Differentiate to Regulate: Low Negative Emotion Differentiation Is Associated With Ineffective Use but Not Selection of Emotion-Regulation Strategies

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 863-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise K. Kalokerinos ◽  
Yasemin Erbas ◽  
Eva Ceulemans ◽  
Peter Kuppens
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Experience Sampling ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Emotion Differentiation ◽  
Sampling Studies ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
Selection Of

Emotion differentiation, which involves experiencing and labeling emotions in a granular way, has been linked with well-being. It has been theorized that differentiating between emotions facilitates effective emotion regulation, but this link has yet to be comprehensively tested. In two experience-sampling studies, we examined how negative emotion differentiation was related to (a) the selection of emotion-regulation strategies and (b) the effectiveness of these strategies in downregulating negative emotion ( Ns = 200 and 101 participants and 34,660 and 6,282 measurements, respectively). Unexpectedly, we found few relationships between differentiation and the selection of putatively adaptive or maladaptive strategies. Instead, we found interactions between differentiation and strategies in predicting negative emotion. Among low differentiators, all strategies (Study 1) and four of six strategies (Study 2) were more strongly associated with increased negative emotion than they were among high differentiators. This suggests that low differentiation may hinder successful emotion regulation, which in turn supports the idea that effective regulation may underlie differentiation benefits.

Emotion Regulation Strategies Predict Emotional Distress during the COVID-19 Outbreak among Parents of Children with Special Needs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mor Keleynikov ◽  
Joy Benatov ◽  
Noga Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Children With Special Needs ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Raising Children ◽  
Regulation Strategies

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has been declared a global pandemic. The consequences of this pandemic, among them changes in routine, quarantine, school closures and more, place children with special needs and their families at risk of severe emotional distress. Therefore, the present study used an online survey to measure stress, anxiety and depression levels as well as concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak among 94 parents of children with special needs (mean age = 41.6 years, SD = 6.59; 83% female) and 79 parents raising a typically developing child (mean age = 40.85 years, SD = 7.40; 85% female). We also examined whether the use of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies (reappraisal and suppression, respectively) predicts emotional distress among the two parent groups. The results indicate that compared to parents of TD children, parents of children with special needs reported more concerns about the COVID19 outbreak and more symptoms of emotional distress (depression, anxiety and stress). The use of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies moderated the association between concerns arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and emotional distress. In addition, the habitual use of emotion regulation strategies predicted distress only among parents of children with special needs but not among parents of TD children. These findings highlight the role played by emotion regulation in maintaining well-being at times of crisis among vulnerable populations, such as families raising children with special needs.

scholarly journals Social Media Activities, Emotion Regulation Strategies, and Their Interactions on People’s Mental Health in COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (23) ◽  
pp. 8931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Yang ◽  
Keqiao Liu ◽  
Siqi Li ◽  
Man Shu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Regulation Strategies

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the general population’s life worldwide. People may spend more time on social media because of policies like “work at home”. Using a cross-sectional dataset collected through an online survey in February 2020, in China, we examined (1) the relationships between social media activities and people’s mental health status and (2) the moderation effect of emotional-regulation strategies. The sample included people aged ≥18 years from 32 provinces and regions in China (N = 3159). The inferential analyses included a set of multiple linear regressions with interactions. Our results showed that sharing timely, accurate, and positive COVID-19 information, reducing excessive discussions on COVID-19, and promoting caring online interactions rather than being judgmental, might positively associate with the general public’s psychological well-being. Additionally, the relationships between social media activities and psychological well-being varied at different emotion-regulation strategy levels. Adopting the cognitive reappraisal strategy might allay the adverse relationships between certain social media activities and mental health indicators. Our findings expanded the theory of how social media activities can be associated with a human being’s mental health and how it can interact with emotion-regulation strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Development of a Novel Method of Emotion Differentiation That Uses Open-Ended Descriptions of Momentary Affective States

Assessment ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1928-1945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Ottenstein ◽  
Tanja Lischetzke
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Emotion Differentiation ◽  
Diary Studies ◽  
Daily Diary Studies ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Emotion differentiation (ED) has been conceptualized as a trait that facilitates emotion regulation and increases well-being. Yet basic questions remain unanswered about how best to assess it and whether favorable outcomes can be observed only during times of stress. The goal of the present research was to develop a novel behavioral (specificity) index of ED. We conducted two daily diary studies ( N = 111-190) in which we included different measures of ED, well-being, and emotion regulation. The different ED measures were largely unrelated to each other. In both studies, the specificity index of ED showed a positive association with daily well-being, but in Study 2, this association held only on days with a negative event. Results regarding ED and the use of emotion-regulation strategies were inconsistent across strategies and studies. Possible reasons for these mixed results (e.g., sample selection, context sensitivity of regulation strategies) are discussed.

Emotions, Cognitions, and Well-Being

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin M. Perrone-McGovern ◽  
Stephanie L. Simon-Dack ◽  
Kerry N. Beduna ◽  
Cady C. Williams ◽  
Aaron M. Esche
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Cognitive Reappraisal ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Adaptive Perfectionism ◽  
Theoretical Conceptualization

In this study, we examined interrelationships among emotional overexcitability, perfectionism, emotion regulation, and subjective well-being. Dabrowski and Piechowski’s theoretical conceptualization of overexcitabilities and J. J. Gross and John’s constructs of emotion regulation strategies provided a framework to guide hypotheses in the present study. Participants were 191 adults who responded to surveys administered via online methodology. Multiple-regression analyses revealed that participants in the present study with higher emotional overexcitability had lower degrees of emotion regulation overall, whereas individuals reporting higher levels of adaptive perfectionism (strivers) had higher levels of emotion regulation. Furthermore, strivers and those who used cognitive reappraisal strategies for emotion regulation were linked to higher subjective well-being for participants in this study.

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