Emotion Dysregulation and Aging

Author(s):  
Patrick Whitmoyer ◽  
Ruchika Shaurya Prakash

This chapter presents an overview of literature relevant to understanding relations between aging and emotion dysregulation. Although a number of studies suggest that aging leads to shifts in emotion regulation and emotional well-being, the extent to which aging affects emotion dysregulation is less clear. To clarify the effects of aging on emotion dysregulation, this chapter begins by examining shifts in effectiveness of emotion regulation that occur with age, considering pertinent theories, and then expands on these findings by examining more specifically how context appropriateness of emotions, consequences of emotions on behavior, duration of emotions, and etiology and presentation of psychopathology are altered by aging processes. Finally, this chapter concludes by identifying gaps in the literature and recommendations for future empirical endeavors to advance our current understanding of effects of aging on emotion dysregulation.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leanne Hides ◽  
Genevieve Dingle ◽  
Catherine Quinn ◽  
Stoyan R Stoyanov ◽  
Oksana Zelenko ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Emotion dysregulation increases the risk of depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Music can help regulate emotions, and mobile phones provide constant access to it. The Music eScape mobile app teaches young people how to identify and manage emotions using music. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the effects of using Music eScape on emotion regulation, distress, and well-being at 1, 2, 3, and 6 months. Moderators of outcomes and user ratings of app quality were also examined. METHODS A randomized controlled trial compared immediate versus 1-month delayed access to Music eScape in 169 young people (aged 16 to 25 years) with at least mild levels of mental distress (Kessler 10 score>17). RESULTS No significant differences between immediate and delayed groups on emotion regulation, distress, or well-being were found at 1 month. Both groups achieved significant improvements in 5 of the 6 emotion regulation skills, mental distress, and well-being at 2, 3, and 6 months. Unhealthy music use moderated improvements on 3 emotion regulation skills. Users gave the app a high mean quality rating (mean 3.8 [SD 0.6]) out of 5. CONCLUSIONS Music eScape has the potential to provide a highly accessible way of improving young people’s emotion regulation skills, but further testing is required to determine its efficacy. Targeting unhealthy music use in distressed young people may improve their emotion regulation skills. CLINICALTRIAL Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12615000051549; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=365974


Author(s):  
Somboon Jarukasemthawee ◽  
Kullaya Pisitsungkagarn

Abstract Mindfulness has been widely studied in Western psychology for reducing psychological distress. However, several scholars noted that in the East, where the concept originated, mindfulness may be understood differently. In Eastern cultures such as Thailand, mindfulness is not only employed to deal with suffering but also to promote well-being. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have been undertaken to evaluate the relationship between traditional mindfulness and eudaimonic well-being in Eastern contexts. In the present study, we investigated the relationships between mindfulness and eudaimonic well-being in Thai contexts. We also explored the mediating roles of rumination and emotion dysregulation on this relationship. Data were collected from 312 Thai undergraduates who completed a measure of Eudaimonic Well-Being, the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, the Rumination–Reflection Questionnaire, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Results largely supported our hypotheses. Mindfulness was found to have a positive and direct association with eudaimonic well-being. Rumination and emotion dysregulation partially mediated this association. Additionally, both rumination and emotion dysregulation had negative and direct association with eudaimonic well-being. The findings highlight the positive influences of mindfulness on well-being. The benefits of mindfulness for improvement of eudaimonic well-being through reducing rumination and emotion dysfunction are discussed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise S. Dan-Glauser ◽  
Klaus R. Scherer

Successful emotion regulation is a key aspect of efficient social functioning and personal well-being. Difficulties in emotion regulation lead to relationship impairments and are presumed to be involved in the onset and maintenance of some psychopathological disorders as well as inappropriate behaviors. Gratz and Roemer (2004 ) developed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), a comprehensive instrument measuring emotion regulation problems that encompasses several dimensions on which difficulties can occur. The aim of the present work was to develop a French translation of this scale and to provide an initial validation of this instrument. The French version was created using translation and backtranslation procedures and was tested on 455 healthy students. Congruence between the original and the translated scales was .98 (Tucker’s phi) and internal consistency of the translation reached .92 (Cronbach’s α). Moreover, test-retest scores were highly correlated. Altogether, the initial validation of the French version of the DERS (DERS-F) offers satisfactory results and permits the use of this instrument to map difficulties in emotion regulation in both clinical and research contexts.


2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meinrad Perrez ◽  
Michael Reicherts ◽  
Yves Hänggi ◽  
Andrea B. Horn ◽  
Gisela Michel ◽  
...  

Abstract. Most research in health psychology is based on retrospective self reports, which are distorted by recall biases and have low ecological validity. To overcome such limitations we developed computer assisted diary approaches to assess health related behaviours in individuals’, couples’ and families’ daily life. The event- and time-sampling-based instruments serve to assess appraisals of the current situation, feelings of physical discomfort, current emotional states, conflict and emotion regulation in daily life. They have proved sufficient reliability and validity in the context of individual, couple and family research with respect to issues like emotion regulation and health. As examples: Regarding symptom reporting curvilinear pattern of frequencies over the day could be identified by parents and adolescents; or psychological well-being is associated with lower variability in basic affect dimensions. In addition, we report on preventive studies to improve parental skills and enhance their empathic competences towards their baby, and towards their partner.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongjun Wang ◽  
Steve M. Jex ◽  
Yisheng Peng ◽  
Lidan Liu ◽  
Sisi Wang

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Moltrecht ◽  
Jessica Deighton ◽  
Praveetha Patalay ◽  
Julian Childs

Background: Research investigating the role of emotion regulation (ER) in the development and treatment of psychopathology has increased in recent years. Evidence suggests that an increased focus on ER in treatment can improve existing interventions. Most ER research has neglected young people, therefore the present meta-analysis summarizes the evidence for existing psychosocial intervention and their effectiveness to improve ER in youth. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Twenty-one randomized-control-trials (RCTs) assessed changes in ER following a psychological intervention in youth exhibiting various psychopathological symptoms.Results: We found moderate effect sizes for current interventions to decrease emotion dysregulation in youth (g=-.46) and small effect sizes to improve emotion regulation (g=0.36). Significant differences between studies including intervention components, ER measures and populations studied resulted in large heterogeneity. Conclusion: This is the first meta-analysis that summarizes the effectiveness for existing interventions to improve ER in youth. The results suggest that interventions can enhance ER in youth, and that these improvements correlate with improvements in psychopathology. More RCTs including larger sample sizes, different age groups and psychopathologies are needed to increase our understanding of what works for who and when.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Veilleux ◽  
Garrett Pollert ◽  
kayla skinner ◽  
Danielle Baker ◽  
Kaitlyn Chamberlain ◽  
...  

The beliefs people hold about emotion are clearly relevant for emotional processes, although the social psychological research on malleability or “lay” beliefs about emotion are rarely integrated with the clinical research on emotional schemas. In the current study, we examine a variety of beliefs about emotion (e.g., beliefs that emotions can be changed, beliefs that negative emotions are bad, beliefs that emotions should not be expressed, beliefs that emotions control behavior, beliefs that emotions last “forever”) along with other emotion belief measures and measures of psychopathology (general psychological distress, borderline personality), emotion dysregulation, interpersonal emotional attributions (emotional expressivity, interpersonal emotion regulation) and psychological flexibility (mindfulness, emotional intelligence). In a combined sample of undergraduates (n = 162) and adults from Mechanical Turk (n = 197), we found that beliefs about the longevity and uniqueness of emotions were unique predictors of psychopathology, even after controlling for age and gender. We also found that after controlling for symptoms of psychopathology, beliefs about longevity and that negative emotions are bad predicted greater emotion dysregulation and lower mindfulness. Beliefs that emotions should be kept to the self and a preference of logic over emotion predicted less emotional expressivity, interpersonal emotion regulation, and emotional intelligence. Beliefs that emotions control behavior also predicted lower mindfulness. Finally, when asked whether they think their beliefs change during strong emotions, people who said their beliefs change (about two-thirds of the sample) reported higher symptoms of psychopathology, higher emotion dysregulation, higher use of interpersonal regulation strategies and lower mindfulness.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Farstad ◽  
Kristin M. von Ranson

To elucidate similarities and differences between binge eating and a behavioral addiction, this prospective study compared facets of emotion regulation that were associated with problem gambling, the only formally recognized behavioral addiction, and binge eating. Community-based women (N = 202) who engaged in at-risk binge eating (n = 79), at-risk gambling (n = 36), or both (n = 87) completed four online assessments over six months. Baseline and six-month surveys assessed self-reported emotion dysregulation (using the DERS and UPPS-P), binge eating (using the EDE-Q), and gambling (using the PGSI); abbreviated two- and four-month surveys assessed only binge eating and gambling. Binge eating and problem gambling were both associated with emotion dysregulation, and greater positive urgency was correlated with more severe problem gambling but less frequent binge eating. Negative urgency explained no unique variance in binge eating or problem gambling changes over time, once other facets of emotion dysregulation (i.e., positive urgency and facets assessed by the DERS) were included. Thus, previous cross-sectional research may have overestimated the association of negative urgency with both binge eating and problem gambling. Overall, these findings suggest that binge eating and problem gambling are associated with common as well as distinct emotion regulation deficits.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikki Theofanopoulou ◽  
Katherine Isbister ◽  
Julian Edbrooke-Childs ◽  
Petr Slovák

BACKGROUND A common challenge within psychiatry and prevention science more broadly is the lack of effective, engaging, and scale-able mechanisms to deliver psycho-social interventions for children, especially beyond in-person therapeutic or school-based contexts. Although digital technology has the potential to address these issues, existing research on technology-enabled interventions for families remains limited. OBJECTIVE The aim of this pilot study was to examine the feasibility of in-situ deployments of a low-cost, bespoke prototype, which has been designed to support children’s in-the-moment emotion regulation efforts. This prototype instantiates a novel intervention model that aims to address the existing limitations by delivering the intervention through an interactive object (a ‘smart toy’) sent home with the child, without any prior training necessary for either the child or their carer. This pilot study examined (i) engagement and acceptability of the device in the homes during 1 week deployments; and (ii) qualitative indicators of emotion regulation effects, as reported by parents and children. METHODS In this qualitative study, ten families (altogether 11 children aged 6-10 years) were recruited from three under-privileged communities in the UK. The RA visited participants in their homes to give children the ‘smart toy’ and conduct a semi-structured interview with at least one parent from each family. Children were given the prototype, a discovery book, and a simple digital camera to keep at home for 7-8 days, after which we interviewed each child and their parent about their experience. Thematic analysis guided the identification and organisation of common themes and patterns across the dataset. In addition, the prototypes automatically logged every interaction with the toy throughout the week-long deployments. RESULTS Across all 10 families, parents and children reported that the ‘smart toy’ was incorporated into children’s emotion regulation practices and engaged with naturally in moments children wanted to relax or calm down. Data suggests that children interacted with the toy throughout the duration of the deployment, found the experience enjoyable, and all requested to keep the toy longer. Child emotional connection to the toy—caring for its ‘well-being’—appears to have driven this strong engagement. Parents reported satisfaction with and acceptability of the toy. CONCLUSIONS This is the first known study investigation of the use of object-enabled intervention delivery to support emotion regulation in-situ. The strong engagement and qualitative indications of effects are promising – children were able to use the prototype without any training and incorporated it into their emotion regulation practices during daily challenges. Future work is needed to extend this indicative data with efficacy studies examining the psychological efficacy of the proposed intervention. More broadly, our findings suggest the potential of a technology-enabled shift in how prevention interventions are designed and delivered: empowering children and parents through ‘child-led, situated interventions’, where participants learn through actionable support directly within family life, as opposed to didactic in-person workshops and a subsequent skills application.


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