Positive Affect Regulation Research Articles

Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative: Reducing ambivalence through instructed emotion regulation.

Ambivalence, the simultaneous experience of positivity and negativity, is a conflicting, uncomfortable, arousing state but is a necessary catalyst for behavior change. We sought to examine whether feelings of ambivalence can be reduced using instructed emotion regulation of positive and negative affect, the components of subjective ambivalence. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were collected while participants played 3 blocks of mixed gambles, in which each trial involved losing or winning the lesser or greater of 2 amounts. In the 1st block participants responded naturally, and in the 2nd and 3rd blocks they were instructed to focus on either the positive or negative aspects of the outcome. Disappointing wins (e.g., winning $5 instead of winning $12) and relieving losses (losing $5 instead of losing $12) reliably elicited ambivalence; focusing on either the negative or positive aspects of the outcome reduced ambivalence as well as the magnitude of the late positive potential (LPP), indicating successful regulation. Both self-reported affect and ERPs indicated that emotional responses to losses were more difficult to regulate than responses to wins, consistent with a negativity bias in affective processing. Results are interpreted in the framework of theories of affect, and implications for changing behavioral motivation to support healthy behaviors are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Finding the power within and without: How can we strengthen resilience against symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression in Australian parents during the COVID-19 pandemic?

ObjectiveThe present study investigated the association between resilience and indicators of mental health in a large sample of Australian parents at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsData were from a large longitudinal cohort study of Australian parents of a child aged 0–18 years collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) was used to measure resilience, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) measured distress (i.e., composite of stress, anxiety and depression scales). Other factors assessed included: age, gender, being born overseas, number of children, self-assessed introversion, social, educational and economic variables, family resources, positive affect and emotional regulation, external social support, and partner social support. Hierarchical regression models and a moderation analysis were used to assess the aims. ResultsOf 2110 parents, 1701 (80.6%) were female. The mean age was 38 years old (SD = 7, range = 19–69). High loneliness was a key contributor to distress. The level of social support received did add significantly to distress, with greater assistance associated with lower stress and anxiety (both p < .01). Partner support significantly moderated the relationship between resilience and depression; however, this relationship is of unlikely clinical significance due to its small statistical effect. ConclusionInterventions targeting resilience against distress and mental health of parents at the time of pandemics should focus on reducing loneliness while working with the constraints of imposed social isolation and might include partners. Qualitative studies are needed to understand the various useful and not useful aspects of partner's support.

Negative and Positive Affect Regulation in a Transdiagnostic Internet-Based Protocol for Emotional Disorders: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundEmotional disorders (EDs) are among the most prevalent mental disorders. Existing evidence-based psychological treatments are not sufficient to reduce the disease burden of mental disorders. It is therefore essential to implement innovative solutions to achieve a successful dissemination of psychological treatment protocols, and in this regard, the use of information and communication technologies such as the internet can be very useful. Furthermore, the literature suggests that not everyone with an ED receives the appropriate treatment. This situation has led to the development of new intervention proposals based on the transdiagnostic perspective, which attempts to address the underlying processes common to EDs. Most of these transdiagnostic interventions focus primarily on downregulating negative affectivity (NA), and less attention has been paid to strengths and the upregulation of positive affectivity, despite its importance for well-being and mental health.ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a transdiagnostic internet-based treatment for EDs in a community sample.MethodsA 3-armed randomized controlled trial was conducted. A total of 216 participants were randomly assigned to a transdiagnostic internet-based protocol (TIBP), a TIBP+ positive affect (PA) component, or a waiting list (WL) control group. The treatment protocol contained core components mainly addressed to downregulate NA (ie, present-focused emotional awareness and acceptance, cognitive flexibility, behavioral and emotional avoidance patterns, and interoceptive and situational exposure) as well as a PA regulation component to promote psychological strengths and enhance well-being. Data on depression, anxiety, quality of life, neuroticism and extraversion, and PA/NA before and after treatment were analyzed. Expectations and opinions of treatment were also analyzed.ResultsWithin-group comparisons indicated significant pre-post reductions in the two experimental conditions. In the TIBP+PA condition, the effect sizes were large for all primary outcomes (d=1.42, Beck Depression Inventory [BDI-II]; d=0.91, Beck Anxiety Inventory [BAI]; d=1.27, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Positive [PANAS-P]; d=1.26, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Negative [PANAS-N]), whereas the TIBP condition yielded large effect sizes for BDI-II (d=1.19) and PANAS-N (d=1.28) and medium effect sizes for BAI (d=0.63) and PANAS-P (d=0.69). Between-group comparisons revealed that participants who received one of the two active treatments scored better at posttreatment than WL participants. Although there were no statistically significant differences between the two intervention groups on the PA measure, effect sizes were consistently larger in the TIBP+PA condition than in the standard transdiagnostic protocol.ConclusionsOverall, the findings indicate that EDs can be effectively treated with a transdiagnostic intervention via the internet, as significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and quality of life measures were observed. Regarding PA measures, promising effects were found, but more research is needed to study the role of PA as a therapeutic component.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02578758; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02578758International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.1186/s12888-017-1297-z

Associations of depressive rumination and positive affect regulation with emotional distress after the death of a loved one.

The death of a loved one may precipitate symptoms of prolonged grief disorder (PGD), post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Brooding about the causes and consequences of one's negative affect (NA), also termed depressive rumination, has been linked to distress after loss. The role of dysregulation of positive affect (PA) has received less attention. We examined (1) the factor structure of depressive rumination and PA dysregulation and (2) to what extent these factors were related to PGD, PTSD and depression symptom levels. Self‐report data were included from 235 Dutch bereaved people who completed measures tapping symptoms of PGD, PTSD and depression. Depressive rumination and PA regulation strategies were assessed with the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) Brooding Scale and the Response to Positive Affect (RPA) Questionnaire (including three subscales: emotion‐focused and self‐focused rumination and dampening), respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modelling were used for data analyses. The four‐factor model (i.e., depressive rumination and the three RPA subscales) showed the best fit. An increase in depressive rumination was related to higher distress levels (across all outcomes in univariate and multivariate analyses). An increase in emotion‐focused rumination about PA was associated with less depression. More dampening of PA was related to higher PTSD levels. Findings suggest that, alongside the regulation of NA, the regulation of PA plays a role in how people respond to the death of a loved one. This points to the need for more research on NA and PA regulation in grief.

Dampening of Positive Affect Predicts Substance Use During Partial Hospitalization

Elevated positive affect is associated with craving for substances of abuse, yet little is known about regulation of positive emotion in substance use disorders. This study tested if the emotion regulation strategy of dampening (deliberately down-regulating positive affect) contributes to substance use outcomes in a transdiagnostic sample. Participants (N = 120) were adults endorsing risky substance use, recruited from an acute psychiatric treatment program that requires abstinence during treatment. Craving and dampening were assessed at admission. A logistic regression to evaluate likelihood of substance use during treatment yielded a significant interaction between dampening and frequency of substance use in the previous month: odds of use during treatment were higher among those with heavier pre-treatment use, but only at high levels of dampening. This study provides preliminary evidence that dampening increases risk for substance use among those with high levels of pre-treatment substance use. Findings are limited by the use of a general psychiatric sample, which did not include individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders; future studies are needed to replicate this effect in individuals with substance use disorders. Results point to the need for interventions to enhance healthy regulation of positive affect in substance-using populations.

Increased pupil dilation to happy faces in children with hyperactive/impulsive symptoms of ADHD.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with disrupted emotional processes including impaired regulation of approach behavior and positive affect, irritability, and anger. Enhanced reactivity to emotional cues may be an underlying process. Pupil dilation is an indirect index of arousal, modulated by the autonomic nervous system and activity in the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system. In the current study, pupil dilation was recorded while 8- to 12- year old children (n = 71, 26 with a diagnosis of ADHD and 45 typically developing), viewed images of emotional faces. Parent-rated hyperactive/impulsive symptoms were uniquely linked to higher pupil dilation to happy, but not fearful, angry, or neutral faces. This was not explained by comorbid externalizing symptoms. Together, these results suggest that hyperactive/impulsive symptoms are associated with hyperresponsiveness to approach-related emotional cues across a wide range of symptom severity.

Using Neuroscience to Augment Behavioral Interventions for Depression

Depression is both prevalent and costly, and many individuals do not adequately respond to existing psychopharmacological and behavioral interventions. The current article describes the use of neuroscience in augmenting behavioral interventions for depression in two primary areas: anhedonia and cognitive deficits/biases. Neuroscience research has increased our understanding of the neural bases of reward processing and regulation of positive affect, and anhedonia among depressed samples can be related to deficits in each of these domains. Treatments that specifically target reward processing and regulation of positive affect in order to reduce anhedonia represent a recent advance in the field. Depression is also associated with aberrant processes relating to working memory, autobiographical memory, attentional bias, and interpretive bias. Neuroscience findings have increasingly been leveraged to augment the efficacy of cognitive-training and bias-modification interventions in these domains. The use of neuroscience to inform the development and augmentation of behavioral interventions for depression is a promising avenue of continued research.

Efficacy of a Multicomponent Intervention for Fibromyalgia Based on Pain Neuroscience Education, Exercise Therapy, Psychological Support, and Nature Exposure (NAT-FM): Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

The study protocol of a prospective and randomized controlled trial for the assessment of the efficacy of nature activity therapy for people with Fibromyalgia (NAT-FM) is described. The primary outcome is the mean change from baseline in the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) score at post-treatment (12 weeks) and at 9 months of follow-up, and secondary outcomes are changes in the positive affect, negative affect, pain, fatigue, self-efficacy, catastrophising, and emotional regulation. A total of 160 patients with fibromyalgia will be divided into two arms: treatment-as-usual (TAU) and NAT-FM+TAU. Pre, during, post, +6, and +9 months assessments will be carried out, as well as an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of intrasession and intersessions. Results will be subjected to a mixed group (NAT-FM+TAU vs. TAU) × phase (pre, post, +6 months, +9 months) general linear model. EMA intrasession measurements will be subjected to a 2 (pre vs. post) × 5 (type of activity) mixed-effects ANOVA. EMA between-session measurements obtained from both arms of the study will be analysed on both a time-domain and frequency-domain basis. Effect sizes and number needed to treat (NNT) will be computed. A mediation/moderation analysis will be conducted.

Effect of yoga intervention on mindfulness, perceived stress, emotion regulation and affect: A study on senior managers in an Indian multinational corporate

Psychological distress is highly prevalent among leadership professionals. Workplace yoga interventions to enhance psychological wellbeing and further follow-up studies are limited. We studied the effect of a residential five days yoga intervention and later follow-up after three months of home practice on 102 senior level managers of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). They were assessed for various psychological constructs like mindfulness, emotion regulation, positive and negative affect and perceived stress. Results of linear mixed effects model showed that all the variables had significantly influenced the perceived stress, except for emotion regulation. Findings suggest that intervention is effective in addressing the stress of senior managers by improving mindfulness, positive affect, and better emotion regulation strategy, but due to lack of supervised guidance after the program, there is a high chance of further relapse, which needs further attention to maintain an environment of sustained wellbeing.

Neural correlates of cognitive reappraisal of positive and negative affect in older adults

Objectives Compromised regulation of negative and positive emotions is a common feature of psychopathology. Healthy aging relates to changes in affective processing, but older adults’ regulation of positive affect is less well understood than regulation of negative affect. We examined the cognitive reappraisal of positive and negative affect in healthy younger and older adults, and the neural correlates of reappraisal among older adults. Method Participants viewed negative, positive, and neutral IAPS images and were instructed to attend or reappraise their affective response. Younger and older adults (N = 31) in the behavioral pilot were asked to report on their affect after each image. Another group of older adults (N = 19) completed the same task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results Behaviorally, older adults were less effective than young adults at downregulating negative and positive affect. Older adults showed engagement of cognitive control regions when regulating negative affect, but not positive affect. Older adults showed increased, rather than decreased, activation in emotion appraisal regions when reappraising negative affect. Discussion These results may suggest that older adults are less engaged with negative stimuli ; however, future work is needed to address several limitations such as a limited sample size. In addition, we recommend future researchers expand on this work examining regulation of both positive and negative affect among older adults.

Positive and Negative Affect Mediate the Influences of a Maladaptive Emotion Regulation Strategy on Sleep Quality

Positive affect, negative affect, and emotion regulation strategies are related to sleep quality. Emotion regulation can also act as either a protective factor against the development of psychopathologies, or as a risk factor for their development, and therefore may be one mechanism linking mental health and sleep. However, currently it is not known whether affect can mediate the impact of emotion regulation strategy use on sleep quality. An opportunity sample in a healthy population completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule providing measures of positive and negative affect, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index providing a measure of sleep quality, and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire to record habitual use of emotion regulation strategies. Data were analysed using regression and mediation analyses. Negative affect and expressive suppression were positively correlated with PSQI score suggesting that as negative affect and expressive suppression use increased, sleep quality decreased. Positive affect was negatively correlated with PSQI score suggesting that as positive affect increased sleep quality improved. Further, mediation analyses revealed that both positive affect and negative affect mediated the impact of expressive suppression on sleep quality. Moreover, this partial mediation provides the first description that the influences of affect and expressive suppression on sleep quality are at least partially distinct. Targeting improvements in negative affect and effective emotion regulation strategy use may improve the efficacy of interventions aimed at improving sleep quality and the reduction in symptomology in psychopathologies.

The regulation of negative and positive affect in response to daily stressors.

Experimental investigations of emotion regulation have shown that reappraisal (changing interpretations to change emotions) and distraction (directing attention to change emotions) are effective for regulating the experience of both negative and positive affect, while suppression (changing the outward expression of emotion) has been consistently shown to be ineffective. It is unknown, however, whether this pattern of effects generalizes to the context of daily stressors-a common part of daily life in which effective emotion regulation should be particularly beneficial. In addition, little is known about how frequently different strategies are deployed in response to daily stressors. The present investigation used daily diary methodology in two separate samples of adults (N = 174) to examine the use of these three emotion regulation strategies and their relationships with both negative and positive affect in response to daily stressors. Results revealed that reappraisal was negatively associated with negative affect and positively associated with positive affect, although the effect sizes for positive affect were larger than those for negative affect, suggesting that reappraisal may be particularly important for increasing positive affect in response to daily stressors. Distraction was consistently positively associated with negative affect, while suppression was not consistently associated with either negative or positive affect, suggesting that these two strategies may not be associated with emotional relief in the face of stressors. In terms of frequency of use, suppression was endorsed at higher rates than reappraisal and distraction, suggesting that individuals' use of emotion regulation strategies may not align with their effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Respuestas al afecto positivo y ajuste psicológico en la adolescencia

La investigación hasta la fecha ha prestado poca atención a la regulación del afecto positivo en la adolescencia. Nuestros objetivos fueron construir un cuestionario para evaluar las respuestas al afecto positivo en adolescentes y estudiar las relaciones que presentan con el ajuste psicológico. Una muestra de 1.810 adolescentes completó el cuestionario de respuestas al afecto positivo (con tres dimensiones: rumiación positiva centrada en la emoción, rumiación positiva centrada en uno mismo e inhibición) y tres autoinformes de ajuste psicológico (satisfacción vital, autoestima y síntomas depresivos). El cuestionario mostró buena fiabilidad por consistencia interna y la misma estructura factorial que estudios previos con adultos. Un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales indicó que las respuestas de rumiación positiva centrada en la emoción y en uno mismo se relacionaron positivamente con la satisfacción vital y la autoestima, y negativamente con los síntomas depresivos, mientras que la inhibición del afecto positivo presentó asociaciones opuestas.

Examining the Relation Between Adolescent Social Anxiety and Positive Affect Regulation: Self-Report vs. Observation.

Social anxiety symptomatology is associated with disruptions in positive affect, though no study has examined deficits in responses to positive affect related to adolescent social anxiety symptoms. The present study tested whether adolescents' self-reported and observed social anxiety symptoms were uniquely associated with specific responses to positive affect. Moreover, we examined whether adolescent gender moderated these relations. Ninety adolescents (ages 11 to 18, Mage = 14.26, SD = 2.03; girls = 62%; white = 79%) completed self-report measures, participated in a social stressor task, and engaged in two positively-valenced interaction tasks with their female caregivers. Adolescent self-reported social anxiety symptoms were not uniquely associated with responses to positive affect. However, observed social anxiety symptoms were uniquely related to greater self-reported inhibiting positive affect responses and fewer observed positive affect maximizing behaviors. These findings highlight the need to examine self-reported and observed social anxiety symptoms in understanding associated disruptions in positive affect regulation.

Positive affect regulation in youth: Taking stock and moving forward

AbstractThis article summarizes the four articles in the Social Development quartet focused on positive affect regulation in youth. Each article in the quartet shows that parents’ socialization of youth positive affect (e.g., encouraging, enhancing, savoring, or dampening responses) is associated with youth positive affect regulation and depressive symptoms. Further, three of the studies provide novel evidence for an indirect relationship whereby parental socialization predicts youth depressive symptoms through youth positive affect regulation. The studies include samples of youth across mid‐childhood and adolescence (7–18‐year‐olds) from three countries (the United States, Belgium, and India), and utilize several methods of assessing youth positive affect regulation or parental socialization (parent‐reported surveys, youth‐reported surveys, coded parent–child discussions). This integrative article also identifies several ways in which the study of youth positive affect regulation can be advanced. We address the conceptualization of positive affect regulation and the socialization of children's positive affect, constraints on the adaptiveness of upregulating positive emotions, methodological directions, potential moderated effects based on child characteristics such as sex or temperament, and the importance of studying outcomes beyond depression.

Maternal socialization of children’s positive affect regulation: Associations with children’s savoring, dampening, and depressive symptoms

AbstractMaternal socialization of positive affect (PA) is linked to children's regulation of positive and negative emotions and the development of psychopathology. However, few studies have examined multiple types of emotion socialization as related to children's PA regulation and depressive symptoms. The current study examined how mothers’ socialization of children's PA regulation was related to children's PA regulation, and if children's PA regulation mediated the association between maternal socialization and children's depressive symptoms. Ninety‐six mother–child dyads (children aged 7–12) completed questionnaires and a five‐minute discussion about a positive event the child previously experienced; 76 dyads completed surveys again five months later. Partial correlations, controlling for child age and gender, indicated associations between maternal PA socialization and child PA regulation. Moderated mediation models suggested that maternal modeling of savoring predicted Time 2 child depressive symptoms via children's own savoring, which was moderated by Time 1 depressive symptoms. The moderated path indicated that only for children who reported higher depressive symptoms at Time 1, higher levels of savoring predicted lower depressive symptoms at Time 2. These results underscore the importance of examining multiple types of PA socialization and child PA regulation to predict children's depressive symptoms longitudinally.

Cross-cultural examination of different personality pathways to alcohol use and misuse in emerging adulthood

BackgroundPrevious research has identified different, but not mutually exclusive, etiological pathways (i.e., the positive affect regulation pathway, the negative affect regulation pathway and the deviance proneness pathway) to alcohol use and misuse in which personality characteristics play a key role. ObjectivesThe present study aimed to simultaneously and cross-culturally examine all these personality pathways to alcohol use in a large sample of young adult drinkers (N = 1280) from the US, Argentina, and Spain. MethodStructural equation modeling was conducted to test the models. Multi-group models were conducted to test model invariance across countries and gender groups. ResultsIn the whole sample, low conscientiousness and extraversion were related to alcohol outcomes through enhancement drinking motives (i.e., positive affect regulation pathway), low emotional stability was related through coping drinking motives (i.e., negative affect regulation pathway), and low conscientiousness and low agreeableness were related through antisocial behavior (i.e., deviance proneness pathway). The model was invariant between gender groups. Some minor, yet significant, differences across countries arose. Specifically, antisocial behavior was a significant mediator of the association between agreeableness and alcohol use, but only in the US subsample. ConclusionsThe present findings suggest that risky-personality pathways for alcohol use and alcohol-related problems may be generalized across gender groups and cultures in young adults.

How do my parents react when I feel happy? Longitudinal associations with adolescent depressive symptoms, anhedonia, and positive affect regulation

AbstractParental emotion socialization plays a role in the development of adolescents’ emotion regulation and is associated with adolescents’ depressive symptoms. Most research has focused on parental socialization of negative affect. The scarce research on parental socialization of positive affect (PA) shows that parental downgrading responses to adolescents’ PA are associated with concurrent adolescent depression. The aims of the present study were to examine longitudinal associations of both maternal and paternal responses to adolescents’ PA with how adolescents regulate their PA (i.e., dampening and enhancing) and with adolescents’ general depressive symptoms and anhedonia. We also considered associations in the opposite direction from adolescent regulatory responses and symptoms to parental responses. In a two‐wave study (1‐year interval), 635 adolescents from Grade seven completed questionnaires. Cross‐sectionally, maternal and paternal responses to adolescents’ PA were associated with concurrent adolescents’ PA regulation as well as adolescents’ depressive and anhedonic symptoms. Longitudinally, low maternal and paternal enhancing responses to adolescents’ PA predicted relative increases in anhedonic symptoms and relative decreases in adolescent enhancing over time. Low maternal enhancing was also predictive of relative increases in depressive symptoms. The present study points to bidirectionality of relations as adolescents’ level of depressive symptoms predicted maternal and paternal responses.

Maternal enhancing responses to adolescents’ positive affect: Associations with adolescents’ positive affect regulation and depression

AbstractMounting evidence indicates that deficits in positive affect (PA) regulation are implicated in youth depression. Although parental responses to youths’ PA expressions have been linked to youth regulation of negative affect, no study has directly examined whether parental responses are linked with youth PA regulation strategies. The present study utilized a novel observational measure to test whether maternal active‐constructive responses to youths’ PA were uniquely associated with youth effective PA regulation strategies and, subsequently, depressive symptoms. Ninety‐two adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 (Mage = 14.22, Girls = 62%) and their primary female caregivers (Mage = 41.40, 88% biological mothers) completed a series of questionnaires and engaged in a Plan a Day Trip interaction task. Results revealed that observed maternal active‐constructive responses to adolescents’ PA were uniquely associated with adolescents’ effective PA regulation strategies which, in turn, were related to lower depressive symptoms. These findings underscore the importance of parental responses to PA when sharing positive experiences for specifically targeting adolescents’ responses that generate and sustain PA.

Parental socialization of positive affect, adolescent positive affect regulation, and adolescent girls’ depression in India

AbstractAn emerging body of research shows that parental socialization of positive affect (PA) is implicated in youth functioning, although most evidence comes from Western countries. In this study, focusing on adolescent girls in India, we examined associations among reports of parents’ responses to adolescent PA, adolescent PA regulation, and adolescent depression. A total of 238 adolescent girls (13–18 years) and one of their parents (54% mothers) were recruited. Participants completed questionnaires at the beginning of the school year (time 1) and five months later (time 2). At the bivariate level, parents’ dampening and adolescent girls’ dampening responses were each associated concurrently with adolescent depression at time 1. However, there were no significant direct associations between time 1 parents’ dampening or enhancing responses and time 2 adolescent girls’ depression (after controlling for time 1 depression). Using half‐longitudinal models, a significant indirect effect was found from parental dampening of PA to increased adolescent depression via adolescent girls’ own increased dampening. No indirect effect was found from parental enhancing to adolescent depression via adolescent girls’ increased positive rumination. These findings are the first to demonstrate the relevance of PA socialization for girls in a non‐Western culture.