Self-reported Emotion Dysregulation Research Articles

Cortical Representation of Afferent Bodily Signals in Borderline Personality Disorder: Neural Correlates and Relationship to Emotional Dysregulation.

The ability to perceive and regulate one's own emotions has been tightly linked to the processing of afferent bodily signals (interoception). Thus, disturbed interoception might contribute to the core feature of emotional dysregulation in borderline personality disorder (BPD), as increased levels of depersonalization, body image disturbances, and reduced sensitivity to physical pain suggest poor body awareness in BPD. To determine neural correlates of disturbed body awareness in BPD and its associations with emotional dysregulation and to explore improvements in body awareness with BPD symptom remission. Case-control study performed at Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany. Heartbeat evoked potentials (HEPs), an indicator of the cortical representation of afferent signals from the cardiovascular system, were investigated in 34 medication-free patients with BPD, 31 healthy volunteers, and 17 medication-free patients with BPD in remission. The HEPs were assessed using 5-minute resting-state electroencephalograms and parallel electrocardiograms. Core BPD symptoms, history of childhood traumatization, and psychiatric disorders were assessed by means of self-reports and structured interviews. To measure neural correlates of disturbed body awareness, high-resolution T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging scans were collected and analyzed using voxel-based morphometry and region-of-interest-based approaches. The study was performed between 2012 and 2014, and data analysis was performed in 2014. Mean HEP amplitudes in resting-state electroencephalograms and their correlation with self-reported emotional dysregulation, as well as with gray matter volume. Patients with BPD had significantly reduced mean HEP amplitudes compared with healthy volunteers (F1,61 = 11.32, P = .001), whereas the mean HEP amplitudes of patients with BDP in remission lie somewhere in between these 2 groups of participants (P > .05). The HEP amplitudes were negatively correlated with emotional dysregulation (R = -0.30, P = .01) and positively associated with gray matter volume in the left anterior insula (R = 0.53, P < .05) and the bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (R = 0.47, P < .05), 2 structures that have been identified as core regions for interoception. The results indicate state-dependent deficits in the cortical processing of bodily signals in patients with BPD, which appear to be associated with core features of BPD. The analysis of patients with BPD in remission suggests an improvement in cortical representation of bodily signals with symptom remission. Results recommend the integration of techniques to strengthen bodily awareness in psychotherapeutic interventions of BPD.

The Value of a Smile: Child Positive Affect Moderates Relations Between Maternal Emotion Dysregulation and Child Adjustment Problems

Little is known about how processes underlying maternal psychopathology, such as emotion dysregulation, are related to children’s adjustment problems. Further, scant research has explored child protective factors that can buffer these associations. We used a multi-method approach to examine whether child positive affect functions as a protective and/or promotive factor in the context of maternal emotion dysregulation in a cross-sectional sample of 95 mothers (M age = 30.38 years, SD = 6.10) and their preschool-age children (M age = 3.52 years, SD = .52). We assessed maternal emotion dysregulation using respiratory sinus arrhythmia data and a self-report measure. Mothers reported on their children’s positive affect as well as their internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Results yielded significant bivariate relations between maternal self-reported emotion dysregulation and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Moderation analyses indicated that high child positive affect facilitated adjustment across both internalizing and externalizing domains when maternal physiological emotion dysregulation was low. In addition, high child positive affect facilitated adjustment in the internalizing domain when self-reported maternal emotion dysregulation was low. The identification of factors contributing to adjustment problems during the preschool period is crucial given the potential for the prevention of long-term maladaptation, and our results suggest that child positive affect and maternal emotion dysregulation may be important targets for prevention and intervention work.

Delivering group treatment via videoconference to individuals with traumatic brain injury: A feasibility study

The objective was to assess the feasibility of delivering a group treatment to improve emotional regulation via videoconferencing to individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). A pre–post feasibility study was undertaken. Seven individuals with TBI were recruited at a brain injury research centre in an urban medical centre. The main measures were therapist assessment of session-by-session progress and feasibility, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust Regulation of Emotions Questionnaire (BREQ), Satisfaction with Therapy and Therapist Scale (STTS), and exit interview. Attendance across sessions and participants was over 90%. Adequate skill acquisition and ease of use of the technology were demonstrated. Self-reported satisfaction with treatment was high. Participants noted several benefits in terms of the treatment delivery modality. There was no change is self-reported emotional dysregulation. This is the first study to report the use of videoconferencing for the delivery of group treatment to individuals with TBI. The exceptional compliance and self-reported satisfaction suggest that this treatment delivery option could be a viable alternative for increasing access to healthcare in this population. The findings of the study supported the development of a large clinical trial to assess treatment effectiveness.

Emotional Dysregulation, Attributional Bias, Neurocognitive Impairment in Individuals at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis and with Schizophrenia : Its Association with Paranoia

Objectives : Paranoia is a complex phenomenon, affected by a number of factors such as depression, trait anxiety, and attribution- al bias in schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to explore whether paranoia within continuum of clinical and subclinical states is associated with emotional dysregulation, attributional bias and neurocognitive impairment in whole individuals of normal con- trols, ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis and schizophrenia. Methods : 101 normal controls, 50 participants at UHR for psychosis, and 49 schizophrenia patients were recruited. All subjects were asked to complete self-reported paranoia scale and emotional dysregulation scales including Rosenberg's self-esteem, Spiel- berg's state-trait anxiety inventory and Beck depression inventory. The attributional style was assessed by Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ). Participants were also requested to complete the comprehensive neurocognitive battery. Results : Multiple linear regression analysis showed that paranoia were found to be associated with emotional dysregulation (state anxiety, trait anxiety and depression), composite blaming bias in ambiguous situation, impairment of attention and working mem- ory in whole participants (F (9, 190)=34.85, p<0.001, adjusted R 2 =0.61). Conclusion : The main findings suggest that paranoia is a complex affective and cognitive structure that may be associated with emotional dysregulation, blaming bias and attention and working memory impairment in clinical and non-clinical paranoia. (Ko- rean J Schizophr Res 2014;17:63-71)

A Pilot Trial of Mindfulness Meditation Training for ADHD in Adulthood: Impact on Core Symptoms, Executive Functioning, and Emotion Dysregulation

Objective: Mindfulness meditation training is garnering increasing empirical interest as an intervention for ADHD in adulthood, although no studies of mindfulness as a standalone treatment have included a sample composed entirely of adults with ADHD or a comparison group. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of mindfulness meditation for ADHD, executive functioning (EF), and emotion dysregulation symptoms in an adult ADHD sample. Method: Adults with ADHD were stratified by ADHD medication status and otherwise randomized into an 8-week group-based mindfulness treatment (n = 11) or waitlist group (n = 9). Results: Treatment feasibility and acceptability were positive. In addition, self-reported ADHD and EF symptoms (assessed in the laboratory and ecological momentary assessment), clinician ratings of ADHD and EF symptoms, and self-reported emotion dysregulation improved for the treatment group relative to the waitlist group over time with large effect sizes. Improvement was not observed for EF tasks. Conclusion: Findings support preliminary treatment efficacy, though require larger trials.

Mindfulness and its relationship to emotional regulation.

Research on the effectiveness and mechanisms of mindfulness training applied in psychotherapy is still in its infancy (Erisman & Roemer, 2010). For instance, little is known about the extent and processes through which mindfulness practice improves emotion regulation. This experience sampling study assessed the relationship between mindfulness, emotion differentiation, emotion lability, and emotional difficulties. Young adult participants reported their current emotional experiences 6 times per day during 1 week on a PalmPilot device. Based on these reports of emotions, indices of emotional differentiation and emotion lability were composed for negative and positive emotions. Mindfulness was associated with greater emotion differentiation and less emotional difficulties (i.e., emotion lability and self-reported emotion dysregulation). Mediational models indicated that the relationship between mindfulness and emotion lability was mediated by emotion differentiation. Furthermore, emotion regulation mediated the relationship between mindfulness and both negative emotion lability and positive emotion differentiation. This experience sampling study indicates that self-reported levels of mindfulness are related to higher levels of differentiation of one's discrete emotional experiences in a manner reflective of effective emotion regulation.

Emotion dysregulation and negative affect: association with psychiatric symptoms.

A growing body of research focuses on the development and correlates of emotion dysregulation, or deficits in the ability to regulate intense and shifting emotional states. Current models of psychopathology have incorporated the construct of emotion dysregulation, suggesting its unique and interactive contributions, along with childhood disruptive experiences and negative affect, in producing symptomatic distress. Some researchers have suggested that emotion dysregulation is simply a variant of high negative affect. The aim of this study was to assess the construct and incremental validity of self-reported emotion dysregulation over and above childhood trauma and negative affect in predicting a range of psychopathology. Five hundred thirty individuals aged 18 to 77 years (62% female) were recruited from the waiting areas of the general medical and obstetric/gynecologic clinics in an urban public hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Participants completed a battery of self-report measures obtained by interview, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Emotion Dysregulation Scale. Regression analyses examined the unique and incremental associations of these self-report measurements of childhood traumatic experiences, negative affect, and emotion dysregulation with concurrent structured interview-based measurements of psychiatric distress and history of self-destructive behaviors. These measures included the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, the Short Drug Abuse Screening Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Global Adaptive Functioning Scale from the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation. The presented data were collected between 2005 and 2009. Regression models including age, gender, childhood trauma, negative affect, and emotion dysregulation were significantly (P ≤ .001) associated with each of the study's criterion variables, accounting for large portions of the variance in posttraumatic stress symptoms (R² = 0.21), alcohol and drug abuse (R² = 0.28 and 0.21, respectively), depression (R² = 0.55), adaptive functioning (R² = 0.14), and suicide history (omnibus χ² = 74.80, P < .001). Emotion dysregulation added statistically significant (P < .01) incremental validity to each regression model (β = 0.25, 0.34, 0.35, 0.34, and -0.18, and Wald = 24.43, respectively). Results support the conceptualization of emotion dysregulation as a distinct and clinically meaningful construct associated with psychiatric distress that is not reducible to negative affect. Emotion dysregulation is a key component in a range of psychiatric symptoms and disorders and a core target for psychopharmacologic and psychosocial treatment interventions.

Self-Reported Emotional Dysregulation But No Impairment of Emotional Intelligence in Borderline Personality Disorder

Emotional dysfunction is a key feature of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) but emotional intelligence (EI) has rarely been investigated in this sample. This study aimed at an investigation of ability EI, general intelligence, and self-reported emotion regulation in BPD. We included 19 patients with BPD and 20 healthy control subjects in the study. EI was assessed by means of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso emotional intelligence test and the test of emotional intelligence. For the assessment of general intelligence, we administered the multidimensional "Leistungsprüfsystem-Kurzversion." The emotion regulation questionnaire and the difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale were used to assess emotion regulation. The patients with BPD did not exhibit impairments of ability EI and general intelligence but reported severe impairments in emotion regulation. Ability EI was related both to general intelligence (patients and controls) and to self-reported emotion regulation (patients). In conclusion, emotional dysfunction in BPD might primarily affect self-perceived behavior rather than abilities. Intense negative emotions in everyday life may trigger dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies in BPD although patients possess sufficient theoretical knowledge about optimal regulation strategies.

Stress and coping during early development: The need for a systems theory approach

During pregnancy, a woman’s emotions can have longstanding implications for both her own and her child’s health. Within-person emotional concordance refers to the simultaneous measurement of emotional responses across multiple levels of analysis. This method may provide insight into how pregnant women experience emotions in response to stress. We enrolled 162 pregnant women and assessed concordance through autonomic physiology (electrodermal activity [EDA], respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]), and coded behavior (Prosocial, Flight, Displacement) during the Trier Social Stress Test–Speech. We used multilevel models to examine behavioral-physiological concordance and whether self-reported emotion dysregulation moderated these effects. Participants exhibited EDA-Prosocial concordance, suggesting that prosocial behavior may be a marker of stress. Emotion dysregulation did not moderate concordance. These findings provide novel information about behavioral coping to stress in pregnancy. Given the importance of observed behavior in the maintenance and treatment of psychopathology, these findings may provide a launchpad for future perinatal intervention research.