Nonacceptance Of Emotional Responses Research Articles

Cumulative adversity and emotion dysregulation effects on suicidal ideation and attempts in a community sample

Adversity, trauma, and emotion dysregulation are commonly cited risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Thus, the role of these factors in conferring risk for suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA) amongst community adults was assessed. A cross-sectional cohort-based study with community adults (n=757; female=55.0%) assessed emotion dysregulation, cumulative adversity including highly stressful and traumatic events, as well as other known risk factors for suicidality (e.g., self-reported depression and anxiety history) to predict a lifetime history of SI or SA, SI but no SA, or SI and SA. Higher cumulative stress and trauma scores conferred risk for SI, specifically on the subscales major life events, recent life events, and chronic stressors. Higher emotion dysregulation was associated with an increased risk for a SA relative to no SI or SA, particularly nonacceptance of emotional responses. Lifetime trauma was the only predictor of SA relative to SI. Nonacceptance of emotions significantly mediated the association between life traumas and suicidality. Cumulative adversity and emotion dysregulation confer risk for suicidal ideation and attempts, and higher lifetime trauma predicted attempts over ideation. These findings suggest that targeting emotion dysregulation, and specifically nonacceptance of difficult emotions, may be a useful strategy in reducing suicidal behaviors in individuals with trauma history and concurrent suicidal ideation.

Relationship Between ADHD-Like Traits and Emotion Dysregulation in the Adult General Population

Abstract Objectives Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder classically characterised by inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity. However, emotion-related problems are also common in people with ADHD, although there is disagreement about their relationship with the classical symptoms of ADHD. Here, we investigated the relationship between emotion dysregulation and ADHD-like traits in a non-clinical group of adults. Method In a group of 1074 individuals, average age 30.27 years, 656 females, 402 males and 16 who identified as ‘other’, with 76.8% describing themselves as ‘white’, were administered the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) to measure ADHD-like traits and emotion dysregulation, respectively. Results The Inattention subscale of the ASRS was significantly correlated with all subscales of the DERS. Similarly, the Hyperactivity/impulsivity subscale was correlated with all subscales of the DERS except for the Lack of emotional awareness. The Lack of emotional clarity and Difficulties engaging in goal-directed behaviour subscales of the DERS were significant independent positive predictors of ASRS inattention scores. Non-acceptance of emotional responses, Difficulties engaging in goal-directed behaviour, Impulse control difficulties and Lack of emotional clarity subscales of the DERS were significant independent positive predictors of ASRS hyperactivity/impulsivity scores. In other words, as inattention and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms increased in severity, there was a concomitant increase in the severity of most aspects of emotion dysregulation. Conclusions The close association between emotion dysregulation and the classical symptoms of ADHD suggests that they may arise from a common dysfunctional substrate and hence treating emotion dysregulation may provide a novel pathway by which to treat the classical symptoms.

Impacts of difficulties with emotion regulation on the longitudinal relationship between peer victimization and changes in adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury.

Research has found that peer victimization is associated with adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior; however, most of these studies ignored the association between these constructs at the within-person level. Additionally, the association between peer victimization and NSSI may vary among adolescents with different personal characteristics. With a longitudinal design, this study investigated whether and how emotion regulation (ER) difficulties moderate the relationship between peer victimization and changes in NSSI, with particular attention given to the unique moderating role of different dimensions of ER difficulties. The study sample comprised 3,561 adolescents aged between 10 and 17 years old (Mage = 13.22, SD = 0.85; 56.9% males). Self-report assessments were administered in December 2021 and June 2022 in Shanxi province, China. The latent change score model showed that the adolescent NSSI increased during our assessments, with peer victimization as a significant predictor. ER difficulties moderated the association between peer victimization and NSSI changes, but interestingly, in an unexpected pattern. Specifically, peer victimization significantly predicted NSSI changes among adolescents with low ER difficulties but not for those with high ER difficulties. Moreover, among the multiple dimensions of ER difficulties, only nonacceptance of emotional responses and limited access to emotion regulation strategies interacted with peer victimization to predict NSSI changes and showed interaction patterns similar to those at the overall level of ER difficulties. The current study revealed the moderating role of ER difficulties in the relationship between peer victimization and changes in NSSI. These findings provide intervention implications for adolescents who engage in NSSI.

Sleep disturbance and suicidality in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents: The role of specific emotion regulation domains.

Sleep disturbance is associated with broadband measurements of emotion regulation (ER). The linkage between ER, a multidimensional process, and suicidal ideation and suicide attempt is also documented in theoretical and empirical work. Recent research indicates that distinct profiles of ER are associated with psychiatric outcomes, including adolescent suicidal ideation and attempt. The present study examined whether specific domains of ER would explain the association between sleep disturbance, and ideation and attempt among psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. The sample included 284 adolescents who completed self-report measures on sleep disturbance, ER, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and psychiatric symptoms upon inpatient hospitalization. Findings indicated that sleep disturbance was associated with suicidal ideation. Further, a single ER domain (perceived limited access to ER strategies) fully accounted for the significant association between sleep disturbance and suicidal ideation. A reported suicide attempt in the past week was correlated with the nonacceptance of emotional responses, perceived limited access to ER strategies, and emotional clarity, but was not associated with sleep disturbance. The current findings highlight the importance of examining narrowband ER and indicate the presence of differential associations between sleep disturbance, ER, and suicide-related outcomes. Findings further elucidate the possible role of impaired cognitive responses to emotional experiences in the co-occurrence of sleep disturbance and youth psychiatric outcomes.

The Role of Dimensions of Emotion Dysregulation Following Exposure to Maltreatment and Adult Victimization.

Child maltreatment is related to a host of negative consequences, including difficulties with emotion regulation (ER), posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and greater risk for revictimization. Yet, the literature has largely focused on sexual revictimization, while relations between maltreatment and other adult victimization types (e.g., intimate partner violence [IPV]) are less clear. Further, associations between emotion dysregulation and both child and adult trauma exposure have been identified, but aspects of dysregulation (i.e., nonacceptance of emotional responses, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior, impulsivity, lack of emotional awareness, limited access to ER strategies, and lack of emotional clarity) have received less attention. This study aimed to: (1) investigate the associations between maltreatment and adult victimization and the six ER dimensions while accounting for PTSS, and (2) determine whether there are indirect effects between maltreatment and adult victimization through each ER component. Seven hundred and forty-four undergraduates from two universities participated in the study (Mage = 21.48, SD = 4.12; 80.9% women; 56.2% white). Maltreatment and PTSS were directly linked with adult victimization (B = 0.14, B = 0.01, respectively). PTSS was inversely associated with each ER aspect (Bs = 0.02-0.10). Unexpectedly, neither maltreatment nor adult victimization was related to the ER dimensions, and no indirect effects were observed between maltreatment and adult victimization through emotion dysregulation. These findings suggest that specific components of emotion dysregulation may not be tied to trauma exposure outside of PTSS. Further, it may be that the ER dimensions are not differentially related to increased risk for adult victimization.

Emotion Regulation in the Classroom: A Network Approach to Model Relations among Emotion Regulation Difficulties, Engagement to Learn, and Relationships with Peers and Teachers

Emotion regulation is theorized to shape students’ engagement in learning activities, but the specific pathways via which this occurs remain unclear. This study examined how emotion regulation mechanisms are related to behavioral and emotional engagement as well as relations with peers and teachers. The sample included 136 secondary school students (59,7% girls; Mage = 14.93, SDage = 1.02, range: 13–18 years). Psychometric network models revealed that difficulties in emotional awareness, emotional clarity, and access to emotion regulation strategies were differentially related to behavioral and emotional engagement, establishing an indirect link with teacher and/or peer relations. Nonacceptance of emotional responses, emotional awareness, and impulse control difficulties were uniquely related to teacher and/or peer relations, establishing an indirect link with student engagement. Causal discovery analysis suggested that student emotional engagement is an empirically-plausible direct cause of increased access to emotion regulation strategies. These findings uncover potential pathways through which emotion regulation hampers or facilitates learning at school, providing information useful for the design of school curricula and teacher training programs.

Suicidal Behaviour Among Nigerian Undergraduates: Associations with Gambling Disorder and Emotional Dysregulation

Background: There is a high prevalence of suicidal behavior among Nigerian youths. However, the connections between suicidal behavior and precipitating factors, such as gambling disorder and emotional dysregulation (ED) in this population, are not well researched. Objectives: The present study examined the associations between gambling disorder, ED, and suicidal behavior in Nigerian university undergraduate students. Methods: This study was carried out during October 2020 - April 2021 on 1338 undergraduates with a mean ± SD age of 19.84 ± 3.22 years selected using random and purposive sampling for the universities and participants respectively. Participants responded to the Attitudes Towards Gambling Scale, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and Redeemer's University Suicidality Scale. Descriptive statistics (simple percentages) and inferential statistics (Pearson’s correlation and regression analysis) were used for data analysis. Results: The Pearson's correlation revealed that suicidal behaviour had significant positive correlations with the nonacceptance of emotional responses or distress (r = 0.22, P = 0), difficulties engaging in goal-directed behaviours (r = 0.21, P = 0), difficulties in impulse control (r = 0.27, P = 0), the lack of emotional awareness (r = 0.14, P = 0), limited access to emotional regulation strategies (r = 0.33, P = 0), the lack of emotional clarity (r = 0.32, P = 0), and difficulties in emotional regulation (r = 0.4, P = 0). Problematic gambling (PG) independently predicted suicidal behavior, while PG and ED dimensions jointly predicted suicidal behavior. The ED dimensions contributed 15% incrementally to the prediction of suicidal behavior and beyond the 2% variance accounted for PG in undergraduates. Conclusions: Our results showed positive links between PG, ED, and suicidal behavior among Nigerian undergraduates. It suggests that the combination of PG and ED increases the severity of suicidal behavior among students.

0249 Sleeping In to Avoid Acting Out: The Association Between Sleep Regularity and Emotion Regulation

Abstract Introduction Sleep and emotions are closely intertwined facets of individuals’ mental health and well-being. Previous studies have consistently shown that sleep is critical in the maintenance of emotion regulation; however, few research studies have examined the association between sleep regularity and emotion regulation skills. The current study seeks to answer this question by examining whether sleep regularity is associated with individual facets of emotion regulation, as well as overall emotion regulation ability. Methods Secondary analysis was performed on data obtained from 999 individuals (M age=44.17, SD=16.23; 47.7% female) who participated in the Investigating Sleep Longitudinally Across Normal Development (ISLAND) online study. The Sleep Regularity Questionnaire was used to measure the degree to which individuals engage in consistent sleep behavior. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale was used to measure perceived overall emotion regulation ability, as well as individual facets of emotion regulation. Regression analyses were used to determine whether sleep regularity predicted difficulties in emotion regulation while controlling for age, race, gender, sleep quality, and total sleep time. Total sleep time and sleep quality information were obtained from item #4 and item #6 of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, respectively. Results Less sleep regularity significantly predicted greater overall emotion regulation difficulties (p=.021, B=-.13). Less sleep regularity was associated with greater difficulty in individual facets of emotion regulation including emotional clarity (p<.001, B=-.05), impulse control (p<.001, B=-.05), nonacceptance of emotional responses (p=.009, B=-.04), and access to emotion regulation strategies (p<.001, B=-.06). Surprisingly, greater sleep regularity was associated with more difficulties with emotional awareness (p<.001, B=.09). Sleep regularity was not associated with difficulty engaging in goal-direct behavior (p=.103, B=-.02). Conclusion Poorer sleep regularity significantly predicted greater overall emotion regulation difficulties. Findings from the current study add to the literature supporting the close links between sleep and emotion regulation, and suggest that the promotion and enhancement of consistent, regular sleep may be an important factor that leads to improved emotion regulatory skills beyond the sleep experience (i.e., sleep quality and duration). Additional research is needed to disentangle this association and identify additional factors or mechanisms that may further elucidate this association. Support (If Any) Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K23AG049955 (PI: Dzierzewski).

Examining emotion regulation in binge-eating disorder

BackgroundInefficient mechanisms of emotional regulation appear essential in understanding the development and maintenance of binge-eating disorder (BED). Previous research focused mainly on a very limited emotion regulation strategies in BED, such as rumination, suppression, and positive reappraisal. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess a wider range of emotional regulation strategies (i.e. acceptance, refocusing on planning, positive refocusing, positive reappraisal, putting into perspective, self-blame, other-blame, rumination, and catastrophizing), as well as associations between those strategies and binge-eating-related beliefs (negative, positive, and permissive), and clinical variables (eating disorders symptoms, both anxiety, depressive symptoms, and alexithymia).MethodsWomen diagnosed with BED (n = 35) according to the DSM-5 criteria and healthy women (n = 41) aged 22–60 years were assessed using: the Eating Attitudes Test-26, the Eating Beliefs Questionnaire-18, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Statistical analyses included: Student t - tests or Mann–Whitney U tests for testing group differences between BED and HC group, and Pearson’s r coefficient or Spearman’s rho for exploring associations between the emotion regulation difficulties and strategies, and clinical variables and binge-eating-related beliefs in both groups.ResultsThe BED group presented with a significantly higher level of emotion regulation difficulties such as: nonacceptance of emotional responses, lack of emotional clarity, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior, impulse control difficulties, and limited access to emotion regulation strategies compared to the healthy controls. Moreover, patients with BED were significantly more likely to use maladaptive strategies (rumination and self-blame) and less likely to use adaptive strategies (positive refocusing and putting into perspective). In the clinical group, various difficulties in emotion regulation difficulties occurred to be positively correlated with the level of alexithymia, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Regarding emotion regulation strategies, self-blame and catastrophizing were positively related to anxiety symptoms, but solely catastrophizing was related to the severity of eating disorder psychopathology.ConclusionsOur results indicate an essential and still insufficiently understood role of emotional dysregulation in BED. An especially important construct in this context seems to be alexithymia, which was strongly related to the majority of emotion regulation difficulties. Therefore, it might be beneficial to pay special attention to this construct when planning therapeutic interventions, as well as to the maladaptive emotion regulation strategies self-blame and catastrophizing, which were significantly related to BED psychopathology.

Deliberate self-harm in adolescents during COVID-19: The roles of pandemic-related stress, emotion regulation difficulties, and social distancing

The objective of this study was to conduct an ecologically valid test of etiological models of deliberate self-harm (DSH) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a sample of Canadian adolescents, we investigated: (1) the association between COVID-19-related stress and DSH; (2) whether emotion regulation (ER) difficulties mediated/moderated this association, including whether these effects differed by age; and (3) whether the mediating/moderating effects of ER difficulties were stronger among socially distanced youth. Canadian adolescents (N = 809) aged 12-18 were recruited on social media and completed an online survey. COVID-19-related stress was associated with recent DSH. Nonacceptance of emotional responses and limited access to ER strategies fully mediated this association. The indirect effect through nonacceptance of emotional responses was stronger among more socially distanced youth, whereas the indirect effect through limited access to ER strategies was stronger among older and more socially distanced youth. COVID-19-related stress and ER difficulties did not interact to predict DSH, nor did age or social distancing moderate these interactions. These results align with etiological models proposing central roles for stress and ER difficulties in DSH. Furthermore, this study underscores a need to support adolescents, particularly older teens with reduced in-person interactions, in adaptively coping with pandemic-related stress.

Exploring the relationship between problematic internet use and emotion regulation skills in tunisian medical students

IntroductionThere is paucity of researches addressing the relationship between individuals struggling to identify, express and communicate their emotions and problematic internet use, especially among medical students.ObjectivesTo assess problematic internet use in Tunisian medical students and to address its relationship with emotion regulation skills.MethodsFirst to fifth-year undergraduate medical students registered in the medical school of Sousse, Tunisia, were offered to answer an online questionnaire survey, involving sociodemographic and clinical data, Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS).ResultsA total of 175 medical students participated in the study with a median age of 22 (20-23) years and a gender ratio of 0.3. Median score of IAT was 40 (30-48). Twenty-four percent of medical students (n=42) reported problematic Internet use. Higher scores of IAT were significantly associated with the perception of an unsatisfactory relationship with parents, not having a leisure activity, family history of psychiatric disorders, personal health conditions and regular alcohol consumption. Scores of IAT were strongly and positively correlated with the following DERS subscores: Non acceptance of emotional responses (r=0.328**), Difficulties engaging in goal directed behaviors (r=0.366**), Impulse control difficulties (r=0.238**), Limited access to emotional regulation strategies (r=0.311**), and Lack of emotional clarity (r=0.311**).ConclusionsProblematic internet use seems to emerge as part of a cluster of symptoms related to ineffective emotion regulation skills. Hence, training for affective regulation abilities appears strategically useful in the control of Internet use.

Efektivitas Pelatihan “Let’s Learn to Pause & Breathe” untuk Menurunkan Kesulitan dalam Meregulasi Emosi pada Siswa Kelas XII SMA X Gresik

This training is intended to help increase students 'mindfulness so that it can help reduce students difficulties in regulating emotions. The aspect of mindfulness used in this training is based on aspects of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ) (Baer et al., 2006), namely nonreactivity to inner experience, observing, acting with awareness, describing/ labeling, and nonjudging of experience. Measurement of students' level of difficulty in regulating emotions using aspects of difficulties in emotion regulation (Roemer & Gratz, 2004), namely nonacceptance of emotional responses, difficulties engaging in goals-directed behavior, impulse control difficulties, lack of emotional awareness, limited access to emotion regulation strategies and lack of emotional clarity. The results of the training show that the mindfulness training can help reduce the level of difficulty regulating emotions experienced by students (significance value is less than 0.05).

EMOTION REGULATION DIFFICULTIES IN DEPRESSION

Patients diagnosed with depression often experience difficulty in regulating their emotions due to non-adaptive regulatory strategies (e.g., avoidance, suppression, rumination). Adaptive emotion regulation skills (e.g., awareness, acceptance, self-support) can be trained and improved through psychological treatment. The objective of this study was to identify differences in emotion regulation skills between a clinical group of patients with depression (n=56) and a non-clinical group (n=56), adults without symptoms of depression. Methods. The study was based on socio-demographic survey and three self-report questionnaires adapted for use in Latvia: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004), Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire (ERSQ; Berking & Znoj, 2008) and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003). Results. Compared to the non-clinical group, the clinical group presented significantly decreased scores in several scales of ERSQ: Understanding, Self-support, Tolerance, Acceptance, Modification (p<.001) and increased scores in four scales of DERS: Lack of emotional clarity, Difficulty engaging in goal-directed behaviour, Non-acceptance of emotional responses and Limited access to effective emotion regulation strategies (p<.001). Conclusions. This study helps to identify the main emotion regulation difficulties for depression patients in Latvia – the ability to understand, accept, tolerate and modify emotions.

Neural Basis of Smoking-Related Difficulties in Emotion Regulation.

BackgroundNegative emotional states contribute to cigarette smoking, and difficulties in regulating these states can hinder smoking cessation. Understanding the neural bases of these difficulties in smokers may facilitate development of novel therapies for Tobacco Use Disorder.MethodsThirty-seven participants (18 smokers, 19 nonsmokers; 16–21 years old) completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), which is comprised of 6 subscales (lack of emotional clarity, lack of emotional awareness, limited access to emotion regulation strategies, nonacceptance of emotional responses, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behaviors, and impulse control difficulties) that combine to provide a total score. Participants also underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine resting-state functional connectivity of the amygdala. Separate ANOVAs were used to determine group differences in self-reports on the DERS. Voxel-wise linear mixed models were performed to determine whether group influenced relationships between whole-brain functional connectivity of the amygdala and scores on the DERS.ResultsCompared with nonsmokers, smokers reported greater difficulties in emotion regulation, denoted by higher total scores on the DERS. Group differences were observed on a subscale of lack of emotional clarity, but no other subscale differences on the DERS were observed. Nonsmokers exhibited a greater negative correlation than smokers between lack of emotional clarity scores and connectivity of the amygdala with the left inferior frontal gyrus. Finally, this amygdala-to-left inferior frontal gyrus connectivity was weaker in smokers than in nonsmokers.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that difficulties in emotion regulation in smokers are at least partially due to lack of emotional clarity. Given the role of the inferior frontal gyrus in understanding emotional states, strengthening connectivity between the amygdala and the inferior frontal gyrus may improve emotional clarity to help smokers regulate their negative emotions, thereby improving their ability to quit smoking.

Expressive Suppression and Negative Affect, Pathways of Emotional Dysregulation in Psoriasis Patients.

The main goal of this study was to assess the emotion regulation (ER) mechanisms, such as expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal, in patients with psoriasis, as compared with healthy persons not afflicted by dermatological diseases. Moreover, the study intended to carry on a multidimensional assessment of emotional mechanisms in persons with psoriasis, highlighting the differences between psoriasis patients and healthy participants, in order to identify the specific patterns of emotion dysregulation (ED) in psoriasis. Another goal of the study was to investigate the predictors of ED among different emotional patterns. We presumed that the maladaptive ER mechanisms are higher in psoriasis patients than in the control group and there are specific dysregulation patterns in psoriasis patients as negative emotions tendency. This cross-sectional study was performed on 192 individuals aged between 35 and 75 years (mean age 59). The sample was divided in two groups: the clinical group including 91 patients with a diagnosis of psoriasis vulgaris and the control group including 101 healthy persons. The results of the present study suggest that psoriasis patients more frequently used emotional suppression – a maladaptive ER mechanism – as well as ED patterns – i.e., impulse control difficulties, and nonacceptance of emotional responses. They also displayed trait tendency to a negative emotional response. In fact, in people with psoriasis, the presence of suppression mechanism and negative affect of trait could predict that 35% of patients will show emotional dysregulated patterns, while living with higher levels of ED. The results of our study are important in the clinical practice, helping clinicians to better understand the emotional vulnerability of people that live with psoriatic disease, and to optimize the disease management and patient care in an interdisciplinary approach.

A latent change score analysis of emotion regulation difficulties and evaluative threat in STEM.

We examined implications of evaluative threat on the ability to regulate emotions for first-time college freshmen completing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors (N = 432). Students completed the Evaluative Threat in STEM Scale (Ahlqvist, London, & Rosenthal, 2013) and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004) at six intervals. Cross-sectional and longitudinal measurement invariance was supported. Women reported greater evaluative threat than men, but they did not differ from men in difficulties regulating emotion. Both constructs showed moderate relative stability over time. Using latent change score analyses, significant positive deceleration change patterns indicated that four of the emotion regulation difficulties (Lack of Emotional Awareness, Lack of Emotional Clarity, Impulse Control Difficulties, and Nonacceptance of Emotional Responses) and evaluative threat tended to increase (worsen) over the year, but the increases also slowed (i.e., plateaued) over time. Compared with men, women initially reported higher evaluative threat than men did, but these differences decreased over the year, as women decelerated more quickly than men did. In terms of cross-coupling effects, we found that evaluative threat was associated with subsequent difficulty in identifying strategies to cope with unpleasant emotions. There were no cross-coupling effects for emotion regulation predicting subsequent change in evaluative threat. Gender moderated the Evaluative Threat-to-DERS coupling effects for Lack of Emotional Clarity, Difficulties in Goal-Directed Behavior, and Nonacceptance of Emotional Responses. We discuss implications of evaluative threat for depleting coping resources and some potential psychoeducational and preventive interventions to support students in STEM majors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotion regulation and motives for illicit drug use in opioid-dependent patients

ABSTRACTRefining the mechanisms behind illicit drug use is an important factor for improving the quality of clinical care. Research in alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine use disorders have linked coping motives (e.g. using substances to ameliorate negative emotional states) to problematic substance use. We evaluated the link between emotion regulation difficulties (as assessed via the difficulties in emotion regulation scale [DERS]) and motives for drug use (as assessed via the Drug Use Motives Questionnaire) among individuals (n = 68) with opioid use disorders who were in methadone maintenance treatment. We found that the DERS total score was significantly associated with coping motives for use. Nonacceptance of emotional responses was the only DERS domain that offered nonredundant prediction of coping motives. These findings highlight the relevance of specific emotion regulation deficits in motives for illicit drug use among individuals with opioid use disorders and may help inform targeted cognitive-behavioral treatments in this population.

Momentary predictors of binge eating: An attachment perspective

IntroductionAccording to attachment theory, individuals who are preoccupied with the possibility of rejection are prone to emotion dysregulation, which research has found to be related to disordered eating. The current study examined naturalistic momentary relationships between binge eating, depressive symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and attachment anxiety. MethodParticipants were 55 undergraduate women who owned a mobile phone and who had binge eaten at least once during the past 28 days. All participants were screened to confirm the presence of binge eating and then completed trait measures of attachment anxiety. Participants then received seven text messages per day for 14 days. Texts contained links to state measures of depressive symptoms, state emotion dysregulation, and recent binge eating. ResultsMomentary depressive symptoms predicted subsequent binge eating. Aspects of emotion dysregulation (i.e., nonacceptance of emotional responses and difficulty modulating one's emotions) mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and binge eating. DiscussionDepressed mood often triggers binge eating. Additionally, attachment anxiety seems to predict binge eating through emotion dysregulation. Interventions for binge eating should address both attachment anxiety and emotion dysregulation in order to maximize therapeutic benefit.

Transactional Associations Between Adolescents’ Emotion Dysregulation and Symptoms of Social Anxiety and Depression: A Longitudinal Study

Emotion dysregulation has been associated with increased risks for psychopathology. During adolescence when the onset of mental illnesses peak, emotion dysregulation may be particularly problematic. In this study, we examined transactional associations between young adolescents’ self-report of their emotion dysregulation and symptoms of social anxiety and depression at three assessments over 3 years. Participants were 391 Australian students (56% female; 79% White/Caucasian) in Grades 6 to 8 followed until Grades 9 to 11. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), emotion dysregulation was a latent variable indicated by lack of emotional clarity, nonacceptance of emotional responses, impulse control difficulties, limited access to emotion regulation strategies, and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior. A sixth aspect of emotion dysregulation, lack of emotional awareness, which was not correlated with the other five subscales, was examined separately in the SEM. Transactional associations over time were identified between emotion dysregulation and symptoms of social anxiety and depression, with adolescents higher in emotion dysregulation at Time 1 (T1) reporting higher social anxiety and depressive symptoms between T1 and Time 2 (T2), and T2 emotion dysregulation predicting increases in adolescents’ depression, but not social anxiety, symptoms from T2 to Time 3 (T3), after controlling for baseline symptoms. In addition, earlier social anxiety, but not depressive, symptom level at T2 was significantly associated with later emotion dysregulation between T2 and T3, after baseline emotion dysregulation was controlled. Furthermore, girls were higher in emotion dysregulation, social anxiety, and depression than boys, but sex did not moderate temporal links between emotion dysregulation and symptoms.

Emotion dysregulation, impulsivity and personality disorder traits: A community sample study

The present study was designed to test an emotion regulation framework to understand individual differences in personality disorder (PD) traits in a non-clinical sample. Specifically, we tested whether: selected dimensions of emotion dysregulation were differentially related to PD traits; and whether emotion dysregulation and impulsivity had independent associations with PD traits. A community sample of 399 individuals (mean age = 37.91; 56.6% males) completed self-report measures of PDs, emotion dysregulation and impulsivity. Emotion dysregulation facets and impulsivity had uniform bivariate associations with PD traits, but also evidenced unique associations in multiple regression analyses. Nonacceptance of emotional responses was the emotion dysregulation dimension underlying a wide array of PD. A limited repertoire of effective emotion regulation strategies was characteristic of cluster C PD, whereas emotional unawareness distinctly predicted schizoid PD. Antisocial PD traits were uniquely related to difficulties controlling impulsive behavior when upset. Finally, histrionic, narcissistic, and obsessive-compulsive PD were related to better self-reported emotion regulation. Impulsivity further explained a significant amount of variance in schizotypal, antisocial, borderline (positively), and obsessive-compulsive PD traits (negatively). If replicated in clinical samples, our findings will support the usefulness of targeting both emotional dysregulation and impulsivity in PDs psychotherapy.