scholarly journals The Effect of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy on Emotion Dysregulation in Couples

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-127
Author(s):  
Ahmed Rady ◽  
Tarek Molokhia ◽  
Nehal Elkholy ◽  
Ahmed Abdelkarim
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Dyadic Adjustment ◽  
Marital Distress ◽  
Behaviour Therapy ◽  
Female Partners ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Divorce Rates

Background: Divorce rates have increased during the last decade, leading to a greater focus of marital scholars on the importance of understanding couple-maintaining strategies within marital life. Distresses in couples are attributable to difficulties controlling felt, experienced, and expressed emotions; thus, emotion dysregulation is a core stressor in couples with maladaptive responses. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) on outpatient couples to treat emotion dysregulation. Methods: We recruited 20 couples with marital distress in which partners presented emotion dysregulation. We offered the couples the opportunity to join a couple DBT group at their convenience and based on the immediate availability of treatment slots. We measured the treatment efficacy using psychometric tools (the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and the Dyadic Adjustment Ccale (DAS) at baseline and after DBT therapy. Results: Both male and female partners presented significant improvements in marital adjustment DAS and emotion regulation scores. Female partners showed significantly greater amplitude changes in both scales. Female partners showed significant improvement in most DERS subscales (except the GOALS subscale); on the other hand, male partners showed significant improvements in impulse, awareness, strategies, and clarity subscales. We found significant improvements in most DAS subscales in both sexes; only affectional expression remained unchanged before and after therapy. Conclusion: DBT for couples is an effective approach to treat emotion dysregulation.

Intimate Partner Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms: Indirect Effects Through Negative and Positive Emotion Dysregulation

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110063
Author(s):  
Lauren E. Simpson ◽  
Alexa M. Raudales ◽  
Miranda E. Reyes ◽  
Tami P. Sullivan ◽  
Nicole H. Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are at heightened risk for developing posttraumatic stress (PTS). Emotion dysregulation has been linked to both IPV and PTS, separately, however, unknown is the role of emotion dysregulation in the relation of IPV to PTS among women who experience IPV. Moreover, existing investigations in this area have been limited in their focus on negative emotion dysregulation. Extending prior research, this study investigated whether physical, sexual, and psychological IPV were indirectly associated with PTS symptom severity through negative and positive emotion dysregulation. Participants were 354 women who reported a history of IPV recruited from Amazon’s MTurk platform ( Mage = 36.52, 79.9% white). Participants completed self-report measures assessing physical (Conflict Tactics Scale), sexual (Sexual Experiences Scale), and psychological (Psychological Maltreatment of Women) IPV; negative (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) and positive (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Positive) emotion dysregulation; and PTS symptom severity (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5) via an online survey. Pearson’s correlation coefficients examined intercorrelations among the primary study variables. Indirect effect analyses were conducted to determine if negative and positive emotion dysregulation explained the relations between physical, sexual, and psychological IPV and PTS symptom severity. Physical, sexual, and psychological IPV were significantly positively associated with both negative and positive emotion dysregulation as well as PTS symptom severity, with the exception that psychological IPV was not significantly associated with positive emotion dysregulation. Moreover, negative and positive emotion dysregulation accounted for the relationships between all three IPV types and PTS symptom severity, with the exception of positive emotion dysregulation and psychological IPV. Our findings provide support for the potential underlying role of both negative and positive emotion dysregulation in the associations of IPV types to PTS symptom severity. Negative and positive emotion dysregulation may be important factors to integrate into interventions for PTS among women who experience IPV.

Dysregulation of emotions among pathological gamblers: The role of savoring

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S394-S394
Author(s):  
G. Rogier ◽  
P. Velotti
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Pathological Gambling ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Pathological Gamblers ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation ◽  
Regulation Strategies

IntroductionTheories have conceptualized pathological gambling as an attempt to cope with emotional states. However, there is a lack of research about emotion dysregulation in this population. In a similar way, few is known about the nature of emotion regulation strategies used by pathological gamblers. Furthermore, it is not clear if pathological gamblers have difficulties to regulate negative emotions (as sadness) or positive ones (as excitement).ObjectivesWe sought to explore the associations among pathological gambling, emotion dysregulation and different types of emotion regulation strategies, comparing a clinical sample with community participants.AimsTo highlight similarities and differences in emotion dysregulation between pathological gamblers and healthy participants.MethodsA sample of pathological gamblers and a sample of healthy men, were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Difficulties in Emotion regulation Scale-Positive (DERS-P), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) and the Ways of Savoring Checklist (WOSC).ResultsAs expected, both levels of emotion dysregulation and suppression were significantly higher in the clinical sample while levels of savoring and reappraisal were significantly higher in the community sample.ConclusionsSuch results confirm the theorization of pathological gambling as a dysfunctional response to emotional states and underline the role of positive emotions. Specifically, pathological gamblers may be prone to suppress negative emotions instead to engage in functional strategies as reappraisal. Gamblers also fail to regulate positive emotions showing a poor capacity of savoring positive moments.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Emotion Regulation Difficulties: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-164
Author(s):  
Lauren J. Harvey ◽  
Caroline Hunt ◽  
Fiona A. White
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Behaviour Therapy ◽  
Qualitative Synthesis ◽  
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy ◽  
Participant Engagement ◽  
Treatment Conditions ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation ◽  
Increasing Risk

AbstractWhile dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) appears efficacious in reducing suicidal and self-harming behaviour, it is unclear whether DBT reduces emotion regulation (ER) difficulties, a purported mechanism of change of treatment. This review aims to investigate and evaluate the current evidence to understand the effectiveness of DBT in improving ER difficulties. A qualitative synthesis of studies investigating the effectiveness of DBT on self-reported ER difficulties as measured by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) was performed, identifying eligible studies using PsycINFO, PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. Fourteen studies were identified. Current evidence indicates that DBT does not show consistent benefits relative to existing psychological treatments in improving ER difficulties. The literature is compromised by significant methodological limitations increasing risk of bias across study outcomes. Furthermore, high variability across DBT programs and a lack of investigation regarding adherence and participant engagement within interventions was observed. Further research is needed in order to conclude regarding the effectiveness of DBT in improving ER difficulties. Consistent use of active treatment conditions, greater standardisation of DBT-based interventions, in addition to further examination of participant engagement level in DBT-based interventions in the long term may assist understanding as to whether DBT improves ER difficulties.

scholarly journals Emotional regulation in eating disorders and gambling disorder: A transdiagnostic approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucero Munguía ◽  
Susana Jiménez-Murcia ◽  
Roser Granero ◽  
Isabel Baenas ◽  
Zaida Agüera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Linear Relationship ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Gambling Disorder ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation

AbstractBackground and aimsDifficulties in Emotion Regulation (ER) are related to the etiology and maintenance of several psychological disorders, including Eating Disorders (ED) and Gambling Disorder (GD). This study explored the existence of latent empirical groups between both disorders, based on ER difficulties and considering a set of indicators of personality traits, the severity of the disorder, and psychopathological distress.MethodsThe sample included 1,288 female and male participants, diagnosed with ED (n = 906) and GD (n = 382). Two-step clustering was used for the empirical classification, while analysis of variance and chi-square tests were used for the comparison between the latent groups.ResultsThree empirical groups were identified, from the most disturbed ER profile (Subgroup 1) to the most functional (Subgroup 3). The ER state showed a linear relationship with the severity of each disorder and the psychopathological state. Different personality traits were found to be related to the level of emotion dysregulation.Discussion and conclusionIn this study, three distinct empirical groups based on ER were identified across ED and GD, suggesting that ER is a transdiagnostic construct. These findings may lead to the development of common treatment strategies and more tailored approaches.

Distinct emotion regulation skills explain psychopathology and problems in social relationships following childhood emotional abuse and neglect

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (02) ◽  
pp. 483-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara R. Berzenski
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Emotional Neglect ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation ◽  
Childhood Emotional Abuse

AbstractEfforts to differentiate between the developmental sequelae of childhood emotional abuse and childhood emotional neglect are critical to both research and practice efforts. As an oft-identified mechanism of the effects of child maltreatment on later adjustment, emotion dysregulation represents a key potential pathway. The present study explored a higher order factor model of specific emotion regulation skills, and the extent to which these skill sets would indicate distinct developmental pathways from unique emotional maltreatment experiences to multidomain adjustment. A sample of 500 ethnoracially diverse college students reported on their experiences. A two-factor model of emotion regulation skills based on subscales of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale was revealed. Significant indirect effects of childhood emotional abuse on psychopathology and problems in social relationships were found through response-focused difficulties in emotion regulation, whereas a significant indirect effect of childhood emotional neglect on problems in social relationships was found through antecedent-focused difficulties in emotion regulation. These results are consistent with theoretical models and empirical evidence suggesting differential effects of childhood emotional abuse and emotional neglect, and provide an important indication for developing targeted interventions focusing on specific higher order emotion dysregulation skill clusters.

scholarly journals Cognitive and affective empathy relate differentially to emotion regulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas M Thompson ◽  
Carien M. van Reekum ◽  
Bhismadev Chakrabarti
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Cognitive Empathy ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Affective Empathy ◽  
Interference Effects ◽  
Emotional Interference ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation ◽  
Component Processes ◽  
The Relationship

The constructs of empathy (i.e. understanding/sharing another’s emotion) and emotion regulation (i.e. the processes by which one manages emotions) have largely been studied in relative isolation of one another. To better understand the interrelationships between their various component processes, this manuscript reports two studies that examined the relationship between empathy and emotion regulation using a combination of self-report and task measures. In study 1 (N=137), trait cognitive and affective empathy were found to share divergent relationships with self-reported emotion dysregulation. Emotion dysregulation was negatively related to cognitive empathy but showed no relationship with affective empathy. In the second study (N=92), the magnitude of emotion interference effects (i.e. the extent to which inhibitory control was impacted by emotional relative to neutral stimuli) in variants of a Go/NoGo and Stroop task were used as proxy measures of implicit emotion regulation abilities. Trait cognitive and affective empathy were found to share different relationships with both task metrics. Higher affective empathy was associated with increased emotional interference in the Emotional Go/NoGo; no such relationship was observed for trait cognitive empathy. In the Emotional Stroop, higher cognitive empathy was associated with reduced emotional interference, but no such relationship was observed for affective empathy. Together, these studies demonstrate that greater cognitive empathy was broadly associated with improved emotion regulation abilities, while greater affective empathy was typically associated with increased difficulties with emotion regulation. This finding points to the need for assessing the different components of empathy in psychopathological conditions marked by difficulties in emotion regulation.

scholarly journals On the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Training in Anger Management and Emotional Regulation Difficulties in Adolescents

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saadi Lotfali ◽  
Alireza Moradi ◽  
Hamed Ekhtiari
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Anger Management ◽  
Anger Expression ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
And Control

Introduction: Considering the high prevalence of anger problems in adolescence and the importance of emotion regulation in this age period, this study aims to assess the effectiveness of emotional regulation training in anger management and emotion regulation difficulties in adolescents by means of body postures, breathing pattern, and facial expressions.Method: A quasi-experimental research design along with pretest-posttest and control group was employed for the conduct of this study. For this purpose, the number of 50 adolescents was selected via purposive sampling through screening based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. These participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups and the experimental group then received 8 sessions of emotion regulation training. In this period, the control group received the treatment unrelated to emotion regulation training. Both groups were assessed in terms of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) before and after the treatment as well as in the three-month follow-up. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics, including covariance analysis.Results: Data analysis showed that emotion regulation training has a significant effect on anger management and components emotion regulation difficulties in adolescents.Conclusion: As per the results of this study, it is recommended that emotion regulation training be extensively conducted in the form of educational and training programs for adolescents, especially in schools.

scholarly journals Psychopathy and Aggression: The Role of Emotion Dysregulation

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626051990094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Garofalo ◽  
Craig S. Neumann ◽  
Patrizia Velotti
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Verbal Aggression ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation ◽  
Shared Variance ◽  
Reactive And Proactive Aggression

The importance of psychopathy in the forensic and criminal justice domains is largely due to its robust associations with aggression and violent behavior. Hence, investigators have increasingly been interested in elucidating potential mechanisms linking psychopathy and aggression. Recent research highlighted previously overlooked associations between psychopathy and difficulties in emotion regulation, the process responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and managing one’s emotional experience, as well as for guiding behavior under intense emotional arousal. Yet, it remains unclear whether emotion dysregulation may be helpful to explain well-documented associations between psychopathy and aggression. The present study examined whether emotion dysregulation mediated associations (i.e., explained a significant portion of the shared variance) between psychopathy and aggression across community ( N = 521) and offender ( N = 268) samples. Participants completed self-report measures of psychopathy, emotion dysregulation, trait aggressiveness (i.e., anger, hostility, physical and verbal aggression), as well as reactive and proactive aggression. Across both samples, psychopathy had significant indirect effect on all indices of aggression through emotion dysregulation, with the exception of verbal aggression. These findings support the relevance of emotion regulation for the construct of psychopathy and its maladaptive correlates and highlight the potential relevance of focusing on emotion regulation as a possible target for interventions aimed at reducing aggression among individuals with psychopathic traits.

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