Negative Emotion Regulation Research Articles

Snyder Hopes the Effect of Theoretical Nursing Combined with Adaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategy on Cirrhotic Patients with Esophageal Variceal Bleeding

Explore the effect of Snyder hope theory nursing combined with adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategy on hope level, psychological elasticity, response and negative emotion regulation ability of cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric variceal bleeding. 120 patients with liver cirrhosis with esophagogastric variceal bleeding from January to December 2023 were randomly divided into observation group (n = 60) and control group (n = 60). The control group was given the strategy of adaptive cognitive emotion regulation. The observation group was given hope theory nursing combined with adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategy. After nursing, the scores of Herth hope scale (C-HHI), psychological resilience scale (CD-RISC), face dimension, avoidance and surrender in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05, 0.05). The scores of negative emotion regulation scale (NMR-S) in the observation group were higher than those in the control group. Snyder hopes that theoretical nursing combined with adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategy can improve the hope level of cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric variceal bleeding, improve their psychological resilience and coping style, and improve their negative emotion regulation ability.

Health and University Students: The Mediator Role of Emotion Regulation Between Academic Stressors and Health Behaviors.

To determine the role of Health Behaviors and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies in the relationship between Health and Academic Stress. A cross-sectional study with in-person administration of questionnaires. Data collection took place at nine public and private universities in Peru, involving a diverse group of students from different faculties. 1640 students, a majority of them female (61.8%), ranging in age between 18 and 30years old (M = 20.72; SD = 2.22). A sociodemographic form was used to collect participants' sociodemographic, academic, and health data. Academic stress was measured by the Inventory of Academic Stress (SISCO). Health habits were assessed using the University Students Lifestyle Questionnaire (CEVJU-Perú). The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CER-Q) and the SF-36 Questionnaire were also used to evaluate cognitive emotion regulation strategies and health-related quality of life, respectively. The SEM model results (x2/df = 2.30, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .03, SRMR = .04) reveal that Academic Stress has direct and indirect effects on Health. Negative Emotional Regulation have a negative impact on Health, this effect is direct; while Positive Emotional Regulation has an effect on Health, this effect is direct and indirect, the latter is through Sleep Management, Physical Activity and Leisure Management. In addition, Academic Stress maintains a direct effect on only one health behavior, Sleep Management. This study's findings contribute to a better understanding of the role played by emotion regulation, and by positive strategies in particular, in student health.

Emotion processes in voice-hearers: Understanding differences in emotional reactivity, emotion regulation and alexithymia.

Disrupted emotion processes are commonly linked to the onset and maintenance of auditory verbal hallucinations. However, a comprehensive approach using an extended emotion model has not previously been applied to voice-hearers to distinguish impairments in emotion processes from non-clinical populations. The present study hypothesised voice-hearers, as compared to controls, would have (1) higher reactivity to negative emotions and lower reactivity to positive emotions, (2) more difficulties regulating negative and positive emotions, (3) more maladaptive strategy use, and (4) higher alexithymia. T-tests tested these hypotheses, comparing self-report measures of emotional reactivity, emotion regulation and alexithymia in voice-hearers(n = 50) to controls (n = 53). There were no group differences in emotional reactivity to positive or negative emotions. Compared to controls, voice-hearers showed difficulties in both positive and negative emotion regulation, were more likely to use expressive suppression, and were more likely to be alexithymic. These findings may help researchers and clinicians identify difficulties in voice-hearers' emotion processing, providing better direction for case formulation and treatment.

Anhedonia in flux: Understanding the associations of emotion regulation and anxiety with anhedonia dynamics in a sample with major depressive disorder

Negative rumination and emotion regulation difficulties have been consistently linked with depression. Despite anhedonia—the lack of interest in pleasurable experiences—being a cardinal symptom of depression, emotion regulation of positive emotions, including dampening, are considered far less in the literature. Given that anhedonia may manifest through blunted responses to previously positive or enjoyable experiences, it is vital to understand how different positive emotion regulation strategies impact anhedonia symptom severity and how it can vary or change over time. Moreover, understanding the detrimental or protective nature of positive emotion regulation on anhedonia can aid with future anhedonia-focused treatments. Therefore, the current study examined the temporal association between anhedonia dynamics and two different emotion rumination strategies in response to positive emotions: dampening and positive rumination. Depressed persons (N = 137) completed baseline measures of positive emotion regulation, difficulties regulating negative emotions, and anxiety, and completed ecological momentary assessments three times per day for 90 days regarding their depressive symptoms, including anhedonia. We assessed baseline dampening and amplifying scores to predict anhedonia dynamics through four linear models with interactions. Providing partial support for our hypotheses, results indicate that amplifying positivity is positively associated with fluctuations, instability, and acute changes in anhedonia over the course of 90 days; however, neither dampening, difficulties regulating negative emotions, nor anxiety were related to anhedonia dynamics. The current findings suggest that amplifying positivity may be able to predict changes in anhedonia over time and should further be examined as a potential protective factor of anhedonia.

Diminished negative emotion regulation through affect labeling and reappraisal: insights from functional near infrared spectroscopy on lateral prefrontal cortex activation

BackgroundReappraisal, an emotion regulation strategy, includes reinterpretation and affect labeling involving verbalizing emotions. In general, reappraisal is supported by lateral prefrontal cortical regions, which are also known to underlie cognitive regulation. Other research has shown that affect labeling combined with reappraisal of negative emotions increases lateral prefrontal cortex activity more than reappraisal alone does, suggesting that affect labeling facilitates emotional regulation. However, the influence of affect labeling on the efficacy of reappraisal in reducing subjective negative emotions has not been determined.MethodsIn the experiment, 35 participants (mean age = 28.2 years (SD = 9.63); 12 women and 23 men) viewed vignettes that aroused negative emotion. Then, they rated subjective negative emotions as baseline values. Following the baseline rating, the task branched into four conditions, combining affect labeling and emotion regulation factors. In the affect-labeling factor, participants selected emotional labels consistent with their own emotions or not. Regarding the emotion regulation factor, participants engaged in reappraisal to regulate their negative emotions. Throughout the experiment, the intensity of negative emotions was measured three times, mirroring the baseline measurement. Oxyhemoglobin (OxyHb) signal values in prefrontal cortex regions during tasks were measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy.ResultsDifferences between the subjective negative emotion ratings at baseline and after reappraisal indicated that reappraisal significantly reduced negative emotion with and without affect labeling (t (1173.05) = 29.97, p < 0.001), and the combination of affect labeling and reappraisal was less effective in regulating negative emotions at the subjective level than reappraisal without affect labeling (t (1172.03) = 3.15, p < 0.01). Additionally, there was an increase in OxyHb signal in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal and right ventral prefrontal cortices while participants performed reappraisal with affect labeling.ConclusionOur findings suggest that affect labeling, when performed prior to cognitive reappraisal, may influence the process of negative emotion regulation in complex ways. The interaction between affect labeling and reappraisal appears to modulate prefrontal cortex activity, potentially reflecting changes in cognitive processing during emotion regulation attempts. These results highlight the need for further investigation into the intricate relationship between different emotion regulation strategies.

Socioemotional instruction in learning support staff across Italian primary schools: a call for using the ‘multidimensional, scaffolding framework’ in training programmes

ABSTRACT International research has illustrated that learning support staff (LSS) play a crucial role in the instruction of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND): they support the children’s classwork while teachers manage the whole-class instruction. However, fewer research studies have explored LSS’s role in the children’s socioemotional learning, although this support is highly important for pupils’ regulation of negative emotions, effective participation in whole-class conversations, and academic learning. The current research explores LSS socioemotional practices in a relatively unexamined country (Italy), providing LSS with a high level of training. Thirty-one primary-school-LSS members completed a questionnaire and interview. The LSS reported infrequently supporting the socioemotional learning of children with (and without) SEND despite their difficulties. Also, they appeared to overly control the children’s peer interactions and emotions, minimising their self-management. The participants associated their infrequent socioemotional instruction with their limited socioemotional training and preparedness, and insufficient persuasion by the national curriculum to promote socioemotional education. Findings are largely interpreted using a new ‘multidimensional, scaffolding framework’ linking LSS socioemotional practices and related children’s learning. Findings also suggest that the framework could usefully guide LSS training.

Self-Immersed Expressive Writing Increases LF/HF Ratio and Decreases Expressive Suppression

Abstract: Expressive writing helps the disclosure of an emotionally charged event, in a safe and nonthreatening environment, while focusing on the feelings and emotions associated with a traumatic experience. Studies have proposed that expressive writing improves both mental and physical health, and that writing perspective might influence expressive writing outcomes. However, no studies have compared both emotion regulation outcomes and Heart-Rate Variability between self-immersed (I) and self-distancing expressive writing (She/He). Two hundred and one college students at a university were randomly assigned to either an expressive group, writing about their most upsetting life experience (using either a self-immersed or distanced perspective), or a control group (using either a self-immersed or distanced perspective), writing about their daily routine. Positive and negative affect, emotion regulation, anxiety and alexithymia were measured before and after writing. Heart-rate variability was recorded during the experiment to examine the effects of the writing exercise on the autonomous nervous system. We found that suppression decreased at follow-up (η2p = .023) and LF/HF ratio increased after writing (η2 p = .031) in the self-immersed expressive group, in comparison to the self-immersed control group. These are promising results as they suggest that self-immersed expressive writing might be used to foster emotion regulation.

The relative influence of cognitive and emotional impulsivity on emotional availability in mothers with problematic substance use

Emotional availability (EA) reflects caregiving that is sensitive, non-intrusive, and non-hostile, and provides the child with structure to learn and safely explore their world. While variable, EA can be lower in mothers with problematic substance use compared to non-clinical samples. Despite strong support for a relation between impulsivity and problematic substance use (including as it relates to regulation of strong positive or negative emotion), its impact on EA has not been explored. This relationship was examined in a sample of 29 mothers who were attending substance use treatment. Video recordings of mother and child (under 4 years of age) playing were coded for EA and mothers completed a self-report questionnaire examining impulsivity. Given shared variance among types of impulsivity (cognitive, positive, and negative) and EA dimensions (sensitivity, structuring, non-intrusiveness, and non-hostility), canonical correlational analysis (CCA) was used to identify variables contributing most strongly to the relation between impulsivity and EA. A single function accounted for 56% of variance. Cognitive and negative emotional impulsivity contributed significantly to structuring and non-intrusiveness dimensions of EA. Positive emotional impulsivity made a smaller nonsignificant contribution but was noted to support EA sensitivity. Developing awareness of impulsivity and times that it may hinder or support EA may enhance the quality of parent-child relationship development, improve parenting confidence, and decrease risk for harsh or neglectful parenting.

Beliefs on the ability to regulate negative emotions mediates the effects of competitive anger on task-focused self-efficacy in taekwondo athletes

Self-efficacy (SE) refers to an individual's belief in their own ability to successfully execute specific tasks and produce desired outcomes. The focused SE on specific sports tasks has been shown to impact athletic performance by interacting with other self-evaluation processes, like self-efficacy beliefs in emotion-related regulation and effective emotion regulation. This study aims at investigating the mediating effect of SE in regulating negative affect in the relationship between anger and taekwondo task-focused SE. Accordingly, the study aims to adapt and validate the Roundhouse Kick Self-Efficacy Scale (RKSES) in Italian, which assesses taekwondo task-focused SE in athletes.In study 1, 180 Italian taekwondo athletes (Mage = 27.6, SD = 12; 89.4 % black belts; 69 women) were sampled to validate the Italian version of the RKSES, which presented a good fit of the data (p = .031), internal consistency (α = .916), and concurrent validity (r = .561). Study 2 involved 357 Italian taekwondo athletes (Mage = 28.4, SD = 11.87; 87.4 % black belts; 147 women), and collected self-reports on regulating negative emotions SE, competitive anger and aggression, perceived physical ability, and taekwondo task-focused SE. Analysis of covariance revealed multiple differences between age-related categories in terms of competitive anger (p < .001) and aggressiveness (p = .041), and between gender groups in terms of competitive aggressiveness (p = .002), negative emotion regulation SE (p = .024), and perceived physical abilities (p < .001). Mediation analysis indicated that negative emotion regulation SE partially mediated the effects of competitive anger on task-focused SE (p < .001).Findings suggest a mediating role of negative emotion regulation SE in the relationship between competitive anger and task-focused SE, emphasizing the importance of taking an instrumental approach to emotion regulation, and advocates for the use of practical tools to assess task-focused SE.

Special needs teachers in emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of personal resources and teaching motivation on burnout

BackgroundThis cross-sectional study explores the connections between burnout, personal resources, and teaching motivation among Italian special needs teachers (SNTs) one year following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It specifically seeks to determine if and how personal resources and teaching motivation can help SNTs by buffering the effects of burnout symptoms.MethodsThe study was conducted using a sample of 837 full-time, in-service kindergarten and primary teachers at public schools in Italy. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires, including the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, the Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale, the Crèche Educators Emotional Style Questionnaire, and the Autonomous Motivations for Teaching Scale. A multiple regression model was performed to assess the predictive role of personal resources and teaching motivation on the burnout of special needs teachers.ResultsThe findings indicate that higher levels of autonomous motivation are associated with reduced burnout, specifically among special education teachers. Conversely, higher levels of negative emotion regulation strategies were linked to increased burnout, and this relationship was stronger in mainstream teachers than in special education teachers. We found no significant association between teachers’ compassion and burnout.ConclusionsOur research supports the need for educational policymakers and school leaders to focus on personal resources and work-related well-being to enhance and support teachers, in particular during emergencies (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic) and for specific groups of teachers, such as SNTs.

Self-compassion and work engagement among Chinese nurses: exploring mediating effects of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Work engagement significantly influences both the quality of nursing care and nurses' job performance. In this study, we aimed to explore the mediating effects of negative emotions on the relationship between self-compassion and work engagement among Chinese nurses. A cross-sectional study was performed on nurses in a tertiary A hospital located in Henan province from September, 2023 to December, 2023. Custom-designed digital surveys were disseminated to gather pertinent data. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) were utilised to analyse the data and determine relationships among self-compassion, negative emotions and work engagement. A total of 1,201 nurses were included. According to the statistical model, self-compassion (β = 0.116, CI: -0.036 to -0.008, p < 0.001) and negative emotions (β = -0.372, CI: -0.053 to -0.033, p < 0.001) were correlated with work engagement. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that negative emotions partially mediated the relationship between self-compassion and work engagement (β = 0.174, CI: -0.066 to -0.020, p < 0.01). These findings indicate that incorporating self-compassion and negative emotion regulation in interventions targeting work engagement may enhance the overall level of work engagement among nurses, thereby improving job satisfaction and the quality of patient care.

Emotional labour strategies, emotional job demands, and burnout among academic staff in Jordanian universities

ABSTRACT This study examined the relationships between emotional labour strategies and its antecedents and consequences among academic staff in Jordanian universities. A total of 547 university teachers from three public Jordanian Universities responded to a questionnaire survey. The results showed that university teachers who experienced higher levels of negative emotion regulation, engaged in detached engagement, exhibited impulse control, anticipated emotions less, and displayed less emotional countenance were more likely to experience difficulties with emotion regulation. Those who engaged more in surface acting and faced greater challenges in regulating their emotions were more likely to experience burnout. Additionally, difficulties in emotion regulation still served as a potential mediator in the link between surface acting and emotional job demands, and between personal accomplishment and emotional job demands. Emotional job demands exhibited a positive relationship with surface acting. The challenges posed by emotional job demands might not directly lead to difficulties in emotion regulation.

Resting vagally-mediated heart rate variability in the laboratory is associated with momentary negative affect and emotion regulation in daily life.

Vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is a physiological index reflecting parasympathetic activity that has been linked to emotion regulation (ER) capacity. However, very limited research has examined associations of physiological indices of regulation such as vmHRV with emotional functioning in daily life. The few studies that exist have small samples sizes and typically focus on only a narrow aspect of ER or emotional functioning. In this study, we examined associations between vmHRV assessed in the laboratory and emotional/mental health functioning in daily life using a 7-day ecological momentary assessment design in 303 adult community participants. We hypothesized that higher resting vmHRV would be associated with higher positive affect (PA), lower negative affect (NA), less affective variability, greater well-being, fewer dysphoria symptoms, greater use of engagement ER strategies, and less use of avoidance ER strategies, as assessed in daily life. Results revealed that higher resting vmHRV in the laboratory (as indexed by both high frequency heart rate variability, HF-HRV, and the root mean of successive square deviations between heart beats, RMSSD) was significantly associated with less frequent use of avoidance ER strategies in daily life. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed, including the association of vmHRV with negatively valenced, rather than positively valenced, daily life experiences.

Validation of an Instrument for Detecting Problematic Internet Use in Adolescents.

Problematic internet use (PIU) has drawn attention due to its potentially negative consequences on individuals' social and personal lives. At present, a consensus on diagnostic criteria for problematic internet use remains elusive, leaving uncertainty regarding its classification as a distinct mental disorder. Extensive research efforts are underway to investigate its underlying causes, risk factors, and correlated adverse consequences. Nonetheless, research on problematic internet use (PIU) frequently faces challenges due to the absence of consistent and dependable evaluation methods, with many existing assessment tools lacking a solid theoretical basis. This study introduces a novel instrument that incorporates positive emotional regulation along with negative emotional regulation, compulsive use, and cognitive preoccupation, all crucial aspects of PIU. The study involved 3054 adolescents from Madrid, Spain, and employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to validate the instrument's structure. The resulting four-factor model includes Positive Emotional Regulation, Negative Emotional Regulation, Compulsive Use, and Cognitive Preoccupation. The instrument demonstrates good internal consistency and an association with risk factors, as evidenced by correlations with time spent on various internet-related activities. This comprehensive tool enhances our understanding of PIU and its underlying cognitive and emotional processes and provides a valuable resource for assessing and addressing problematic internet use in adolescents.

Regulation of negative emotions through directed attention in high-trait-anxious women: Evidence from event-related potentials and eye-tracking

Abnormal emotional responses in high-trait-anxious (HTA) individuals may be related to the use of emotion regulation strategies. Directed attention is a substrategy of attention deployment, which has been proven to be effective in regulating individual negative emotions. The present study investigated whether HTA women can effectively utilize directed attention to decrease negative emotions. Two studies were conducted using the same directed attention paradigm, with one focusing on event-related potentials (ERPs) and the other utilizing eye-tracking techniques. Participants viewed negative and neutral pictures and rated their negative emotions experienced during viewing. During directed attention, attention was directed towards highly arousing aspects, less arousing aspects of negative pictures, or less arousing aspects of neutral pictures. In study 1, late positive potentials (LPP) were recorded in 26 HTA and 24 low-trait-anxious (LTA) women. In study 2, the latency of first fixation, the proportion of gaze duration and fixations in the specific area were recorded in 27 HTA and 23 LTA women. Both the HTA and LTA groups revealed a decrease in negative emotional ratings and LPP amplitudes when their attention was directed towards the less arousing aspects of negative pictures. Furthermore, in this condition, the HTA group had a shorter latency of first fixation on highly arousing aspects and a higher proportion of gaze duration on less arousing aspects of negative pictures compared to the LTA group. These results indicate that when confronted with negative pictures, HTA women are able to regulate their emotional responses through directed attention, which may be accompanied by attentional vigilance and avoidance tendencies.

Neuropsychological features of somatic symptom disorder and depression/anxiety in Taiwan: An analysis based on the comorbidity status

Individuals with somatic symptom disorder (SSD) often have comorbid depression or anxiety, but whether SSD is associated with specific neuropsychological functions has yet to be fully examined. We analyzed which neuropsychological features are more closely associated with SSD, anxiety, and depression. In this case-control study, we recruited 140 individuals with SSD, 104 individuals with affective disorders without SSD, and 159 healthy controls in Taiwan. We collected DSM-5 diagnoses, questionnaire scores, and performance on eight tasks from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) for each participant. Several CANTAB tasks involving attention, executive function, and social cognition showed significant group differences. In the adjusted analysis, the tasks significantly associated with SSD were the Match to Sample Visual Search (MTS) and the Emotion Recognition Task (ERT). Among the questionnaires, the Cognitions about Body and Health Questionnaire showed the most significant associations with the tasks, specifically with Rapid Visual Information Processing, MTS, Paired Associates Learning, Spatial Working Memory, Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift, and ERT. We conclude that the MTS and ERT tasks show significant relationships with both SSD diagnosis and related questionnaires. These tasks primarily involve selective attention and negative emotion regulation.

Relationships Between Applied Mindfulness Practice, Chronic Pain, and Pain-Related Functioning in Veterans

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been shown to improve chronic pain and associated conditions like depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. However, there is limited research on how veterans with chronic pain apply mindfulness skills to manage pain in daily life. This cross-sectional study examined the association between applied mindfulness practice, pain, and several pain-related conditions among 1,737 veterans with chronic pain prior to enrollment in a trial of 2 MBIs. Applied mindfulness practice was assessed using the Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS). The outcomes included pain interference, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, physical function, and social participation. Higher overall AMPS scores, as well as the positive and negative emotional regulation subscales of the AMPS, were associated with less pain interference and catastrophizing, as well as better outcomes for all pain-related conditions. The positive emotional regulation subscale had the strongest associations with outcomes. There was no significant association between the AMPS and pain intensity. The results suggest applied mindfulness practice, especially positive emotional regulation, may improve pain and functioning. In addition, the AMPS shows promise as a process measure of mindfulness skills applied in daily life. Additional research is needed to examine different aspects of mindfulness in the context of MBIs. PerspectiveThis article describes the relationship between applied mindfulness practice and pain-related outcomes, prior to a MBI, using a novel measure of mindfulness practice. These findings underscore the importance of measuring applied mindfulness practice prior to and during clinical interventions to treat chronic pain.

Non-linear association between air pollutants and secondary sensitive skin in acne patients.

There is a growing number of patients suffering from sensitive skin secondary to acne, but its prevalence and influencing factors are not yet well-understood. The aim of this study is to investigate the nonlinear relationship between air pollutants and secondary sensitive skin in acne patients. A cross-sectional study comprising 4325 acne outpatients in China was carried out between September 2021 and December 2022, employing a simple random sampling approach. Air pollutants data was derived from the nearest air quality monitoring station corresponding to the subjects' residential locations. Furthermore, socio-economic characteristics, biological attributes, and lifestyle data of patients were acquired via questionnaire surveys. The data were subsequently analyzed utilizing the XGBoost machine learning model. A nonlinear relationship has been observed between secondary sensitive skin in acne patients and various factors, including particulate matter (PM2.5), inhalable particulate matter (PM10), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), the severity of depression, different levels of exercise intensity, acne grading, frequency of sunscreen application, gender, and age. The occurrence of secondary sensitive skin in acne patients be mitigated through the implementation of measures such as the control of air pollutant emissions, regulation of negative emotions, and improvement of personal lifestyle.

A smartphone app-based mindfulness intervention to enhance recovery from substance use disorders: Protocol for a pilot feasibility randomized controlled trial

BackgroundPoor long-term recovery outcomes after treatment (e.g., readmission to inpatient treatment) are common among individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). In-person mindfulness-based treatments (MBTs) are efficacious for SUDs and may improve recovery outcomes. However, existing MBTs for SUD have limited public health reach, and thus scalable delivery methods are needed. A digitally-delivered MBT for SUDs may hold promise. MethodsWe recently developed Mindful Journey, a smartphone app-based adjunctive MBT for improving long-term recovery outcomes. In this paper, we present details on the app and describe the protocol for a single-site pilot feasibility randomized controlled trial of Mindful Journey. In this trial, individuals (n = 34) in an early phase of outpatient treatment for SUDs will be randomized to either treatment-as-usual (TAU) plus Mindful Journey, or TAU only. The trial will focus on testing the feasibility (e.g., engagement) and acceptability of the app (e.g., perceived usability and helpfulness for recovery), as well as feasibility of study procedures (e.g., assessment completion). The trial will incorporate ecological momentary assessment before and after treatment to assess mechanisms in real-time, including mindfulness, craving, difficulties with negative emotion regulation, and savoring. To examine the sensitivity to change of outcomes (substance use, substance-related problems, and psychological distress) and mechanism variables (noted above), we will test within-treatment-condition changes over time. DiscussionThe proposed pilot trial will provide important preliminary data on whether Mindful Journey is feasible and acceptable among individuals with SUDs. Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05109507.

The association between negative emotion differentiation and emotion regulation flexibility in daily life

ABSTRACT Emotion differentiation emphasises labelling emotional experiences in a precise and context-sensitive way. Negative emotion differentiation (NED) has been found to be associated with mental health, where emotion regulation (ER) may act as a pathway. The current study aims to explore the association between NED and flexible ER implementation in daily life. Specifically, we examined how NED was associated with two aspects of ER flexibility: contextual synchrony and temporal ER variability. 101 college students (54% female; M age = 20.24 years) reported their momentary emotions via a 7-day experience sampling protocol, and the intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to reflect NED. In 10-day daily diaries, they also reported information about the most negative event during the day (i.e. event type, event intensity and ER goal) and how they regulated their emotions. The results revealed that individuals with high NED showed higher levels of synchrony between change in ER use and change in event type and ER goal. In addition, NED was positively associated with both within- and between-strategy variability in ER use. The results demonstrated that the ability to differentiate between negative emotions was related to higher ER flexibility, which shed new light on understanding the role of emotion differentiation in well-being.