Measuring Emotion Regulation Skill Use During Treatment: A Promising Methodological Approach

Assessment ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 107319112110632
Author(s):  
Maya Nauphal ◽  
Andrew J. Curreri ◽  
Nicole D. Cardona ◽  
Emily R. Meyer ◽  
Matthew W. Southward ◽  
...  

Emotion regulation has become ubiquitous in the study of psychopathology and a growing number of treatment outcome studies are collecting data on emotion regulation skill use. However, traditional measures of emotion regulation fail to capture important nuances in emotion regulation processes, their relationship to psychopathology, and how individuals use emotion regulation skills over time and across contexts. Novel methodologies are particularly needed for measuring emotion regulation in the context of treatment studies. In this article, we discuss a proposed methodology, the combination of ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and single-case experimental design (SCED), for measuring emotion regulation strategy use in the context of treatment outcome studies. To inform this discussion, we provide a brief overview of common approaches to assessing emotion regulation skill use in the context of treatment outcome research. We then describe the utility of intensive data capture (EMA) in the context of idiographic treatment studies (SCED), present a case study to illustrate the different uses of data collected through EMA in the context of a SCED study, and discuss considerations for implementing this method in clinical practice.

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-446
Author(s):  
Hayley Medland ◽  
Kalee De France ◽  
Tom Hollenstein ◽  
David Mussoff ◽  
Peter Koval

Abstract. Researchers are increasingly using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate how people regulate their emotions from moment-to-moment in daily life. However, existing self-report measures of emotion regulation have been designed and validated to assess habitual/trait use of emotion regulation strategies and may therefore not be suited to assessing momentary emotion regulation. The present study aimed to develop a brief, yet reliable, EMA measure of emotion regulation in daily life by adapting the Regulation of Emotion Systems Survey (RESS; DeFrance & Hollenstein, 2017 ), a recently developed global self-report questionnaire assessing habitual use of six emotion regulation strategies. We created an EMA version of the RESS by selecting 12 items from the original scale and adapting them for EMA. We investigated the psychometric properties of the new RESS-EMA scale by administering it eight times daily for 7 days via smartphones to a sample of undergraduates ( n = 112). Results of multilevel modeling analyses supported the within- and between-person reliability and validity of the RESS-EMA scale and suggest that it is a viable way to comprehensively assess momentary emotion regulation strategy use in daily life.


2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Zimmermann ◽  
Alexandra Iwanski

Despite the growing research on emotion regulation, the empirical evidence for normative age-related emotion regulation patterns is rather divergent. From a life-span perspective, normative age changes in emotion regulation may be more salient applying the same methodological approach on a broad age range examining both growth and decline during development. In addition, emotion-specific developmental patterns might show differential developmental trends. The present study examined age differences in seven emotion regulation strategies from early adolescence (age 11) to middle adulthood (age 50) for the three emotions of sadness, fear, and anger. The results showed specific developmental changes in the use of emotion regulation strategies for each of the three emotions. In addition, results suggest age-specific increases and decreases in many emotion regulation strategies, with a general trend to increasing adaptive emotion regulation. Specifically, middle adolescence shows the smallest emotion regulation strategy repertoire. Gender differences appeared for most emotion regulation strategies. The findings suggest that the development of emotion regulation should be studied in an emotion-specific manner, as a perspective solely on general emotion regulation either under- or overestimates existing emotion-specific developmental changes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
María Camino Gómez-Pérez ◽  
Azucena García-Palacios ◽  
Diana Castilla ◽  
Irene Zaragozá ◽  
Carlos Suso-Ribera

Objective. Overall, the literature on the effectiveness of psychological treatments in general and those for fibromyalgia in particular has been dominated by research designs that focus on large groups and explore changes on average, so the treatment impact at the individual level remains unclear. In this quasi-experimental, replicated single-case design, we will test the feasibility and effectiveness of a brief acceptance and committed therapy intervention using ecological momentary assessment supported by technology. Methods. The sample comprised 7 patients (3 in the individual condition and 4 in the group condition) who received a brief, 5-week psychological treatment. Patient evolution was assessed one week prior to treatment onset and during the whole study with a smartphone app. Because ecological momentary assessment and the use of an app are not frequent practices in routine care, we also evaluated the feasibility of this assessment methodology (i.e., compliance with the app). Change was investigated with a nonoverlap of all pairs index. Outcomes were pain interference with sleep and social activities, fatigue, sadness, and pain intensity. Results. Patient change was not uniform across outcomes. Four patients (two in each condition) showed relatively moderate levels of change (approximately 60% nonoverlap in several outcomes). The remaining patients showed more modest improvements which affected a reduced number of outcomes. Based on nonoverlapping indices, there was no clear evidence in favor of any treatment format. Conclusions. An alternative design to large-scale trials, one that focuses on the individual change, exists and it can be implemented in pain research. The use of technology (e.g., smartphones) simplifies such designs by facilitating ecological momentary assessment. Based on our findings showing that changes were not homogeneous across patients or outcomes, more single-case designs and patient-centered analyses (e.g., responder and moderation analyses) are required.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 451-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew W. Southward ◽  
Jane E. Heiy ◽  
Jennifer S. Cheavens

Introduction: Researchers have examined how several contexts impact the effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies. However, few have considered the emotion-to-be-regulated as a context of interest. Specific emotions are important contexts because they may require particular responses to internal and external stimuli for optimal regulation. Method: Ninety-two undergraduates completed 10 days of ecological momentary assessment, reporting their current mood, recent emotions, and emotion regulation strategies three times per day. Results: The frequency with which certain emotion regulation strategies were used (i.e., acceptance, positive refocusing, reappraisal, problem-solving, and other-blame) differed by the specific emotion experienced. Acceptance and positive refocusing were associated with better mood regardless of emotion, while substance use was associated with worse mood regardless of emotion. Reappraisal was associated with better mood in response to anger than anxiety or sadness, while emotional suppression and other-blame were associated with worse mood in response to anger. Discussion: These results suggest some emotion regulation strategies exhibit emotion-invariant effects while others depend on the emotion-to-be-regulated.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 1651-1659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon J. Haines ◽  
John Gleeson ◽  
Peter Kuppens ◽  
Tom Hollenstein ◽  
Joseph Ciarrochi ◽  
...  

The ability to regulate emotions is central to well-being, but healthy emotion regulation may not merely be about using the “right” strategies. According to the strategy-situation-fit hypothesis, emotion-regulation strategies are conducive to well-being only when used in appropriate contexts. This study is the first to test the strategy-situation-fit hypothesis using ecological momentary assessment of cognitive reappraisal—a putatively adaptive strategy. We expected people who used reappraisal more in uncontrollable situations and less in controllable situations to have greater well-being than people with the opposite pattern of reappraisal use. Healthy participants ( n = 74) completed measures of well-being in the lab and used a smartphone app to report their use of reappraisal and perceived controllability of their environment 10 times a day for 1 week. Results supported the strategy-situation-fit hypothesis. Participants with relatively high well-being used reappraisal more in situations they perceived as lower in controllability and less in situations they perceived as higher in controllability. In contrast, we found little evidence for an association between greater well-being and greater mean use of reappraisal across situations.


1998 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles A Sanislow ◽  
Thomas H McGlashan

Objective: To review the treatment outcome of personality disorders. Method: A literature search of studies pertaining to personality disorder and outcome was conducted, and studies that focused primarily on Axis II were retained. Of these, naturalistic outcome studies were distinguished from those that addressed treatment outcome specifically. The treatment outcome studies were examined in terms of type of treatment intervention, dependent variables, and outcome. Results: Contrary to contemporary assumptions about Axis II, a substantial number of treatment outcome studies were identified. Trends in the assumptions underlying psychosocial and pharmacologic approaches were identified on the basis of dependent variables. Conclusion: There is evidence that effective treatments exist to alleviate symptoms and reduce symptomatic behaviours that accompany personality disorders. What these results hold for the idea of remission from personality disorder is considered.


2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 890-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Luis Retolaza ◽  
Leire San-Jose

Purpose Although there are several often-used case research methods for teaching purposes, these cannot be used to conduct scientific research into business ethics, perhaps owing to criticism levelled against it. The precise aim of this work is to expound and argue for its use within the framework of scientific hypothetical-deductive methodology. Design/methodology/approach The opportunities offered by this methodological approach, both from an inductive (Eisenhardt, 1989; Dyer and Wilkins, 1991) and a deductive perspective (Yin, 1993; Carson et al., 2000), have been wasted, creating a need for scientific contributions within this area; hence, this study. It was carried on a theoretical approach of the use of single case applied to corporate management based on religion and spirituality inclusion. Findings The results obtained indicate that the single-case research method makes it possible to put forward alternative hypotheses to the dominant hypothesis, making contributions to the theory. Concretely, the scientific legitimacy of its use is justified by what it has been called “possibilistic hypothesis” for what it is not necessary to collect a large data or make an empiric research. Practical implications In the field of business ethics, these hypotheses (possibilistics) make alternatives stand out that widen the moral responsibility of decision-makers. It implies an open mind for decision-makers and rigorous arguments using just a single case. Reinforce and make them easier based on moral imagination improvement. Originality/value The decision process is complex, but in this rich method, the single-case study could permit establishing rigorous and robust decisions easily. The case study is not used widely for management, but this perspective could enrich and increase its use.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document