scholarly journals Coping With COVID-19: The Benefits of Anticipating Future Positive Events and Maintaining Optimism

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calissa J. Leslie-Miller ◽  
Christian E. Waugh ◽  
Veronica T. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Reconstruction Method ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Powerful Predictor ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Chronic Stressors ◽  
Multi Level

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a large portion of the world into quarantine, leading to an extensive period of stress making it necessary to explore regulatory techniques that are effective at stimulating long-lasting positive emotion. Previous research has demonstrated that anticipating positive events produces increases in positive emotion during discrete stressors. We hypothesized that state and trait positive anticipation during the COVID-19 pandemic would be associated with increased positive emotions. We assessed how often participants thought about a future positive/negative/neutral event, activity, or goal through a daily reconstruction method that represented a “day in the life” of people in the United States during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of multi-level modeling and mediational analyses demonstrated that higher optimism, one form of trait positive anticipation, was related to higher state positive anticipation, which was in turn related to higher positive emotions during the current episode, which persisted to the next episode. In addition, both optimism and state positive anticipation were related to adaptive responses to the pandemic. These findings suggest that anticipation of future emotional experiences and hopefulness for the future can be a powerful predictor of positive emotions during global pandemics and perhaps other similar chronic stressors.

scholarly journals The Importance of Positive Events When Living With Chronic Pain

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 309-309
Author(s):  
Julie Kircher ◽  
Susan Charles ◽  
Nancy Sin ◽  
David Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Pain Status ◽  
Daily Events ◽  
Multi Level

Abstract Chronic pain is a common condition in later life that is related to high levels of anxiety and depression. One reason why chronic pain is related to affective distress is that this condition may prevent people from deriving the same positive emotions from enjoyable activities. Few studies, however, have examined how exposure and reactivity to daily events differ by chronic pain status. We hypothesized that those with chronic pain will have less exposure and less positive affect reactivity to positive daily events compared to those without chronic pain. Participants from the diary substudy of MIDUS (N = 1,733; nChronicPain = 658, nNoPain = 1,075; M = 56 years-old) completed eight interview days. Chronic pain status was unrelated to the frequency of positive events. Multi-level models revealed that although people with chronic pain had lower levels of daily positive affect, they reacted more positively to daily events (γ = -.033, SE = .010, p < .0001). As a result, levels of daily positive affect on days when people experienced a positive event did not vary by pain status (MChronicPain = 2.73, MNoPain = 2.75). People with chronic pain averaged higher levels of daily negative affect compared to people without chronic pain (MChronicPain = .21, M NoPain =.20), but, on days when they experience a positive event, those with chronic pain had a greater decrease in their negative affect. Findings suggest that positive events impact those with chronic pain more than they do individuals without chronic pain.

Predicting Cigarette-Seeking Behavior: How Reward Sensitivity and Positive Emotions Influence Nicotine Cravings

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 737-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiyoon Moon ◽  
Jang-Han Lee
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Reward Sensitivity ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Maladaptive Behavior ◽  
Impulsive Behavior ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Significant Difference

Reward sensitivity is a primary indicator of impulsive behavior, such as cigarette smoking, and contributes to positive emotional experiences. The aim in this study was to examine smokers' emotional experiences and cravings in relation to their personality traits. Participants were divided into high- and low-reward sensitivity groups, and a procedure aimed at inducing emotions was conducted while physiological responses were recorded. There was a significant difference in the subjective experiences of the 2 groups, and a significant positive correlation existed between a positive emotional experience and craving cigarettes. Furthermore, reward sensitivity induced craving in smokers and the relationship was mediated by positive emotion. We believe that the identified mediating effect of positive emotions on craving could provide a better understanding of maladaptive behavior associated with positive emotion and may play an important role in treatment of nicotine dependence.

scholarly journals Heterogeneity of Long-History Migration Predicts Smiling, Laughter and Positive Emotion Across the Globe and Within the United States

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula M. Niedenthal ◽  
Magdalena Rychlowska ◽  
Adrienne Wood ◽  
Fangyun Zhao
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Diversity ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Average Percentage ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Us Census

AbstractRecent findings demonstrate that heterogeneity of long-history migration predicts present-day emotion behaviors and norms. Residents of countries characterized by high ancestral diversity display emotion expressions that are easier to decode by observers, endorse norms of higher emotion expressivity, and smile more in response to certain stimuli than residents of countries that lack ancestral diversity. We build on the extant findings and investigate historical heterogeneity as a predictor of daily smiling, laughter, and positive emotion across the world’s countries and the states of the United States. Study 1 finds that historical heterogeneity is positively associated with self-reports of smiling, laughter, and positive emotions in the Gallup World Poll when controlling for GDP and current present-day population diversity. Study 2 extends the findings to effects of long-history migration within the United States. We estimated the average percentage of foreign-born citizens in each state between 1850 and 2010 based on US Census information as an indicator of historical heterogeneity. Consistent with the world findings of Study 1, historical heterogeneity predicted smiling, laughter, and positive, but not negative, emotion. The relationships remained significant when controlling for per capita income and present-day diversity of population of each state. Together, the findings further demonstrate the important role of long-history migration in shaping emotion cultures of countries and states, which persist beyond the original socio-ecological conditions, and open promising avenues for cross-cultural research.

Measurement Invariance of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience Across 13 Countries

Assessment ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 107319112110214
Author(s):  
Veljko Jovanović ◽  
Mohsen Joshanloo ◽  
Marta Martín-Carbonell ◽  
Corrado Caudek ◽  
Begoña Espejo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Negative Experience ◽  
Age Range

The Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) is widely used to measure emotional experiences, but not much is known about its cross-cultural utility. The present study evaluated the measurement invariance of the SPANE across adult samples ( N = 12,635; age range = 18-85 years; 58.2% female) from 13 countries (China, Colombia, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Turkey, and the United States). Configural and partial scalar invariance of the SPANE were supported. Three items capturing specific negative emotions (sad, afraid, and angry) were found to be culturally noninvariant. Our findings suggest that the SPANE’s positive emotion terms and general negative emotion terms (e.g., negative and unpleasant) might be more suitable for cross-cultural studies on emotions and well-being, whereas caution is needed when comparing countries using the SPANE’s specific negative emotion items.

scholarly journals Anger and Sadness Expressions Situated in Both Positive and Negative Contexts: An Investigation in South Korea and the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunny Youngok Song ◽  
Alexandria M. Curtis ◽  
Oriana R. Aragón
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Verbal Behavior ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Valuation Theory ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Formidable Challenge ◽  
Display Rule

A formidable challenge to the research of non-verbal behavior can be in the assumptions that we sometimes make, and the subsequent questions that arise from those assumptions. In this article, we proceed with an investigation that would have been precluded by the assumption of a 1:1 correspondence between facial expressions and discrete emotional experiences. We investigated two expressions that in the normative sense are considered negative expressions. One expression, “anger” could be described as clenched fists, furrowed brows, tense jaws and lips, the showing of teeth, and flared nostrils, and the other “sadness” could be described as downward turned mouths, tears, drooping eyes, and wrinkled foreheads. Here, we investigated the prevalence, understanding, and use of these expressions in both positive and negative contexts in South Korea and the United States. We found evidence in both cultures, that anger and sadness displays are used to express positive emotions, a notion relevant to Dimorphous Theory. Moreover, we found that anger and sadness expressions communicated appetitive feelings of wanting to “go!” and consummatory feelings of wanting to “pause,” respectively. There were moderations of our effects consistent with past work in Affect Valuation Theory and Display Rule Theory. We discuss our findings, their theoretical relevance, and how the assumptions that are made can narrow the questions that we ask in the field on non-verbal behavior.

Positive Emotion in Borderline Personality Disorder

2019 ◽  
pp. 332-352
Author(s):  
Jill M. Hooley ◽  
Sara R. Masland
Keyword(s):  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Severe Form ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Negative Emotionality ◽  
Personality Pathology ◽  
Emotional Experiences

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe form of personality pathology characterized by high levels of negative emotionality. Because negative emotions are so central to the clinical presentation of BPD, the issue of how people with this disorder process and experience positive emotional experiences is relatively unexplored. This chapter provides an overview of what is currently known about positive emotions and BPD. Although the literature is characterized by many inconsistencies, our review suggests that people with BPD do indeed experience positive emotions. However, their recall of positive emotional experiences appears to be reduced, perhaps because such experiences are more transient, less stable, and more likely to be quickly replaced by negative emotions. Problems with the identification and accurate differentiation of positive emotions may also play a role. Such difficulties may conspire to create a psychological world for people with BPD that is characterized by a focus on negative mood and negative emotional experiences. In addition to focusing on negative affect, we suggest that it might also be clinically beneficial to make problems with positive affect a specific clinical target.

Protector and Casualty

2019 ◽  
pp. 495-522
Author(s):  
Meg Dennison ◽  
Katie McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Positive Emotionality ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Adverse Experiences ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Positive Valence

Early-life adversity is associated with elevated risk for a wide range of mental disorders across the lifespan, including those that involve disruptions in positive emotionality. Although extensive research has evaluated heightened negative emotionality and threat processing as developmental mechanisms linking early-life adversity with mental health problems, emerging evidence suggests that positive emotions play an integral, but complex, role in the association of early-life adversity with psychopathology. This chapter identifies two pathways through which positive emotion influences risk for psychopathology following early-life adversity. First, experiences of early-life adversity may alter the development of the “positive valence system”, which in turn increases risk for psychopathology. Second, the association between adversity and psychopathology may vary as a function of individual differences in positive emotionality. We consider how the development of positive emotionality—measured at psychological, behavioral and neurobiological levels—may be altered by early-life adversity, creating a diathesis for psychopathology. We additionally review evidence for the role of positive emotion, measured at multiple levels, as a protective factor that buffers against the adverse impacts of adversity. In integrating these two roles, it is proposed that characteristics of environmental adversity, including developmental timing, duration, and type of adversity, may differentially impact the development of positive emotionality, leading to a better understanding of risks associated with specific adverse experiences. Methodological issues regarding the measurement of adverse environments as well as implications for early intervention and treatment are discussed.

scholarly journals Gender disparities in opioid treatment progress in methadone versus counseling

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick Guerrero ◽  
Hortensia Amaro ◽  
Yinfei Kong ◽  
Tenie Khachikian ◽  
Jeanne C. Marsh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Treatment Outcomes ◽  
Treatment Plan ◽  
Dropout Rate ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gender Disparities ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Lower Odds ◽  
Male Clients ◽  
Multi Level

Abstract Background In the United States, the high dropout rate (75%) in opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment among women and racial/ethnic minorities calls for understanding factors that contribute to making progress in treatment. Whereas counseling and medication for OUD (MOUD, e.g. methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone) is considered the gold standard of care in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, many individuals with OUD receive either counseling or methadone-only services. This study evaluates gender disparities in treatment plan progress in methadone- compared to counseling-based programs in one of the largest SUD treatment systems in the United States. Methods Multi-year and multi-level (treatment program and client-level) data were analyzed using the Integrated Substance Abuse Treatment to Eliminate Disparities (iSATed) dataset collected in Los Angeles County, California. The sample consisted of 4 waves: 2011 (66 SUD programs, 1035 clients), 2013 (77 SUD programs, 3686 clients), 2015 (75 SUD programs, 4626 clients), and 2017 (69 SUD programs, 4106 clients). We conducted two multi-level negative binomial regressions, one per each outcome (1) making progress towards completing treatment plan, and (2) completing treatment plan. We included outpatient clients discharged on each of the years of the study (over 95% of all clients) and accounted for demographics, wave, homelessness and prior treatment episodes, as well as clients clustered within programs. Results We detected gender differences in two treatment outcomes (progress and completion) considering two outpatient program service types (MOUD-methadone vs. counseling). Clients who received methadone vs. counseling had lower odds of completing their treatment plan (OR = 0.366; 95% CI = 0.163, 0.821). Female clients receiving methadone had lower odds of both making progress (OR = 0.668; 95% CI = 0.481, 0.929) and completing their treatment plan (OR = 0.666; 95% CI = 0.485, 0.916) compared to male clients and receiving counseling. Latina clients had lower odds of completing their treatment plan (OR = 0.617; 95% CI = 0.408, 0.934) compared with non-Latina clients. Conclusions Clients receiving methadone, the most common and highly effective MOUD in reducing opioid use, were less likely to make progress towards or complete their treatment plan than those receiving counseling. Women, and in particular those identified as Latinas, were least likely to benefit from methadone-based programs. These findings have implications for health policy and program design that consider the need for comprehensive and culturally responsive services in methadone-based programs to improve outpatient treatment outcomes among women.

Inducing Amusement in the Laboratory and Its Moderation by Experiential Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412110079
Author(s):  
Danette Abernathy ◽  
Robert D. Zettle
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
College Student ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Relative Ability ◽  
Experiential Approach ◽  
Dispositional Differences

The relative ability of four comedic sketches to induce amusement in the laboratory and its moderation by dispositional differences in experiential approach as a form of positive emotion regulation were investigated. College student participants reported significant and equivalent diminished levels of negative affect relative to baseline following each sketch, while the level of positive affect induced by The Office exceeded that elicited by two of the three other sketches as well as by a top-ranked French comedic film clip. Regression models indicated that the two subscales of the Experiential Approach Scale and their interaction accounted for significant variability in negative mood reductions following the sketches. Unexpectedly, college student participants who enjoyed the greatest decrement in negative affect reported a regulation style in which anxiously clinging to positive emotions dominates over sustaining and savoring them. The limitations of this project and implications of its findings for laboratory inductions of amusement, as well as further investigations of its possible moderation by experiential approach as form of positive emotion regulation are discussed.

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