Meta-Analysis of the Associations Among Constructs of Intrapersonal Emotion Knowledge

To better define the boundaries of conceptually overlapping constructs of intrapersonal emotion knowledge (EK), we examined meta-analytic correlations among five intrapersonal EK-related constructs (affect labelling, alexithymia, emotional awareness, emotional clarity, emotion differentiation) and attention to emotion. Affect labelling, alexithymia, and emotional clarity were strongly associated, and they were moderately associated with attention to emotion. Alexithymia and emotional awareness were weakly associated, and emotion differentiation was unrelated with emotional clarity. Sample characteristics and measures moderated some of the associations. Publication bias was not found, except for the alexithymia-emotional awareness association. This study helped to clarify the extent to which similarly defined constructs overlap or are distinct, which can inform our decision to adequately label important constructs and employ corresponding measures.

Evaluation of a psychoeducational intervention including emotional intelligence to increase treatment adherence in rheumatoid arthritis (A pilot study)

Our objective was to perform two studies: a cross-sectional study in order to identify the main psychological variables associated to treatment adherence in rheumatoid arthritis and an intervention based on psychoeducation to assess its impact on the variables identified in the first study. We measured treatment adherence, self-efficacy, beliefs about medication, emotional intelligence and disability along with personal and disease variables in the cross-sectional study and the same variables were measured in the intervention before and after the program and 3 months later in 2 groups (an experimental group and an active control group). In the cross-sectional study (N=33) we found that the variables most associated with treatment adherence were emotional clarity (r=0.352, p<0.05) and emotional repair (r=0.363, p<0.05). In the intervention, we divided the patients into 2 groups: the control group (N=7) and the intervention group (N=10). At the end of the study and at follow-up, we found a significant increase in adherence and self-efficacy in the intervention group, when compared with the control group. Emotional clarity was increased only in the post-test, and at follow up a decrease in beliefs of concern about medication was found. Psychoeducational programs based on information about the disease and its treatment together with emotional management are effective in increasing treatment adherence in the long term.

Cigarette Smoking is Associated with Difficulties in the Use of Reappraisal for Emotion Regulation

Background: Negative emotions can promote smoking relapse during a quit attempt. The use of cognitive reappraisal to self-regulate these emotions may therefore aid smoking cessation. Determining whether smokers exhibit difficulties in the use of reappraisal, and which factors are associated with such difficulties, may aid smoking cessations.Methods: 50 smokers and 50 non-smokers completed an online reappraisal task in which they either reappraised or naturally experienced emotions induced by negatively- and neutrally-valenced images that presented situations in either the 1st-person or 3rd-person perspective. Participants also completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS).Results: Compared to non-smokers, smokers were less successful in using reappraisal to self-regulate emotions elicited by negatively-valenced images (but not neutrally-valenced images). Importantly, this effect was only true for images that were presented in the 1st-person (but not 3rd-person) perspective. Contrary to predictions, there were no group differences in DERS scores. However, exploratory analyses showed that when smokers were split into those who exhibited low vs. high reappraisal success on the reappraisal task (via median split), the low success group exhibited an association between lower reappraisal success and a greater lack of emotional clarity on the DERS, whereas no such association was observed in the high success group.Conclusions: This study provides evidence that smokers may experience difficulties in the use of reappraisal to self-regulate negative emotions induced by situations that appear to be occurring to themselves, and that this deficit may be related to difficulties in understanding the nature and/or valence of the emotion experienced.