Levels Of Emotional Awareness Research Articles

Emotional awareness for self and others and empathic abilities in clinical depression during acute illness and recovery

BackgroundThe present longitudinal investigation had two major goals. First, we intended to clarify whether depressed patients are characterized by impairments of emotional awareness for the self and the other during acute illness and whether these impairments diminish in the course of an inpatient psychiatric treatment program. Previous research based on the performance measure Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) provided inconsistent findings concerning emotional self-awareness in clinical depression. Second, we investigated whether cognitive and affective empathic abilities change from acute illness to recovery in depressed patients.MethodsFifty-eight depressed patients were tested on admission and after 6–8 weeks of inpatient psychiatric treatment. A sample of fifty-three healthy individuals were also examined twice at an interval of 6–8 weeks. The LEAS and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) were administered to assess emotional awareness and empathic abilities. Written texts were digitalized and then analyzed using the electronic scoring program geLEAS, the German electronic Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale.ResultsDepressed patients reported more depressive symptoms than healthy controls and less severe depressive symptomatology at time 2 compared to time 1. Independent of time, depressed individuals tended to show lower geLEAS self scores and had lower geLEAS other scores than healthy individuals. Depressed patients showed higher personal distress scores than healthy individuals at both measurement times. No group differences were observed for the cognitive empathy scales of the IRI (perspective taking and fantasy) and empathic concern, but empathic concern decreased significantly in depressed patients from time 1 to time 2. Empathic abilities as assessed by the IRI were not significantly correlated with emotional awareness for others, neither in the whole sample, nor in the patient and control subsample.ConclusionsDepressed patients seem to be characterized by impairments in emotional awareness of others during acute illness and recovery, but they also tend to show deficits in emotional self-awareness compared to healthy individuals. Self-reported cognitive empathic abilities seem to be at normal levels in depressed patients, but their heightened self-focused affective empathy may represent a vulnerability factor for depressive disorders.

The relationship between interoceptive emotional awareness, neuroticism, and depression, anxiety, and stress.

COVID-19 has caused challenges to daily living globally, with profound implications for negative mood. A variety of state and trait-based factors can influence how a person may respond and adapt to challenges such as a global pandemic. Personality is an area impacting how a person responds to both internal and external situations (trait) and Emotional Awareness (EA) is a facet of interoception (an awareness of the mind-body connection) that determines the way an individual interprets their physiological state of the body, and the associated emotions (state-trait). Both areas have been well researched in isolation, however the body of literature exploring the relationships between both is much smaller. It would therefore be beneficial to explore the interrelationships of both state and trait factors on wellbeing to enable a more comprehensive understanding. It was hypothesised that EA would moderate the relationship between Neuroticism and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress. Participants residing in Australia during periods of imposed lockdown were included within the study (n = 838; Ages = 18-60 years) and completed an online questionnaire battery including a variety of state and trait questionnaires. A moderation analysis was conducted to explore whether Emotional Awareness changed the relationship between neuroticism and depression, anxiety, and stress utilising an alpha of < .05. EA moderated the relationship between Neuroticism and Anxiety (p = .001, 95% CI .03-.17)), and Stress (p = .02 95% CI.01-.13), but not Depression (p = .23, 95% CI .03-.13). As Neuroticism increased, negative mood increased for all levels of EA, however those high in Neuroticism and EA displayed the highest Anxiety and Stress. Interventions to increase EA, such as mindfulness, may have adverse effects for individuals high in Neuroticism, emphasising the importance of tailored interventions and supporting the assumption that high levels of Neuroticism represent increased vulnerability during a pandemic.

GAME-BASED EXERCISES THAT AID IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS’ EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE WHILE LEARNING CHESS

In 2017, the “Chess” Scientific Research Institute’s research group of psychologists performed a diagnostic experiment to determine the level and manifestations of emotional intelligence of teachers and students during the teaching and learning of the “Chess” subject. The findings of the preceding investigations were presented at the international conference “Current State and Development Trends in Chess Education,” which was held in Tsaghkadzor in 2019. The following findings were offered after summarizing the outcomes of all methods used throughout the scientific experiment: 1. Chess teachers have a high level of emotional awareness, whereas children may distinguish just pleasure, sadness, and anger as fundamental emotions. 2. Low indicators of the teacher’s empathy and emotional management affect the motivation of 3rd and 4th-grade students to succeed in chess lessons, as well as the negative trend of the position of receiving praise from the teacher, as a result of which the indicator of the manifestation of a favourable position towards the chess teacher decreases. 3. Regardless of the teacher’s positive attitude toward the students, if the teacher’s emotional management and control signs are poor throughout the learning process, the student’s emotional attitude toward their peers and their participation in the chess class diminishes. Based on the analysis of the diagnostic experiment findings, “Chess” Scientific Research Institute psychologists created and tested various game exercises to develop emotional intelligence components in secondary school learners.

The Kusa manga, a secondary prevention program for cannabis use in adolescence based on emotional regulation: Preliminary data

IntroductionFrance is one of the European countries with the highest prevalence of cannabis use, particularly in adolescence. Emotional regulation (ER) is one of the major risk factor in the etiology and the maintenance of cannabis use disorder and therefore is a key target for prevention programs. ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and the impact of a prevention program focusing on ER (especially on various emotional skills like awareness, emotional clarity and reactivity, ER strategies, and the level of emotional awareness) and on cannabis use among adolescents from various institutions. MethodIn total, 87 adolescents from various institutions were included. ER was assessed by the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the Emotion Reactivity Scale and the Adolescent Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale; cannabis use was assess by the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST). All participants were assess before preventive intervention (T0) and four months after the end of the program (T1). ResultsBetween T0 and T1, for all participants, there was an increase of emotional awareness, a decrease of emotional sensitivity, intensity and persistence, and an increase of the level of emotional awareness (total, self and others). There was no significant difference between T0 and T1 in CAST scores. ConclusionsThe prevention program showed encouraging results with a vulnerable group of adolescents in institutional care, particularly those from the Child Social Care (Aide sociale à l’enfance) and Child Forensic Institution (Protection judiciaire de la jeunesse) by showing an effect on different components of ER but not directly on cannabis use.

Emotion dysregulation in young people with borderline personality disorder: One pattern or distinct subgroups?

Emotion dysregulation is a key feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Given the heterogeneity of BPD and emotion regulation, this study sought to define subgroups among a sample of young people with BPD based on their pattern of emotion regulation abilities. Baseline data from the Monitoring Outcomes of BPD in Youth (MOBY) clinical trial were used, in which 137 young people (Mage = 19.1, SDage = 2.8; 81% female) completed the self-report Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), as a measure of emotion regulation abilities. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify subgroups, based upon response patterns on the six DERS subscales. Subsequent analysis of variance and logistic regression models were used to characterize the identified subgroups. LPA revealed three subgroups. A "low and unaware" (n = 22) subgroup, reporting the least emotion dysregulation, apart from high emotional unawareness. A "moderate and accepting" subgroup (n = 59), reporting high emotional acceptance within its own pattern, and moderate emotion dysregulation compared with the other subgroups. A "high and aware" subgroup (n = 56), reporting the highest level of emotion dysregulation, but with high emotional awareness. Some demographic, psychopathology, and functioning characteristics were associated with subgroup membership. The identification of distinct subgroups highlights the importance of considering the level of emotional awareness in the context of other regulatory abilities and suggests that therapies should not take a "one-size-fits-all" approach to emotion dysregulation. Future research should seek to replicate the identified subgroups given the relatively small sample size in the current study. In addition, examining the stability of subgroup membership and the influence upon treatment outcome will be interesting avenues for further exploration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A mixed methods evaluation of a mentalising education programme for the community pharmacy workforce in Denmark – A promising way forward to deliver patient-centred counselling

Background: This article presents the results of the evaluation of a mentalising education programme for staff at community pharmacies as to whether it had made counselling more patient-centred. Methods: A mixed-methods design was chosen, combined with Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluation. Twenty-eight participants from 11 community pharmacies participated. Data comprised qualitative reports at the end of the programme and measurements of Level of Emotional Awareness, Job Satisfaction, and Course Experience questionnaires. Results: The qualitative evaluation revealed three themes: “Awareness of emotions and communication skills is an important element when mentalising is the goal”, “It’s far more than a dispensing situation – I now tune into the patient”, “I don’t have to hide behind the screen any longer”. The quantitative evaluation showed a significant increase in awareness of mental states, improvement in job satisfaction, and satisfaction with the programme. Conclusion: The results show promise in supporting the pharmacy workforce to adopt a patient-centred approach during counselling.

Measurement of levels of emotional awareness before, during, and after psychotherapy.

Measurement of levels of emotional awareness before, during, and after psychotherapy.

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Challenges of Preadolescence in the School Context: A Systematic Review of Protective/Risk Factors and Intervention Programmes

Preadolescence is a critical period, characterised by changes in physical, hormonal, cognitive, behavioural, and emotional development, as well as by changes in social and school relationships. These changes are accompanied by the transition from elementary school to middle school. The literature shows that this transition is one of the most stressful events for preadolescents, which can have a negative impact on their well-being. The main objectives of this review, focused on the school context, were to identify protective and risk factors influencing the well-being of preadolescent students and to describe the interventions implemented. A systematic search of peer-reviewed papers published between 2011 and 2021 was conducted following the PRISMA reporting guidelines. A total of 36 full-text articles met the inclusion criteria. Studies converge in identifying risk factors that may affect student well-being in this age group: individual factors (levels of emotional awareness and self-esteem) and relational factors (friendship, teachers’ and parents’ supporting actions and roles). Intervention programs are mainly focused on improving emotional and social regulation skills that also influence academic achievement. Our findings have important implications for both research and intervention in school settings.

Psychopathic tendencies are selectively associated with reduced emotional awareness in the context of early adversity.

It is unclear at present whether psychopathic tendencies are associated with lower or higher levels of emotional awareness (EA). Given that psychopathy includes a proficiency for manipulating others, one might expect an elevated ability to identify and use information about others' emotions. On the other hand, empathic deficits in psychopathy could arise from reduced emotional awareness. Further, heterogeneity in psychopathy may also play a role, wherein 'secondary' psychopathy is associated with early adversity and high negative affect, while 'primary' psychopathy is not. In this paper, we tested the relationship between EA and psychopathic tendencies in 177 undergraduate students (40 males) who completed the levels of emotional awareness scale (LEAS), the triarchic psychopathy measure (TPM), the affective (empathy-related) subscales of the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI), and two measures of early adversity: the childhood experiences of care and abuse questionnaire (CECA) and the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ). We found that lower LEAS scores were associated with higher TPM and lower IRI empathy scores, but these relationships were primarily present in those with early adversity and high negative affect. This suggests that lower EA may be selectively associated with higher levels of secondary psychopathy, while those with higher levels of primary psychopathy remain capable of higher EA.

한국판 정서 인식 수준 척도 개발 및 타당화 연구

Objectives The Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) was developed to assess the emotional awareness construct, based on a cognitive-developmental perspective. This study aimed to develop the Korean version of LEAS (K-LEAS) and prove it's reliability and validity.&#x0D; Methods Through data from 218 university students, inter-rater reliability and internal consistency of K-LEAS were analyzed. Criterion validity were analyzed by the relationships with TAS-20, TMMS, DASS-21 and NEO-PI-RS.&#x0D; Results The results Showed high inter-rater reliability and internal consistency. K-LEAS scores were not significantly correlated with DASS-21 and total score of TAS-20, except externally-oriented thinking subscale in TAS-20. K-LEAS showed a significant positive correlation with only openness among NEO-PI- RSsubscales. In addition, women had significantly higher scores than men on K-LEAS, supporting the cross-cultural consistency in gender difference. In comparison between countries, the level of emotional awareness of Korean university students was similar to that of American university students, and higher than that of Japanese university students.&#x0D; Conclusions Although K-LEAS has sufficient reliability, it does not show convergent validity with existing self-report scale, which is suggested that K-LEAS measures emotional awareness ability in a different dimension from the self-report scale. Until now, Korean emotional research has tended to rely too much on self-report questionnaire research, and K-LEAS is expected to be used as a tool to evaluate individual emotional awareness ability not only in a subjective manner but also in objective performance.

Therapeutic Process of Change During Participation in the Parents Under Pressure Program for a Cohort of Parents Who Misuse Substances

ObjectivesDespite a large evaluation literature for interventions aiming to improve the lives of families affected by parent substance misuse, very few studies have examined how families change when engaged with treatment. This study examines the interactive process of change in parent psychopathology and mindful parenting during participation in the Parents under Pressure (PuP) program for parents engaged in community addiction services.MethodsParents (n = 164) provided baseline, mid- and end-treatment measures of parent psychopathology and mindful parenting. Cross-lagged modelling was used to examine therapeutic process of change.ResultsParent psychopathology decreased, and mindful parenting increased from baseline to end-treatment (ps < .001). Less psychopathology at mid-treatment predicted higher levels of overall mindful parenting upon completion of the PuP program (p = .005). Examination of the mindful parenting dimensions revealed variation in the therapeutic process of change. While higher levels of Non-Judgemental Acceptance of Parental Functioning (NJAPF) at baseline predicted lower psychopathology at mid-treatment (p = .03), higher levels of Compassion for Child (CC) at baseline predicted greater psychopathology at mid-treatment (p = 0.004). Higher levels of NJAPF mid-treatment predicted lower psychopathology upon treatment completion (p = .023), yet higher levels of Emotional Awareness of Child (EAC) at mid-treatment predicted greater psychopathology upon treatment completion (p = .023). Lower parent psychopathology at mid-treatment predicted higher levels of LFA, EAC, Self-Regulation in Parenting and NJAPF upon completion of the PuP program (ps < .05).ConclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of reducing parent psychopathology as a precursor to more mindful parenting and also provide new evidence regarding the way in which variation in mindful parenting dimensions influences the therapeutic process of change.

Perceived parental warmth, emotional awareness, and positive adjustment profiles in Chinese and Italian early adolescents: A person-centered approach.

Although previous research has documented wide cross-cultural variations in early adolescents'; adjustment problems, less is known about positive outcomes and their contextual and individual correlates among youth from societies emphasizing cultural values of independence/individualism and interdependence/collectivism. The current study used a person-centered approach to explore positive adjustment profiles among Chinese (n = 115, 54.8% girls) and Italian (n = 115, 57.4% girls) early adolescents aged between 10 and 13 years, and examined whether perceived parental warmth and emotional awareness were independently or interactively associated with such profiles in the two cultural groups. Participants completed self-report measures of psychosocial adjustment and perceived parental warmth, and responded to a series of structured vignettes assessing emotional awareness. Latent profile analysis revealed three profiles: "academically competent," "socially accepted," and "well-adapted." Chinese adolescents were overrepresented in the academically competent and well-adapted profiles, whilst Italian adolescents were overrepresented in the socially accepted profile. Results of multinomial regression analysis indicated that youth reporting higher parental warmth and more emotional awareness were more likely to be members of the well-adapted profile. Furthermore, culturally specific associations were found. For instance, the positive link between parental warmth and the well-adapted profile was significant at high levels of emotional awareness in the Chinese group, and at low-to-medium levels of this variable in the Italian group. The findings suggest that youth's positive adjustment profiles reflect broader societal expectations and that the beneficial effect of parental warmth on such outcomes varies as a function of both emotional competence and cultural background.

Affective touch topography and body image.

Recent evidence suggests that altered responses to affective touch—a pleasant interoceptive stimulus associated with activation of the C-Tactile (CT) system—may contribute to the aetiology and maintenance of mental conditions characterised by body image disturbances (e.g., Anorexia Nervosa). Here, we investigated whether tactile pleasantness and intensity differ across body sites, and if individual differences in dysmorphic appearance concerns and body and emotional awareness might be associated with touch perceptions across body sites. To this end, we measured perceived pleasantness and intensity of gentle, dynamic stroking touches applied to the palm, forearm, face, abdomen and back of 30 female participants (mean age: 25.87±1.17yrs) using CT-optimal (3 cm/s) and non-CT optimal (0.3 and 30 cm/s) stroking touch. As expected, participants rated CT-targeted touch as more pleasant compared to the two non-CT optimal stroking touch at all body sites. Regardless of stroking velocity, touch applied to the abdomen elicited the lowest pleasantness ratings. Lower levels of emotional awareness, greater levels of interoceptive sensibility and of dysmorphic concerns were associated with lower preference for CT-optimal stroking touch applied to the forearm and the back. These findings begin to elucidate the link between CT sensitivity, dysmorphic appearance concerns and body and emotional awareness, which may have implications for future research looking to inform early interventions. Addressing impaired processing of affective interoceptive stimuli, such as CT-targeted touch, may be the key to current treatment approaches available for those populations at risk of disorders characterised by body image disturbance.

Levels of Emotional Awareness: Theory and Measurement of a Socio-Emotional Skill.

Emotional awareness is the ability to conceptualize and describe one’s own emotions and those of others. Over thirty years ago, a cognitive-developmental theory of emotional awareness patterned after Piaget’s theory of cognitive development was created as well as a performance measure of this ability called the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS). Since then, a large number of studies have been completed in healthy volunteers and clinical populations including those with mental health or systemic medical disorders. Along the way, there have also been further refinements and adaptations of the LEAS such as the creation of a digital version in addition to further advances in the theory itself. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the evolving theoretical background, measurement methods, and empirical findings with the LEAS. The LEAS is a reliable and valid measure of emotional awareness. Evidence suggests that emotional awareness facilitates better emotion self-regulation, better ability to navigate complex social situations and enjoy relationships, and better physical and mental health. This is a relatively new but promising area of research in the domain of socio-emotional skills. The paper concludes with some recommendations for future research.

Seeing things differently: Gaze shapes neural signal during mentalizing according to emotional awareness

Studies on social cognition often use complex visual stimuli to asses neural processes attributed to abilities like “mentalizing” or “Theory of Mind” (ToM). During the processing of these stimuli, eye gaze, however, shapes neural signal patterns. Individual differences in neural operations on social cognition may therefore be obscured if individuals’ gaze behavior differs systematically. These obstacles can be overcome by the combined analysis of neural signal and natural viewing behavior. Here, we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with eye-tracking to examine effects of unconstrained gaze on neural ToM processes in healthy individuals with differing levels of emotional awareness, i.e. alexithymia. First, as previously described for emotional tasks, people with higher alexithymia levels look less at eyes in both ToM and task-free viewing contexts. Further, we find that neural ToM processes are not affected by individual differences in alexithymia per se. Instead, depending on alexithymia levels, gaze on critical stimulus aspects reversely shapes the signal in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and anterior temporoparietal junction (TPJ) as distinct nodes of the ToM system. These results emphasize that natural selective attention affects fMRI patterns well beyond the visual system. Our study implies that, whenever using a task with multiple degrees of freedom in scan paths, ignoring the latter might obscure important conclusions.

Postpartum during COVID-19 pandemic: Portuguese mothers' mental health, mindful parenting, and mother-infant bonding.

BackgroundMillions of people worldwide have been diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), which has impacted maternal mental health and mother–infant relationships during the postpartum period.ObjectivesTo explore how mothers' anxious and depressive symptoms, parenting stress, mindful parenting, and mother–infant bonding vary as a function of the moment of the baby's birth (pre‐COVID‐19 or post‐COVID‐19) and to examine the contribution of those variables to mother–infant bonding.MethodsThe sample was recruited online and comprises 567 mothers (18–46 years) with an infant aged between 0 and 12 months old.ResultsApproximately 27.5% of the mothers presented clinically significant levels of anxious and depressive symptoms. Mothers who gave birth during the COVID‐19 pandemic presented lower levels of Emotional Awareness of the Child and a more impaired mother–infant bonding than mothers who gave birth before the pandemic started. Approximately 49% of the mother–infant bonding variance was explained by parenting stress and by several dimensions of mindful parenting.ConclusionOur findings provide important insights into the impact of COVID‐19 on maternal mental health and parenting.

Mapping alexithymia: Level of emotional awareness differentiates emotion-specific somatosensory maps

BackgroundEmotions have been associated with culturally universal and distinct bodily sensation “maps”. Despite this knowledge, to date few studies have explored emotion-specific topography along clinically relevant dimensions, such as alexithymia. ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate emotion-specific topographies among individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment or neglect with absent (n = 51) or with probable (n = 46) alexithymia in adulthood, as defined by scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Participants and settingNinety eight adult participants with exposure to childhood maltreatment or neglect were recruited to complete an online survey. MethodsUsing the well-validated emBODY tool (Nummenmaa et al., 2014), participants reported on their somatic experience of 17 emotions. ResultsRandom effects analyses revealed topographically distinct bodily sensation t-maps that differentiated participants who endorsed probable alexithymia from those who did not (p-FDR < .05). Consistent with our a priori hypothesis, the probable alexithymia group reported a muted, diffuse and undifferentiated pattern of emotion-specific bodily sensation, whereas the non-alexithymia group reported a more distinct and localized pattern. ConclusionsThese results suggest that difficulty identifying and labeling emotions, as observed in alexithymia, may arise, in part, from an altered perception of somatic activation. It is well-established that childhood maltreatment predicts the development of alexithymia symptoms. The preliminary findings presented here expand our working understanding of the physical markers of childhood trauma, which may be used in practice to aid detection and to monitor treatment outcomes.

Analysis of University Students' Emotional Awareness from Diverse Perspectives

Emotional awareness allows learners to see things from others' perspective and helps students to enhance their self-confidence and behavior. Considering importance of emotional awareness, it is pertinent to examine the level of students' emotional awareness. This study examines the emotional awareness of university students from the perspective of their gender, program, on- /off-campus residence, and achievement. This study also investigates the relationship between students' emotional awareness and their academic achievement. This research used descriptive and the correlational research designs. Three public universities were selected to collect data, a sample of 701 students was selected using cluster and stratified random sampling techniques. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the selected students. For data analysis, independent sample t-test and correlation were calculated to identify conclusions. The results identify the low level of emotional awareness of students and a week but positive association exists between students' emotional awareness and their achievement.

Emotional Awareness Correlated With Number of Awakenings From Polysomnography in Patients With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-A Pilot Study.

IntroductionUnrefreshing sleep is one of the diagnostic criteria in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which could be explained by sleep disorders, for example obstructive sleep apnea, reported in our previous study with polysomnography. Our previous findings also indicate difficulties in emotional regulation when measuring alexithymia by TAS-20 (Toronto Alexithymia Scale) and level of emotional awareness by LEAS (Level of Emotional Awareness Scale) in ME/CFS patients. However, the reasons for this are unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate correlations between data from subjective emotional regulation and polysomnography.MethodsTwenty-three ME/CFS patients (5 men and 18 women) of mean age 43, and 30 matched healthy controls (9 males and 21 women) of mean age 45, filled in TAS-20, LEAS, and Hospital Depression and Anxiety Scale (HADS). A polysomnography was performed on patients but not on healthy controls. Thus, values of normal population were used for sleep evaluation in ME/CFS patients.ResultThere were significant differences between patients and controls in several aspects of emotional regulation, for example LEAS-self and LEAS-total. Seventy percent of the patients had increased numbers of awakenings (shifts from any sleep stage to awake), 22% had obstructive sleep apneas, and 27% had periodic limb movements. Correlation analysis showed that number of awakenings significantly correlated with LEAS-self and LEAS-total, p < 0.01, respectively. There were no other significant correlations.ConclusionThis pilot study demonstrated significant correlations between reduced emotional awareness and number of awakenings in polysomnography. Future studies with larger cohorts need to be conducted.