their (a) distraction and reappraisal use when instructed to reduce negative emotion and (b) ER success and perceptions when randomly assigned to regulate using distraction or reappraisal. Among CN older adults, higher frequency of using a strategy in daily life predicted greater success deploying the strategy when instructed to do so but was unrelated to spontaneous strategy use in the laboratory. In contrast, among older adults with researcher-defined MCI, greater daily life strategy use predicted greater laboratory use, but not greater success. Daily strategy use in younger adults was unrelated to strategy use and success in the laboratory. Older adults with researcher-defined MCI experienced ER as more demanding but did not differ from non-impaired individuals in terms of perceived ER effort. Cognitively normal older adults may be better able to leverage their ER experience in novel contexts than younger adults. Older adults with MCI may be motivated to manage their emotions but experience more ER difficulty, perhaps in part due to reliance on default strategies.

Believing in conspiracy theories: The role of emotional granularity and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic has accelerated the spread of conspiracy theories. Previous research has found that individuals who struggle with emotion regulation are more prone to believing in conspiracy theories. Emotional granularity, or the ability to differentiate between nuanced emotional states, is a key component of effective emotion regulation, yet its relationship with conspiracy beliefs has not been explored thoroughly. Thus, we conducted an experience‐sampling study (165 participants, mean age = 26.32 years) including measures of emotion regulation and differentiation. The findings revealed that individuals who endorse conspiracy theories engage in repetitive thinking about the causes and consequences of events and exhibit a reduced ability to distinguish between negative emotions. This effect, however, was observed only in the performance‐based measure of emotion differentiation, not in the self‐report measures. This suggests that enhancing emotional granularity may help individuals in regulating their emotions more effectively, thereby reducing their vulnerability to adopt conspiracy beliefs.

Emotion regulation unveiled through the categorical lens of attachment

BackgroundEmotion regulation, the process by which individuals manage and modify their emotional experiences, expressions, and responses to adaptively navigate and cope with various situations, plays a crucial role in daily life. Our study investigates the variations in emotion regulation strategies among individuals with different attachment styles (AS). Specifically, we examine how individuals with secure, anxious, avoidant, and fearful attachment styles effectively utilize cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression to regulate their emotions.MethodsA total of n = 98 adults were instructed to attend, reappraise, or suppress their emotions while viewing negative and neutral images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) in an experimental emotion regulation task. After completing the task, participants rated the valence and arousal elicited by the images. Attachment styles were measured using the ECR-12 questionnaire and then categorized into four AS.ResultsOur study revealed that individuals with secure AS (n = 39) effectively reduced displeasure through cognitive reappraisal but experienced levels of displeasure with expressive suppression. Anxious AS (n = 16) individuals successfully reduced displeasure using cognitive reappraisal but struggled to regulate arousal and effectively use expressive suppression. Avoidant AS (n = 24) individuals could reduce displeasure with both strategies but experienced high arousal during suppression attempts. Fearful AS (n = 19) individuals effectively regulated both displeasure and arousal using either strategy. However, Secure AS individuals showed superior reappraisal efficacy, significantly reducing arousal levels compared to the Fearful AS group. Both Secure and Avoidant AS groups experienced higher valence during reappraisal relative to a baseline, indicating a decrease in displeasure.ConclusionsIndividuals with different AS exhibit variations in the effectiveness of their use of emotion regulation strategies. Our findings reinforce the significance of AS in shaping emotion regulation processes and emphasize the need for tailored approaches to support individuals with different attachment orientations.

Playing for keeps or just playing with emotion? Studying tilt and emotion regulation in video games

IntroductionIn video gaming, tilt is thought to relate to poor emotional control and game performance. Despite widespread recognition of tilt in video gaming, there is a lack of research examining tilt empirically.MethodsOne thousand and seven gamers took part in our online study examining gamers experience of tilt, the factors which contribute to and protect against tilt, and the emotion regulation strategies gamers employ to deal with tilt.ResultsGamers who reported playing for more competitive reasons, were at higher risk of experiencing tilt. Additional factors associated with an increased risk of experiencing tilt were increased anger and more hours spent playing. Protective factors against experiencing tilt were also identified, inclusive of a greater number of years gaming experience and engagement in adaptive emotion regulation strategies.DiscussionThis study provides an important starting point for creating a better understanding of tilt in gaming, equipping us with new knowledge to better support gamers to improve their emotion regulation during game play performance

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.

The Moderating Role of Poverty on Parenting, Family Climate, and Early Adolescent Emotion Regulation

Among infants and children, family climate (e.g., warmth, cohesion, support) and parent emotion regulation (ER) modeling are found to shape ER development. Few studies have attended to this process during early adolescence, and most have neglected to examine the role of poverty, which creates additional challenges for parents and families. The current study examined the relationship between parent ER strategy use, family climate, and participation in a family intervention on adolescent ER and the moderating role of poverty among early adolescent males ( N = 119; 23% Latino; 55% White). After controlling for baseline adolescent ER difficulties and socio-cultural factors, analyses revealed that poverty moderated the relationship between family emotional climate and adolescent ER. Among early adolescent males, findings suggest that a positive family climate, among those not living in poverty, is key to facilitating adolescent emotion regulation abilities. This relationship warrants further evaluation among adolescent males living in poverty.

The Mask of Sanity? Leader Primary Psychopathy and the Effects of Leader Emotion Regulation Strategies on Followers

Individuals with psychopathic tendencies are sometimes quite capable of acquiring and maintaining leadership positions. One explanation could be that leaders with psychopathic personality profiles “hide behind the mask of sanity” by managing the public display of their emotions so that it positively affects other people's perceptions. We conducted a multisource team study (N = 306 teams) to investigate how leader primary psychopathy and emotion regulation strategies are related to follower perceptions of leader authenticity and follower trust in the leader. We found that leaders with stronger primary psychopathic tendencies would do better to adhere to a strategy of surface acting and refrain from deep acting in order to affect follower trust positively. Perceived authenticity explains the interactive effect of leader emotion regulation and psychopathy on follower trust. We also found that for leaders with higher levels of primary psychopathy deep acting is a less fruitful strategy because they lack the necessary empathic concern, and that the display of naturally felt emotions is a good strategy because it is positively associated with follower trust. We discuss whether the differential use of emotion regulation strategies might explain primary psychopaths’ upward mobility and how their use of emotion regulation strategies could help them to be perceived positively.

Emotion Regulation Strategies and Mental Health in Dementia Caregivers: The Moderating Role of Gender

Introduction: Providing care for a loved one with dementia can engender intense emotions that contribute to symptoms of anxiety and depression. Caregivers often attempt to regulate their emotions using strategies like cognitive reappraisal (CR; changing how they think about the situation) or expressive suppression (ES; hiding their emotions). However, men and women caregivers may differ in their use of these strategies. The current study examines gender differences in reported CR and ES usage and their associations with depression and anxiety in dementia caregivers. Methods: We combined data from three independent studies of informal dementia caregivers (total N = 460) who reported on their use of CR, ES, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Results: Women caregivers reported greater use of CR and less use of ES compared to men. Gender moderated the association between CR and depression, such that greater use of CR in women was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, but not for men. Gender did not significantly moderate the association between ES and depression, or between either emotion regulation strategy and anxiety. Conclusion: Findings of a unique relationship between greater CR use and less depression among women CGs, although correlational, suggest that utilizing CR may be particularly helpful for reducing depression in women caregivers. These results underscore the need for further research to determine how best to support the mental well-being of dementia caregivers.