Cognitive reappraisal and acceptance: an experimental comparison of two emotion regulation strategies

The purpose of the present study was to compare the effect of cognitive reappraisal and acceptance on subjective distress, physiological reactions and behavioral avoidance in relation to aversive emotional states elicited by film-clips. Ninety-four participants were randomized to one of three groups. The Reappraisal group was instructed to think about what they saw in a way that minimized negative emotional reactions, the Acceptance group was told to let their feelings come and go without trying to control or avoid them, while the Watch (control) group was told just to watch the film-clips. Compared to the control condition, both reappraisal and acceptance led to significant reductions of subjective distress, physiological reactions associated with aversive emotions and behavioral avoidance. On the three types of measures there were few significant differences between the Reappraisal and Acceptance groups, but when such differences existed they were to the benefit of the Reappraisal condition. In the reappraisal condition there was however a positive correlation between elicited aversive emotion and avoidance, while no such correlation existed in the acceptance condition. The results are interpreted and discussed in relation to the theories underlying reappraisal and acceptance as well as the conceptual framework for emotion regulation established by Gross (2007).     

Effects of emotion regulation strategies on anxiety during job interviews in Chinese college students

Background and objectives: Few studies related to the impact of different emotion regulation strategies on anxiety have used externally and ecologically valid emotion-eliciting stimuli or Eastern populations. The present study compares the effects of reappraisal, suppression, and acceptance on anxiety induced by a simulated job interview in a Chinese sample. Methods: Eighty-two subjects were randomly assigned to one of four instructions: reappraisal, suppression, acceptance, or no-regulation strategies during a simulated job interview. Anxiety was assessed with an observer-based behavior rating scale during the interview and the State Anxiety Inventory before, during, and after the interview. Results: A repeated-measures MANOVA indicated a significantly greater reduction in anxiety in the reappraisal and acceptance groups compared to the control group during the interview (reappraisal: d = 1.42; acceptance: d = 1.30; each p < .001), but not during the recovery stage. The suppression and control group did not differ in any stage. Suppression led to a higher (p_max < .04) anxiety than reappraisal/acceptance in the anticipation (d = 0.65/0.68), interview (d = 0.87/0.79), and recovery stages (d = 0.94/1.03). No significant differences were found between reappraisal and acceptance. Conclusions: In Chinese students reappraisal and acceptance seem to be more effective anxiety regulation strategies than suppression.     

Behavioral strategies for emotion regulation in toddlers: associations with maternal involvement and emotional expressions

Ninety-four mothers and their 18- or 24-month-old children participated in four laboratory episodes designed to elicit fear or anger. Mothers’ behavior was constrained for the first part of each episode; mothers were then instructed to help their children. Toddlers’ behavioral strategies differed as a function of maternal involvement and as a function of the emotion-eliciting context. Only some of the behavioral strategies assumed to minimize expressions of distress truly did so; other behaviors showed maintenance effects on fear and anger expressions. The different pattern of results for the fear and frustration episodes highlights the importance of examining behavioral strategies across contexts designed to elicit different emotions.     

青少年的情绪调节策略对创伤后应激障碍和创伤后成长的影响:社会支持的调节作用

为了考察雅安地震后青少年的情绪调节策略、社会支持与创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)和创伤后成长(PTG)之间的关系,采用创伤暴露程度问卷、情绪调节策略问卷、社会支持问卷、儿童创伤后应激障碍症状量表和创伤后成长问卷对雅安市芦山县的315名中学生进行调查,结果发现:创伤暴露程度对认知重评和表达抑制的预测作用不显著,对PTSD和PTG具有显著的正向预测作用。青少年的认知重评策略可以显著地负向预测PTSD、正向预测PTG,表达抑制策略仅对PTSD有显著的正向预测作用、对PTG的预测作用不显著;社会支持可以显著地调节表达抑制策略对PTSD和PTG的作用,表现为表达抑制对PTSD的正向预测作用随着社会支持的增加而降低,并可随着社会支持的增加而对PTG发挥促进作用。     

Difficulties in emotion regulation are associated with panic symptom severity following a quit attempt among cannabis dependent veterans

Background and Objectives: Prior research suggests that difficulties in emotion regulation are associated with elevations in panic symptoms. The present study aimed to extend this work by prospectively examining the relation between difficulties in emotion regulation and panic symptoms over the course of a self-guided cannabis cessation attempt. Design and Method: One hundred and four cannabis-dependent military veterans participated in the study. Difficulties in emotion regulation and panic symptoms were assessed at baseline and at each week during a four-week cessation attempt for a total of five time-points. Results: Fewer difficulties in emotion regulation were associated with a greater reduction in panic symptoms during the self-guided cannabis cessation period. Results remained significant after statistically adjusting for mean substance use (i.e., cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco) during the study period. Conclusions: Results are discussed in terms of integrating adaptive emotion regulation skills training into existing evidence-based treatments for cannabis dependence.     

分类精确性指数Entropy在潜剖面分析中的表现:一项蒙特卡罗模拟研究

本研究通过蒙特卡洛模拟考查了分类精确性指数Entropy及其变式受样本量、潜类别数目、类别距离和指标个数及其组合的影响情况。研究结果表明:(1)尽管Entropy值与分类精确性高相关,但其值随类别数、样本量和指标数的变化而变化,很难确定唯一的临界值;(2)其他条件不变的情况下,样本量越大,Entropy的值越小,分类精确性越差;(3)类别距离对分类精确性的影响具有跨样本量和跨类别数的一致性;(4)小样本(N=50~100)的情况下,指标数越多,Entropy的结果越好;(5)在各种条件下Entropy对分类错误率比其它变式更灵敏。     

Experiential avoidance as a generalized psychological vulnerability: comparisons with coping and emotion regulation strategies

Extending previous work, we conducted two studies concerning the toxic influences of experiential avoidance (EA) as a core mechanism in the development and maintenance of psychological distress, and disruption of pleasant, engaging, and spontaneous activity. Of particular interest was whether EA accounted for relationships between coping and emotion regulation strategies on anxiety-related pathology (Study 1) and psychological distress and hedonic functioning over the course of a 21-day monitoring period (Study 2). In Study 1, EA mediated the effects of maladaptive coping, emotional responses styles, and uncontrollability on anxiety-related distress (e.g., anxiety sensitivity, trait anxiety, suffocation fears, and body sensation fears). In Study 2, EA completely mediated the effects of two emotion regulation strategies (i.e., suppression and reappraisal) on daily negative and positive experiences and was associated with diminished daily positive affective experiences and healthy life appraisals, diminished frequency of positive events and more frequent negative life events, and greater negative affective experiences. The present data show that cognitive reappraisal, a primary process of traditional cognitive-behavior therapy, was much less predictive of the quality of psychological experiences and events in everyday life compared with EA. Further consideration of experiential avoidance as a generalized diathesis and toxic process will be useful in improving our understanding of the etiology, phenomenology, and treatment of anxiety conditions, general human suffering, and disruptions in hedonic capacity.     

Domain dimensionality and temporality of outcome expectancy for physical activity among middle-aged and older Chinese adults: A latent profile analysis

ObjectivesUsing a person-centered approach, this study aimed to identify the profiles of outcome expectancy for physical activity among middle-aged and older Chinese adults. Profiles were defined by two aspects of outcome expectancy including domain dimensionality and temporality, given the emphasis on social connectedness and the shortened future-time perception in this population.DesignCross-sectional survey design.MethodsParticipants included 300 Chinese adults aged 50 years or above, recruited in Hong Kong. Participants were asked to indicate their outcome expectancy for physical activity in physical, social and self-evaluative domains, rate the immediacy of each outcome expectancy item, and then report their physical activity for the past week. A latent class analysis was used to identify the number of profiles and profile characteristics, and to examine the predictors of the profile memberships and effects of the memberships on physical activity.ResultsResults suggested four profiles, including low, moderate, delayed-high and immediate-high expectancy classes. Temporality, rather than domain dimensionality, was essential in defining the profiles. Interdependent self-construal and future-time perception were predictive of the profile memberships. People with immediate-high expectancy were more physically active than those in other expectancy classes.ConclusionsThis study provided supporting evidence for the temporal self-regulation theory, and demonstrated the importance of immediate outcomes. More research attention in physical activity promotion should be given to the temporal dimension, especially for older adults who perceive future time as more limited. New directions to enhance outcome expectancies, especially for this population, also need further investigation.