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The Psychological Health Benefits of Accepting Negative Emotions and Thoughts: Laboratory, Diary, and Longitudinal Evidence
Abstract
Individuals differ in the degree to which they tend to habitually accept their emotions and thoughts without judging them—a process here referred to as habitual acceptance. Acceptance has been linked with greater psychological health, which we propose may be due to the role acceptance plays in negative emotional responses to stressors: acceptance helps keep individuals from reacting to—and thus exacerbating—their negative mental experiences. Over time, experiencing lower negative emotion should promote psychological health. To test these hypotheses, Study 1 (N = 1,003) verified that habitually accepting mental experiences broadly predicted psychological health (psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and depressive and anxiety symptoms), even when controlling for potentially related constructs (reappraisal, rumination, and other mindfulness facets including observing, describing, acting with awareness, and nonreactivity). Next, in a laboratory study (Study 2, N = 156), habitual acceptance predicted lower negative (but not positive) emotional responses to a standardized stressor. Finally, in a longitudinal design (Study 3, N = 222), acceptance predicted lower negative (but not positive) emotion experienced during daily stressors that, in turn, accounted for the link between acceptance and psychological health 6 months later. This link between acceptance and psychological health was unique to accepting mental experiences and was not observed for accepting situations. Additionally, we ruled out potential confounding effects of gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and life stress severity. Overall, these results suggest that individuals who accept rather than judge their mental experiences may attain better psychological health, in part because acceptance helps them experience less negative emotion in response to stressors.
... For example, negative meta-emotions about negative emotions are associated with higher depression (Bailen et al., 2019). Further, research on emotional acceptance has shown that people who tend to accept their negative emotions nonjudgmentally (a tendency corresponding to lack of negative judgments of negative emotions) have better psychological health (Aldao et al., 2010), in part due to experiencing more beneficial emotions (Ford et al., 2018;Ostafin et al., 2014). Habitual acceptance of negative emotions has also been associated with lesser negative emotions in response to standardized laboratory stimuli (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006;Dunn et al., 2009;Feldner et al., 2003;Ford et al., 2018;Huffziger & Kuehner, 2009;Levitt et al., 2004;Shallcross et al., 2010;Wolgast et al., 2011) and daily stressors (Ciesla et al., 2012;Ford et al., 2018). ...
... Further, research on emotional acceptance has shown that people who tend to accept their negative emotions nonjudgmentally (a tendency corresponding to lack of negative judgments of negative emotions) have better psychological health (Aldao et al., 2010), in part due to experiencing more beneficial emotions (Ford et al., 2018;Ostafin et al., 2014). Habitual acceptance of negative emotions has also been associated with lesser negative emotions in response to standardized laboratory stimuli (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006;Dunn et al., 2009;Feldner et al., 2003;Ford et al., 2018;Huffziger & Kuehner, 2009;Levitt et al., 2004;Shallcross et al., 2010;Wolgast et al., 2011) and daily stressors (Ciesla et al., 2012;Ford et al., 2018). Together, these findings provide indirect evidence for links between habitual negative judgments of negative emotions and worse psychological health. ...
... Further, research on emotional acceptance has shown that people who tend to accept their negative emotions nonjudgmentally (a tendency corresponding to lack of negative judgments of negative emotions) have better psychological health (Aldao et al., 2010), in part due to experiencing more beneficial emotions (Ford et al., 2018;Ostafin et al., 2014). Habitual acceptance of negative emotions has also been associated with lesser negative emotions in response to standardized laboratory stimuli (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006;Dunn et al., 2009;Feldner et al., 2003;Ford et al., 2018;Huffziger & Kuehner, 2009;Levitt et al., 2004;Shallcross et al., 2010;Wolgast et al., 2011) and daily stressors (Ciesla et al., 2012;Ford et al., 2018). Together, these findings provide indirect evidence for links between habitual negative judgments of negative emotions and worse psychological health. ...
People differ in their initial emotional responses to events, and we are beginning to understand these responses and their pervasive implications for psychological health. However, people also differ in how they think about and react to their initial emotions (i.e., emotion judgments). In turn, how people judge their emotions-as predominantly positive or negative-may have crucial implications for psychological health. Across five MTurk and undergraduate samples collected between 2017 and 2022 (total N = 1,647), we investigated the nature of habitual emotion judgments (Aim 1) and their associations with psychological health (Aim 2). In Aim 1, we found four distinct habitual emotion judgments that differ according to the valence of the judgment (positive or negative) and the valence of the emotion being judged (positive or negative). Individual differences in habitual emotion judgments were moderately stable across time and were associated with, but not redundant with, conceptually related constructs (e.g., affect valuation, emotion preferences, stress mindsets, meta-emotions) and broader traits (i.e., extraversion, neuroticism, trait emotions). In Aim 2, positive judgments of positive emotions were uniquely associated with better psychological health and negative judgments of negative emotions were uniquely associated with worse psychological health concurrently and prospectively, above and beyond the other types of emotion judgments, and above and beyond conceptually related constructs and broader traits. This research gives insight into how people judge their emotions, how these judgments relate to other emotion-related constructs, and their implications for psychological health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
... For example, negative meta-emotions about negative emotions are associated with higher depression (Bailen et al., 2019). Further, research on emotional acceptance has shown that people who tend to accept their negative emotions nonjudgmentally (a tendency corresponding to lack of negative judgments of negative emotions) have better psychological health (Aldao et al., 2010), in part due to experiencing more beneficial emotions (Ford et al., 2018;Ostafin et al., 2014). Habitual acceptance of negative emotions has also been associated with lesser negative emotions in response to standardized laboratory stimuli (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006;Dunn et al., 2009;Feldner et al., 2003;Ford et al., 2018;Huffziger & Kuehner, 2009;Levitt et al., 2004;Shallcross et al., 2010;Wolgast et al., 2011) and daily stressors (Ciesla et al., 2012;Ford et al., 2018). ...
... Further, research on emotional acceptance has shown that people who tend to accept their negative emotions nonjudgmentally (a tendency corresponding to lack of negative judgments of negative emotions) have better psychological health (Aldao et al., 2010), in part due to experiencing more beneficial emotions (Ford et al., 2018;Ostafin et al., 2014). Habitual acceptance of negative emotions has also been associated with lesser negative emotions in response to standardized laboratory stimuli (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006;Dunn et al., 2009;Feldner et al., 2003;Ford et al., 2018;Huffziger & Kuehner, 2009;Levitt et al., 2004;Shallcross et al., 2010;Wolgast et al., 2011) and daily stressors (Ciesla et al., 2012;Ford et al., 2018). Together, these findings provide indirect evidence for links between habitual negative judgments of negative emotions and worse psychological health. ...
... Further, research on emotional acceptance has shown that people who tend to accept their negative emotions nonjudgmentally (a tendency corresponding to lack of negative judgments of negative emotions) have better psychological health (Aldao et al., 2010), in part due to experiencing more beneficial emotions (Ford et al., 2018;Ostafin et al., 2014). Habitual acceptance of negative emotions has also been associated with lesser negative emotions in response to standardized laboratory stimuli (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006;Dunn et al., 2009;Feldner et al., 2003;Ford et al., 2018;Huffziger & Kuehner, 2009;Levitt et al., 2004;Shallcross et al., 2010;Wolgast et al., 2011) and daily stressors (Ciesla et al., 2012;Ford et al., 2018). Together, these findings provide indirect evidence for links between habitual negative judgments of negative emotions and worse psychological health. ...
People differ in their initial emotional responses to events, and we are beginning to understand these responses and their pervasive implications for psychological health. However, people also differ in how they think about and react to their initial emotions (i.e., emotion judgments). In turn, how people judge their emotions – as predominantly positive or negative – may have crucial implications for psychological health. Across five MTurk and undergraduate samples collected between 2017 and 2022 (total N=1,647), we investigated the nature of habitual emotion judgments (Aim 1) and their associations with psychological health (Aim 2). In Aim 1, we found four distinct habitual emotion judgments that differ according to the valence of the judgment (positive or negative) and the valence of the emotion being judged (positive or negative). Individual differences in habitual emotion judgments were moderately stable across time and were associated with, but not redundant with, conceptually related constructs (e.g., affect valuation, emotion preferences, stress mindsets, meta emotions) and broader traits (i.e., extraversion, neuroticism, trait emotions). In Aim 2, positive judgments of positive emotions were uniquely associated with better psychological health and negative judgments of negative emotions were uniquely associated with worse psychological health concurrently and prospectively, above and beyond the other types of emotion judgments, and above and beyond conceptually related constructs and broader traits. This research gives insight into how people judge their emotions, how these judgments relate to other emotion-related constructs, and their implications for psychological health.
... Consequently, as the underpinning implication/nature of acceptance beliefs is non-controlling, this would negate the control characteristics theorised to motivate emotion regulation (see Figure 1). Despite aligning theoretically with the belief that emotions are not controllable, acceptance beliefs are associated with improved life satisfaction and reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms (Ford, Lam, et al., 2018;Kotsou et al., 2018;Wolgast et al., 2011). Research suggests the willingness to accept the experience of negatively valenced emotions is paradoxically associated with less negative emotions (Baer, 2010). ...
... Research suggests the willingness to accept the experience of negatively valenced emotions is paradoxically associated with less negative emotions (Baer, 2010). Consequently, the process of acceptance is understood to effect changes to the course of emotions without the intention to effect such change (Ford, Lam, et al., 2018). ...
... In the analysis of the total effects, the belief that emotions are controllable was negatively correlated with psychological distress in the simple and multipredictor models, consistent with previous literature (Ford, Lwi, et al., 2018;Predatu et al., 2020). The absence of a relationship between acceptance beliefs about emotions and psychological distress across all models was incompatible with previous studies, which found acceptance strategies were linked with improved psychological health (e.g., Ford, Lam, et al., 2018;Wolgast et al., 2011). This study made an a priori assumption that acceptance strategies are linked with core acceptance beliefs based on robust theory; however, our results do not support this assumption. ...
Objective: The process model of emotion regulation posits beliefs about emotions inform
regulation processes, affecting mental-health outcomes. Beliefs that emotions can be controlled (i.e., control beliefs, underpinning traditional Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) and accepted (i.e., acceptance beliefs, underpinning Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), though seemingly opposing, are both associated with lower psychological distress. This study tested the hypothesis that emotion regulation flexibility (i.e., using and applying a range of regulation strategies at the right times) may mediate the relationship between these beliefs and distress.
Method: 177 participants (87.6% female, Mage = 42.7) completed the 21-item Depression,
Anxiety and Stress Scale, the Emotion Belief Questionnaire-General Controllability Composite, and two measures developed for this study: the Emotion Belief Questionnaire-Acceptance Variant and Emotion Regulation Flexibility Questionnaire.
Results: Emotion regulation flexibility mediated the relationship between control and acceptance beliefs and distress, such that stronger control and acceptance beliefs were associated with lower distress via higher emotion regulation flexibility.
Conclusions: Our results are consistent with theorising that both control and acceptance
beliefs are useful for mental health; these beliefs may inform usage of control or acceptance based emotion regulation strategies, which may reduce distress levels if applied flexibly. These findings are discussed regarding corresponding therapeutic interventions
... Die Wahrnehmung verschiedener Rollen kann mitunter als konfliktbehaftet wahrgenommen werden. Aus entwicklungspsychologischer Sicht zeigte sich vor allem bei jungen Heranwachsenden, dass unterschiedliche Rollen wie Ernsthaftigkeit in der Schule, Freude mit Freunden oder depressive Gefühle innerhalb der Familie als gegensätzlich und konfliktbehaftet wahrgenommen werden (Harter & Monsour, 1992 (Ford et al., 2017;Karnaze & Levine, 2017). Auch anhand von Längsschnittdaten konnte festgestellt werden, dass die Überzeugung gegenüber Emotionen einen Einfluss auf die psychische Gesundheit hat (Ford et al., 2015;Ford et al., 2017). ...
... Aus entwicklungspsychologischer Sicht zeigte sich vor allem bei jungen Heranwachsenden, dass unterschiedliche Rollen wie Ernsthaftigkeit in der Schule, Freude mit Freunden oder depressive Gefühle innerhalb der Familie als gegensätzlich und konfliktbehaftet wahrgenommen werden (Harter & Monsour, 1992 (Ford et al., 2017;Karnaze & Levine, 2017). Auch anhand von Längsschnittdaten konnte festgestellt werden, dass die Überzeugung gegenüber Emotionen einen Einfluss auf die psychische Gesundheit hat (Ford et al., 2015;Ford et al., 2017). ...
... Zudem wurde empirisch dargelegt, dass Akzeptanz eine Rolle für die psychische Gesundheit spielt. Beispielsweise sagt das Akzeptieren mentaler Erfahrungen wie negativen Emotionen und Gedanken die psychische Gesundheit voraus (Ford et al., 2017). Es könnte somit geschlussfolgert werden, dass die Anwendung des HDS die Akzeptanz von Emotionen mit sich bringt, die Einstellung zu diesen verändern kann und dies somit einen positiven Einfluss auf die psychische Gesundheit haben kann. ...
Untersuchung des Human Design Systems: Eine Heuristic Self-Search Inquiry
Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie besteht darin, ein Verständnis des subjektiven Erlebens der Anwendung des Human Design Systems (HDS) zu vermitteln. Da es an wissenschaftlicher Forschung zu diesem Thema mangelt, war eine vertiefende empirische Auseinandersetzung notwendig. Hierfür wurde anhand einer Heuristic Self-Search Inquiry (HSSI) das persönliche Erleben der Forschenden im Anschluss an zwei Human Design-Sitzungen innerhalb von zwei Phasen und einer Follow-up-Phase erhoben. Darauf folgten eine Auswertung der Daten anhand der Kategorien Entscheidungen, Identitätsgefühl und Emotionen mit jeweiligen Unterkategorien sowie eine kreative Verarbeitung des Erlebens im Rahmen der kreativen Synthese. Die Ergebnisse vermitteln u. a. anhand der Aspekte wahrgenommene Selbsterkenntnis, Lebenssinn, Selbstakzeptanz, erhöhtes Authentizitätserleben, Integration von Selbstaspekten sowie verstärkter emotionaler Ausdruck einen Überblick über das subjektive Erleben des HDS und geben Aufschluss über Entwicklungschancen sowie Herausforderungen, die mit der Anwendung des HDS einhergehen können. Hieraus kann ein erstes psychologisches Verständnis des HDS abgeleitet werden, das in zukünftigen Forschungen genutzt werden könnte, um die Anwendung des HDS noch engmaschiger zu untersuchen. Zudem sind weiterführende Studien mittels quantitativer Messinstrumente zur Untersuchung der subjektiven Effekte denkbar, die aus der Anwendung hervorgingen.
The aim of the present study is to provide an understanding of the subjective experience of using the Human Design System (HDS). Since there is a lack of scientific research on this topic, an in-depth empirical investigation was necessary. For this purpose, a Heuristic Self-Search Inquiry (HSSI) was used to collect the personal experience of the researchers following two Human Design sessions within two phases and a follow-up phase. This was followed by an analysis of the data using the categories of decisions, sense of identity, and emotions with respective subcategories, as well as a creative processing of the experience within the creative synthesis. The results provide an overview of the subjective experience of the HDS on the basis of the aspects of perceived self-knowledge, meaning in life, self-acceptance, increased experience of authenticity, integration of self-aspects, and increased emotional expression, among others, and provide information about development opportunities as well as challenges that can accompany the application of the HDS. From this, an initial psychological understanding of the HDS can be derived, which could be used in future research to more closely examine the use of the HDS. In addition, further studies using quantitative measurement instruments to examine the subjective effects that emerged from its use are conceivable.
... Goodness beliefs are thought to guide the trajectory of emotion regulation (i.e., what people want to feel), whilst controllability beliefs are thought to guide the occurrence of emotion regulation (i.e., whether regulation is initiated). Goodness beliefs are associated with emotional and wellbeing outcomes, such that those who believe emotions are bad have heightened negative emotional responses to stressors [22] and worse psychological health (e.g., [22,23]). Controllability beliefs are linked to important emotional and social outcomes (e.g., [24][25][26]). ...
... Goodness beliefs are thought to guide the trajectory of emotion regulation (i.e., what people want to feel), whilst controllability beliefs are thought to guide the occurrence of emotion regulation (i.e., whether regulation is initiated). Goodness beliefs are associated with emotional and wellbeing outcomes, such that those who believe emotions are bad have heightened negative emotional responses to stressors [22] and worse psychological health (e.g., [22,23]). Controllability beliefs are linked to important emotional and social outcomes (e.g., [24][25][26]). ...
... The findings of the current paper, and the proposed of S-R and C-M emotion superordinate beliefs per se, should be considered alongside the foundational work that has already been conducted for other emotion beliefs. Specifically, an important line of future enquiry is to understand how S-R and C-M beliefs interacts with the goodness and controllability beliefs that have been the subject of past research (e.g., [22,27]) and conceptualisation (Ford & Gross, 2018). Theoretically one could venture several hypotheses worth testing regarding S-R, C-M, goodness, and controllability beliefs. ...
Recently, researchers have proposed four superordinate emotion beliefs that supposedly influence emotion regulation and emotion reactivity. Two of these proposed emotion beliefs are captured in the cognitive mediation beliefs questionnaire (CMBQa), namely stimulus-response (S-R) generation beliefs and cognitive mediation (C-M) change beliefs. The remaining two proposed emotion beliefs, C-M generation beliefs and S-R change beliefs, are yet to be operationalised in psychometric form. It is important to validate measurement for all four emotion beliefs in order for them to be used in research and practice. The current paper reports the development and initial validity testing of the CMBQb (studies 1-3), which concerns only C-M generation beliefs and S-R change beliefs, and then tests the four-factor structure of the combined CMBQa (S-R generation, C-M change) and CMBQb (C-M generation, S-R change): the CMBQc (study 4). Some support was found for the four-factor structure of the CMBQc, with factor analyses revealing good fit to the data with a four-factor solution. Also, scores indicating greater C-M generation and change beliefs, and lower S-R generation and change beliefs, were related to more adaptive, and less maladaptive, emotion regulation tendencies. In addition, there was some evidence that greater C-M change beliefs, and lower S-R generation and change belief, were related to better affective and emotion reactivity outcomes. Implications of the CMBQc for research and practice are discussed within the context and emotion regulation science, and cognitive behavioural psychotherapy.
... not change) their emotions and thoughts in Study 1 should help eliminate uninstructed reappraisal use in the active control group. Prior to conducting Study 2, we realised that mindful acceptance has been shown to consistently improve one's emotional responding in the literature (Ford et al., 2018). Therefore, we additionally included a more neutral, non-instructed group as a passive control condition to complement the active control condition. ...
... Because accepting one's emotions without changing them (i.e. mindful acceptance) is also a particularly adaptive emotion regulation strategy (Ford et al., 2018), we added the non-instructed condition in Study 2 as a complimentary control condition. ...
... In Study 2's acceptance condition, the examples we gave included both accepting the event and accepting event-related emotions. These two may be different regulation strategies (Ford et al., 2018) but were manipulated at the same time. Therefore, we did not emphasise acceptance as a control in Study 2, and do not recommend comparing acceptance's effects across studies. ...
Negative interpersonal events, such as close relationship conflicts, can threaten one’s affective and social well-being. To improve affect and to maintain valuable relationships, individuals could select different reappraisal tactics. One could use positive reappraisal to find potential benefits of the event (e.g. “This conflict helps our relationship grow.”), or use minimising reappraisal to decrease the perceived impact of event (e.g. “This is no big deal.”). These two tactics target distinct appraisal dimensions: valence versus significance. We investigated whether these two reappraisals would show similar or different profiles of affective and social effects in the context of close relationship conflicts. Study 1 was based on a sample of 90 Chinese younger adults. Study 2 was based on a sample of 237 American adults (156 MTurk workers and 81 undergraduates combined). Across two studies, both reappraisals effectively improved affect in response to a recalled conflict. Minimising reappraisal group showed significantly increased affect and relationship satisfaction (Study 1&2), but decreased conflict resolution motivation (Study 2) across time. Positive reappraisal group, on the other hand, showed less pronounced increases in positive affect but increased conflict resolution self-efficacy across time (Study 1&2). We discuss these findings by highlighting within-reappraisal variation and potential trade-offs in pursuing affective and social regulation goals.
... For specific strategies, social support seeking can buffer distress and improve psychological functioning across White and/or heterosexual adolescent and adult samples (Cheng et al., 2014;Hefner & Eisenberg, 2009). Acceptance strategies, which involve active engagement with and non-judgmental acceptance of experienced emotions, have also been linked with decreased internalizing difficulties (Aldao et al., 2010;Ford et al., 2018). Positive reappraisal is a reality-based reevaluation of circumstances (John & Gross, 2004) that tends to be associated with fewer internalizing (Zainal & Newman, 2019) and externalizing (e.g., reduced anger and higher frustration tolerance) problems (Szasz et al., 2011). ...
... Frequency was recorded as a percentage and efficacy on a 5-point scale from 1 (much more affective state) to 5 (much less affective state). We categorized the emotion regulation strategies as adaptive (social support seeking, acceptance, and positive reappraisal) or maladaptive (self-medication, deliberate self-harm, expressive suppression, rumination, behavioral avoidance, and cognitive avoidance), based on previous research (Cheng et al., 2014;Fliege et al., 2009;Ford et al., 2018;Grant et al., 2013;du Pont et al., 2019;Turner et al., 2018;Zahniser & Conley, 2018;Zainal & Newman, 2019). Strategy use frequency ratings demonstrated excellent discriminant validity across all three examined target emotion blocks during initial psychometric evaluation (Lee et al., 2017). ...
... Contrary to expectations, men who used maladaptive strategies rated all of them as being more efficacious than adaptive strategies in managing their CSA-related distress. These results are interesting because past mixed-gender research has indicated that the use of adaptive strategies (e.g., social support seeking, acceptance) is associated with both reduced emotional distress and mental health difficulties (Ford et al., 2018;Hefner & Eisenberg, 2009;Zainal & Newman, 2019). A possible explanation may be related to men's motivations to either increase or decrease an affective state in the shortterm or to obtain long-term benefits (Tamir, 2009). ...
Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a form of child maltreatment which has been increasingly recognized as a common experience among men. Research on male CSA remains under-developed but suggests many negative mental health impacts. The current study examined the link between mental health outcomes and different emotion regulation strategies among 69 adult men. Men completed measures on their current mental well-being, and participated in a clinical interview about emotion regulation strategies used to manage memories about their sexual victimization. Results indicated that the most frequently used emotion regulation strategies were expressive suppression, rumination, and cognitive avoidance. For perceived effectiveness, men identified cognitive avoidance, self-medication, and behavioral avoidance as being most helpful in managing their CSA-related distress. Finally, greater use of deliberate self-harm, rumination, and behavioral avoidance was associated with more internalizing difficulties, while greater use of deliberate self-harm and self-medication was linked with more externalizing difficulties. Greater perceived efficacy of positive reappraisal was associated with fewer externalizing behaviors. Although these findings require replication through larger mixed-methods studies, they suggest the importance of incorporating emotion regulation strategies into interventions aimed at improving mental well-being among men with CSA histories.
... Contextually, satisfaction with life (SWL) was reported to be contingent upon PSS [7]- [10], and the development of SWL among Malaysian urbanites was reported to be different during the movement control order (MCO), an implementation of the social distancing policy amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 [11]. The alteration of SWL as a construct that is predicted by PSS led us to a hypothesis that the development of PWB Nevertheless, the direct link between PSS and PWB was also reported in studies before the pandemic [12], [13]. ...
... Contextually, individuals with greater SWL tend to also report better PWB [10]; The relationship between SWL and negative indicators of PWB were antagonistic, where individuals with higher SWL tend to have lower scores in some indicators of PWB, such as depression, anxiety, loneliness [16]. Zhang et al. [17] suggested that during the social distancing enforcement amidst the COVID19 outbreak, lower SWL had predicted lower PWB in the form of greater distress. ...
The change of social interaction pattern amidst the implementation of social distancing policies during the pandemic had altered the way individuals evaluated themselves and their social environment, including the way they develop perceived social support (PSS) that would lead to another change in the way they develop their satisfaction with life (SWL). This might have affected the development of their psychological wellbeing (PWB), which is highly contingent upon psychosocial constructs. Another variable that might alter the formation of PWB is the sense that we matter to others (Mattering), which was also altered by the limitation of in-person interactions. We purposively recruited 403 Malaysian urban adults affected by the social distancing policies by having to study or work from home, to respond to our survey in order to test the hypothesis that the SWL would fully mediate the association between PSS and PWB among individuals with higher levels of mattering. The results of the bootstrap analysis with 5,000 samples and 95% confident interval supported our hypothesis, with a caveat that the mediation of SWL also occurred among individuals with moderate levels of mattering. PSS was still a significant predictor of PWB when controlling for mattering and SWL, which indicated that the mediation of SWL was only partially occurred.
... The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) is a widely used 21-item self-report scale used to determine the severity of depression in the preceding two weeks [47]. Respondents rate items on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 to 3. Depression is classified as minimal (0-13), mild (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19), moderate (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28), or severe . Dabson and Mohammad-Khani [48] determined that the Persian version of the BDI-II was a psychometrically valid measure in a clinical sample. ...
... Intriguingly, the results also demonstrated that, after adjusting for depressive symptoms, positive and negative affect, there is no significant difference in both groups' acceptance of internal experiences, disgust propensity, and sensitivity from pretreatment to posttreatment and three-month follow-up. The current findings are most likely the result of a significant relationship between disgust and negative affect, or depression on the one hand [9,61,62] and strong associations between acceptance of internal events and negative affect on the other hand [25]. However, even after controlling for covariates, the changes in OCD severity from pretreatment to posttreatment and three-month follow-up were significant. ...
Background:
Disgust is a strong and persistent emotion that frequently occurs during exposure-based treatments for contamination-based obsessive compulsive disorder (C-OCD). This study aimed to examine the efficacy of augmenting cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with a novel type of anti-disgust cognitive intervention in reducing the severity of OCD, disgust propensity/sensitivity, and refusal rate of exposure and response prevention, while simultaneously increasing acceptance of disgust.
Materials and methods:
Fifty-five individuals with C-OCD (mean age 28.1 years, SD = 3.52; 77% female) were randomly assigned to 15 weekly sessions of anti-disgust plus CBT (AD-CBT) or CBT alone. They were evaluated for outcomes four times (pretreatment, prior to exposure and response prevention (ERP) sessions, posttreatment, and three-month follow-up), and mixed-design ANOVAs were used to analyze the data.
Results:
The findings indicated that when compared to CBT alone, AD-CBT significantly reduced OCD severity, disgust propensity/sensitivity, and concurrently increased disgust acceptance (p < 0.001). Additionally, engaging in an anti-disgust cognitive intervention was associated with lower ERP refusal rate (4% vs. 16%). The superiority of AD-CBT over CBT persisted through the three-month follow-up period.
Conclusions:
The current study suggests that supplementing CBT for C-OCD with an anti-disgust cognitive intervention significantly increased acceptance of disgust and decreased the refusal rate of ERP, OCD severity, and disgust-related factors.
... Por ejemplo, creer que las emociones en general, positivas y negativas, son malas predice un menor bienestar y una peor salud psicológica. A su vez, creer que en particular las emociones negativas son malas se relaciona con mayores respuestas emocionales negativas ante acontecimientos estresantes (Ford, Lam et al., 2018). ...
... Por ejemplo, algunas investigaciones indican que la búsqueda constante de sentirse feliz puede hacer que las personas se sientan menos felices a largo plazo(Gruber et al., 2011;Eldesouky & Gross, 2019).Por otra parte, entre los antecedentes históricos que se considera que pueden predisponer a las personas para el uso de ciertas formas de regulación emocional problemática, en distintas investigaciones se han considerado las experiencias tempranas de la vida, el estilo de apego con el cuidador, la educación recibida sobre la bondad y controlabilidad de las emociones y las instrucciones sobre qué estrategias se deben usar, entre otros (p. ej.,Bariola et al., 2012;Ford, Lam et al., 2018;Eisenberg et al., 1998;Gunzenhauser et al., 2014; Karreman y Vingerhoets, 2012) No obstante, a diferencia de los estudios que abordan cuestiones generales de las emociones y las posibles dificultades en su regulación, en el ámbito clínico la pregunta acerca de porqué las personas mantienen ciertas conductas desadaptativas y hasta contraproducentes, se suele abordar mediante un análisis funcional de tipo ideográfico que tiene en cuenta los antecedentes y las consecuencias particulares de estas (p. ej.,Barlow et al., 2015; Dixon & Rehfeldt, 2018; Hofmann & Hayes, 2019b; Törneke, 2021; Wilson & Murrell, 2002). ...
Teniéndose como referencia el Modelo Procesual Extendido de regulación emocional de Gross (2015a) se realiza un breve relevamiento de diversos conceptos y procesos provenientes de distintos ámbitos de la investigación básica y aplicada vinculados con las terapias contextuales y cognitivo-conductuales. Esto permite vincular distintos procesos de cambio con los componentes de las etapas de regulación contempladas en el modelo. Se propone que en algunos de estos procesos de cambio el sistema de segundo orden se enfocaría principalmente en los componentes del sistema de valoración que da lugar a la emoción (por ej. modificación, distracción o reevaluación de la situación), mientras que en otros tendría como objeto principal sus propios procesos, especialmente los de la etapa de identificación (por ej. aceptación, atención o reevaluación de la emoción), aunque no exclusivamente. Las intervenciones de las terapias cognitivo-conductuales tradicionales parecen promover el uso de estrategias orientadas a producir cambios sobre todo en el sistema de valoración de primer orden, mientras que, las terapias contextuales y cognitivo-conductuales más recientes se focalizan mucho más en los procesos de la etapa de identificación del sistema de segundo orden. Estas divergencias se aprecian más claramente cuando se considera el lugar destacado que ocupa la aceptación, la consciencia emocional y el distanciamiento/defusión cognitiva en estas últimas.
... Some participants reported that these insights helped them to better manage difficult emotions and experiences beyond the parameters of the Surfability intervention, indicating that they were able to generalise experiences in surfing to other aspects of their lives. Acceptance of one's mental experience has been linked to better adjustment and functioning in individuals with chronic conditions [71][72][73] and improved psychological health within the general population [74]. This may be because individuals who are better able to accept difficult thoughts and emotions experience reduced negative emotions in response to stressors [74]; facilitating opportunities for improved psychological wellbeing, including meaning and purpose, the theme we turn our attention to next. ...
... Acceptance of one's mental experience has been linked to better adjustment and functioning in individuals with chronic conditions [71][72][73] and improved psychological health within the general population [74]. This may be because individuals who are better able to accept difficult thoughts and emotions experience reduced negative emotions in response to stressors [74]; facilitating opportunities for improved psychological wellbeing, including meaning and purpose, the theme we turn our attention to next. ...
Nature has long demonstrated the capacity to facilitate wellbeing. Interventions involving the natural environment such as surf therapy, are increasingly being used to facilitate aspects of wellbeing in clinical populations. However, explorations of how nature-based interventions such as surf therapy may be used to promote wellbeing in the context of neu-rorehabilitation are missing from the peer-reviewed literature. Here we characterize the experience of a five-week surfing intervention involving fifteen adults living with the psycho-social and cognitive sequelae of acquired brain injury. Insights were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, which highlighted the importance of seven overarching themes, including: 1) Connection to Nature, 2) Facilitating Trust and Safety, 3) Managing and Accepting Difficult Emotions, 4) Facilitating Positive Emotion, Meaning and Purpose, 5) Building Community through Social Connection, and 6) Positive Change. Barriers and opportunities (theme 7) were also identified as components on which clinical services may be improved. We present a theoretical model for the benefits of surf therapy in people living with acquired brain injury (ABI) based on these themes and reflections on findings from the wider literature. Findings emphasise the importance of leveraging community partnerships to augment the holistic model of neurorehabilitation and potential implications for service redesign are discussed , focusing on recent developments in wellbeing science.
... Importantly, reductions in aversive reactivity and avoidant coping strategies may similarly influence other treatment outcomes, such as quality of life and life satisfaction. Prior research has demonstrated that increases in acceptance-and approach-oriented behaviors toward negative emotions and decreases in avoidant coping strategies are associated with improvements in overall quality of life and well-being (Ford, Lam, John, & Mauss, 2018;Frydenberg & Lewis, 2009). ...
... The unique aspects of aversive reactivity we examined were non-acceptance of emotions (associated with the Understanding Emotions module), mindfulness (Mindful Emotion Awareness Module), cognitive flexibility (Cognitive Flexibility Module), behavioral avoidance (Countering Emotional Behaviors module) and anxiety sensitivity (Confronting Physical Sensations module). Previous research suggests that each UP module is associated with improvements in its associated aspect of aversive reactivity and that these aspects are associated with positive functioning (Ford, Lam, John, & Mauss, 2018;Gallagher et al., 2013;Machell, Goodman, & Kashdan, 2015). We aimed to clarify the associations between changes in the various facets of aversive reactivity and improvements in quality of life. ...
Emotional disorders are thought to be maintained by the transaction between frequent experiences of strong, negative emotions (i.e., neuroticism) and aversive reactions to those emotions. The Unified Protocol (UP) is an efficacious treatment for transdiagnostic emotional disorders designed to target specific forms of aversive reactivity to negative emotions. In addition to symptom change, the UP has also been shown to lead to increases in quality of life. However, it remains unclear which specific mechanisms targeted in the UP are related to improvements in quality of life. We explored the relations between changes in five aspects of aversive reactivity included in the UP (i.e., non-acceptance of emotions, [lack of] mindfulness, cognitive rigidity, behavioral avoidance, and anxiety sensitivity) and overall quality of life during treatment. Person-specific regression slopes revealed that improvements in emotional non-acceptance, behavioral avoidance, and mindfulness were each significantly associated with increases in quality of life over the six sessions of treatment. Although in the expected direction, improvements in anxiety sensitivity and cognitive flexibility were not significantly associated with increases in quality of life. These findings generally suggest a model of equifinality in which improvements in most aspects of aversive reactivity are similarly related to changes in quality of life.
Clinical trials registration number
NCT04584879.
... The emphasis on personal agency and self-efficacy throughout the gender transition journey should not ignore the significant cultural and systemic barriers that transgender/non-binary individuals face, nor should it engage in "toxic positivity" by enabling the emotional suppression of negative emotions (Chiu, 2020;Gross & Levenson, 1997). Rather, this model focuses on self-efficacy and agency, defined as the client's belief in the ability to do hard things in the face of significant personal and systemic challenges, emphasizing acceptance and moving through difficult emotions and thoughts related to both the personal experience of gender and the experience of microaggressions and aggressions related to a transgender/nonbinary gender identity and gender expression (Ford, Lam, John, & Mauss, 2018). The clinician can facilitate this by combining affirming, interpersonal processing with tenets of existing therapeutic interventions such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) applied to the content of gender identity, gender expression, and gender transition (Austin & Craig, 2015;Budge, 2013;Budge et al., 2017;Nylund & Temple, 2017;Sloan, Berke, & Shipherd, 2017). ...
... Vaughan et al., 2014). In order to decrease distress and improve quality of life, this model uses clinical interventions that acknowledge the systems of oppression creating barriers to surviving and thriving for transgender/non-binary individuals while focusing on strengths-based coping skills, resiliency, personal agency, and self and community care (Ford et al., 2018;Sloan et al., 2017). ...
Transgender/non-binary experiences and identities are often represented in academic literature through narratives of distress and are often pathologized through a medical lens. This holds implications for the field of psychotherapy, as interventions aimed to support transgender/nonbinary individuals often focus solely on risk mitigation. This article presents a therapeutic framework that rests on three pillars—Play, Pleasure, and Possibility—as the focal points for reimagining work with transgender/non-binary clients. This model aims to help this population explore gender transition with more ease through building practical skills, cultivating personal and collective pride, and centering pleasure equity.
... ered that pregnant women who attempted to suppress their fears later were reported to experience higher levels of fear. Additionally, a study conducted in 2018 examined the relationship between emotional acceptance and psychological health and found out that people who habitually avoid acknowledging their negative emotions can end up feeling worse (Ford et. al, 2018). A diminished emotional response builds up pressure and leads to a more extreme emotion later (Toxic Psychology, 2020). Suppressing negative feelings, such as fear, will not help people overcome a pandemic, as is the case now with the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
... A recent study proposed that accepting mental experiences would allow an individual to have greater psychological health, permitting them to feel fewer negative emotions because they are aware of what they feel. In the study conducted byFord, Lam, John, and Mauss, (2018), they provided three studies to examine the benefits of accepting negative emotions and thoughts. In the first study, participants were undergraduate students with the final number of 459 participants for Sample A, 336 for Sample B, and 208 for Sample C.Different measures were utilized such as Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) to assess the degree of acceptance of participants' emotions and thoughts;Scales of Psychological Well-Being to measure psychological health and well-being of the participants; and demographic status such as gender and ethnicity through selfreport, stress and rumination were also evaluated.Results of the mentioned study indicate that accepting feelings and impulses is related to psychological well-being through various measures of well-being and illbeing, including greater psychological well-being and life satisfaction, as well as lower depressive and anxiety symptoms. ...
Toxic positivity as defined by Lukin (2019) is the practice of constantly displaying yourself as optimistic while rejecting anything that could be perceived as a negative emotion. This research was carried out to understand the role of toxic positivity on college students’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This qualitative research utilized a phenomenological approach to identify the influences of toxic positivity and factors that lead college students to engage in it. Data collection techniques included a 10-item pre-survey that helped select college students from various universities, regardless of gender, course, and year levels, who exhibited a high tendency to experience toxic positivity during this pandemic. Subsequently, purposive sampling was applied to picked respondents who scored seven or higher from the pre-survey to be the actual participants for the interview. A 10-item interview guide with follow-up questions was used to elicit responses from the chosen 15 participants, and since the research happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, interviews are held virtually through Google Meet and Zoom. The collected data were then analyzed through the guide of Colaizzi’s method, which according to Morrow et al. (2015), is a clearer and more systematic approach used in phenomenological studies in creating exhaustive descriptions. The findings revealed that toxic positivity has psychological influences on the college students, wherein their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects are impacted, caused by various psychosocial factors, internal and external causes.
... Given that intolerance of uncertainty is also associated with a range of non-anxiety emotional disorders (e.g., major depressive disorder), this study echoes the literature by considering it as a transdiagnostic factor above and beyond trait anxiety. experiences such as the expression of negative emotions, which is linked to better psychological health in a longitudinal study (Ford, Lam, John, & Mauss, 2018). In contrast, poor problem-solving skills are associated with hopelessness in major depressive disorder (Cannon et al., 1999) and worry in generalised anxiety disorder (Ladouceur, Blais, Freeston, & Dugas, 1998). ...
... Responses to acute laboratory stressors (reactivity and recovery) have long been recognized as reliable markers of variation in development of diseases even years later (Dickerson and Kemeny, 2004;Steptoe et al., 2007;Chida and Hamer, 2008;Pattyn et al., 2010;Dias and Neto, 2016;Ford et al., 2018;Giannakakis et al., 2019). One of the most widely used tasks to induce stress in the laboratory is the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 2004). ...
Concerns pertaining to health and to problems in close relationships are both known to be major stressors, yet existing tools are inadequate to assess individual reactions to such stressors. Thus, we sought to develop and preliminarily validate a stress-inducing task for use in a laboratory setting that pertains to the sorts of health-related concerns people face in close relationships. Heterosexual dating couples (44 individuals: mean age 22) were randomized to be paired with their own partner or a stranger and to play a role of speaker or listener. Participants were asked to imagine a scenario in which one person is hit by a car (listener role) and the partner has no means to provide or seek out help for the victim (speaker role). The session consisted of baseline, speech preparation, stress task, and recovery phases. General linear modeling results revealed that the task induced stress, evidenced in cardiovascular activities and self-reported negative affect. Giving a brief speech about the stressful situation creates physiological and psychological strains, regardless of pairing with one’s own partner or stranger. Furthermore, cardiovascular and negative affect reactivity to the STress Induction Tool for Close relationships and Health (STITCH) task tended to vary by individual characteristics that reflect one’s sensitivity to close relationship-and health-related stress. This tool is intended to be used for testing relationship theory-driven phenomenon and longer-term implications of physiological and affective reactivities in the quality of life and health outcomes of those who experienced a medically stressful circumstance personally or in the family.
... When exposed to stressors, individuals experience increased anxiety and negative affect (Campbell and Ehlert, 2012;Zapater-Fajarí et al., 2021). Negative mood and emotions caused by stressors are associated with a variety of additional negative outcomes (Du et al., 2018;Ford et al., 2018;Young et al., 2019). Although emotions can be described in various ways, they can generally be considered to be automatic psychobiological responses to real or imagined situations (Gross and Feldman Barrett, 2011). ...
Physiological and psychological stressors can exert wide-ranging effects on the human brain and behavior. Research has improved understanding of how the sympatho-adreno-medullary (SAM) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axes respond to stressors and the differential responses that occur depending on stressor type. Although the physiological function of SAM and HPA responses is to promote survival and safety, exaggerated psychobiological reactivity can occur in psychiatric disorders. Exaggerated reactivity may occur more for certain types of stressors, specifically, psychosocial stressors. Understanding stressor effects and how the body regulates these responses can provide insight into ways that psychobiological reactivity can be modulated. Non-invasive neuromodulation is one way that responding to stressors may be altered; research into these interventions may provide further insights into the brain circuits that modulate stress reactivity. This review focuses on the effects of acute psychosocial stressors and how neuromodulation might be effective in altering stress reactivity. Although considerable research into stress interventions focuses on treating pathology, it is imperative to first understand these mechanisms in non-clinical populations; therefore, this review will emphasize populations with no known pathology and consider how these results may translate to those with psychiatric pathologies.
... Vários autores afirma que a melhor maneira de combater o positivismo tóxico é a criação de mecanismos de agilidade emocional dentro das organizações, e a nível pessoal, de modo a que se possa construir mecanismos saudáveis de lidar com as emoções, sem que se seja afetado pelas patologias envolvidas com o positivismo tóxico (Davis & Congleton, 2013). Adicionando a este pensamento, vários autores falam ainda nos possíveis benefícios relacionados com a expressão saudável das emoções negativas (Ford, Lam, John, & Mauss, 2018), argumentando que a forma como lidamos com as nossas emoções é um fator crucial na maneira como depois projetamos esses sentimentos para o trabalho e outras pessoas. ...
Resumo: O positivismo tóxico é um tema cada vez mais debatido entre as gerações mais jovens, na tentativa de normalizar o sentimento de descontentamento sentido pela pressão de ser feliz. Havendo uma lacuna no estudo deste conceito, este artigo importa-se, deste modo, no estudo deste fenómeno, com o foco na tentativa de afiliação entre o positivismo tóxico e a produtividade e sustentabilidade das organizações. Através de dados secundários, provenientes de estudos psicológicos e estatísticas mundiais, foi realizada uma análise qualitativa, de modo a testar esta hipótese. O resultado orienta-se para a existência de uma conexão entre o positivismo tóxico e o comprometimento da sustentabilidade da organização. Através destes resultados pretende-se incentivar a reflexão sobre as teorias da liderança e a cultura organizacional orientada para a sustentabilidade empresarial. Abstract: Toxic positivity is an increasingly debated topic among younger generations, in an attempt to normalize the discontentment felt by the pressure to be happy. This article is concerned with the study of this phenomenon, with a focus on the attempt to connect toxic positivity with the productivity and sustainability of organizations. Using secondary data from psychological studies and world statistics, a qualitative analysis was performed to test this hypothesis. The result is oriented towards the existence of a connection between toxic positivity and the organization's commitment to sustainability. Through these results, it is intended to encourage reflection on leadership theories and organizational culture oriented towards corporate sustainability.
... Functionalist perspectives remind us that sadness in response to loss is adaptive as it helps individuals disengage and elicit social support, suggesting an important role for emotional acceptance as a regulation strategy (Ford et al., 2018). And while many people seem to adapt well to relationship dissolution over time (Knöpfli et al., 2016), there is considerable heterogeneity in trajectories and some have questioned how common resilience after spousal divorce or loss really is (Infurna & Luthar, 2016). ...
Romantic relationships are hotbeds of emotions - from the high highs and low lows in the beginning of a new relationship to all the tough and tender moments when navigating life as a couple to the question of how to let go and move on when a relationship ends. How couples regulate emotions has profound consequences, not only for relationship quality and stability, but also for well-being, health, and longevity (e.g., Gottman & Gottman, 2017; Levenson et al., 2014; Wells et al., 2022).Drawing from functionalist perspectives of emotion (e.g., Levenson, 1999), we propose that each phase in a romantic relationship (i.e., initiation, development, ending) can be characterized by specific challenges and opportunities that give rise to specific emotions and with it, demands for emotion regulation. We do not wish to imply that these challenges and opportunities are universal (although there is evidence that romantic love is a cross-cultural phenomenon, see Jankowiak & Fischer, 1992) or that everyone will navigate these stages in similar ways (in fact, variability is key when it comes to couples’ emotion regulation; Levenson et al., 2014). But we hope for this to be a useful organizing framework that can bridge the vast affective and relationship science literatures that speak to couples’ emotion regulation.
... What ought to be clear to any therapist, or anyone considering the matter pragmatically, and is clear in research evidence (Ford et al., 2018), is that acceptance is not meant to be an exclusive strategy. It is not meant to be a response applied to all unwanted events in all situations, as a replacement for ever intending to control anything. ...
This chapter is meant to define the third wave of behavior therapy. This is a difficult task as it can only be done coherently be laying out at the same time what were the first and second waves – no easy task in itself. It is also difficult because there is, in a sense, no such thing as the third wave. There are many constituent therapies, each unique and different from the others in key ways, and to speak of them all as a whole will never be uniformly true of them all. One is left off where we began, more or less, the third wave is the expansion of CBT into historically neglected psychological processes applied to an increasing diverse and often complex set of human behavior problems, including a focus on acceptance, mindfulness, spirituality, intimacy, values, emotional depth, and the like. With six decades of perspective on behavior therapy, and if one drops some of the particular therapy types, there is some order to it. One could look at the evolution of behavior therapy as a path through the first behavior therapy, then CBT, Contextual CBT, and now possibly the cusp of what comes next, perhaps process-based therapy (PBT). What one sees here up to the current day is truly an “expansion of the cognitive behavioral tradition,” and an expansion with an important opportunity built into it, that being the opportunity for integration, particularly around processes of change, and perhaps away from divisive specific therapy types. The start to this seems to be found in how selected approaches within the third wave produce the outcome they do, largely by adopting a focus on establishing greater psychological openness, attention and awareness skills, and motivation, behavior change, and engagement.KeywordsCognitive behavioral therapyBehavior therapyCognitive therapyThird waveThird-wave behavior therapyProcess-based therapy
... Emerging research has underscored the importance of these emotion beliefs on emotional experience and well-being (e.g., Ford & Gross, 2018Ford, Lam, et al., 2018;Luong et al., 2016;Yoon et al., 2018). It is theorized that people who believe a particular emotion is bad more readily notice the signs of that emotion and perceive it as unpleasant, which in turn alters their emotional experience (Ford & Gross, 2018). ...
Objectives:
Young people's experience of boredom and its psychological health sequelae have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study examined the moderating role of boredom beliefs-the extent to which one affectively dislikes boredom (boredom dislike) and cognitively accepts it (boredom normalcy)-on the association between boredom experience and mental well-being. We also validated a new measure of boredom beliefs in two different samples of young people.
Method:
We report data from a correlational study with British young people aged 12-25 (Study 1; N = 2,495) and a 16-week eight-wave within-subject study with Israeli adolescents aged 12-18 (Study 2; N = 314).
Results:
Across both studies, disliking boredom was associated with higher frequency and intensity of boredom. Boredom dislike moderated the negative association between boredom and mental well-being, such that the association was more salient among those who strongly disliked boredom. Normalizing boredom was positively associated with mental well-being. The measure of boredom beliefs demonstrated fair validity and reliability.
Conclusion:
Results provide novel insights into the potential buffering effect of boredom beliefs against the mental health impact of boredom, particularly at a time of reduced activity. These findings generalize across two different countries.
... Suppressing pain has shown to have negative outcomes, while accepting it is observed to be as a better strategy. Ford et al. (2018) through longitudinal and lab studies showed that habitually accepting mental experiences broadly predicted psychological health and that it reduced negative emotional response and experience. Hence toxic positivity, with its overemphasis on thinking positively and having a positive state of mind, encourages emotion suppression rather than emotional acceptance which has negative consequences for the person who engages in it. ...
... A common assumption is that children's affective system is developed and matured in interaction with significant others (Mackler et al., 2015). When parents become emotionally dysregulated (under-or overregulated), they lose their ability to respond adequately to their child's needs (Ford et al., 2018). Thus, working with emotion dysregulation and avoidance of intense emotional experience in parents may contribute to better mental health outcomes in children (Schore, 1999). ...
Objective: Emotion-Focused Skills Training (EFST) is a 12-week parental program based on EmotionFocused Therapy, developed to improve children and adolescents’ mental health problems.
Methods: In a randomized clinical dismantling study, including parents of 236 children and adolescents (ages 6–13, Mage 8.9, 60.6% boys, 95.8% Caucasian) with externalizing and/or internalizing
problems within clinical range, we examined the efficacy of two versions of EFST: one experiential
condition (n = 120) involving emotionally evocative techniques and two-chair interventions, and one
psychoeducational only condition (n = 116) involving didactic teaching of emotion skills. Both groups
received a 2-day group training and 6 hours of individual supervision. Outcomes were parent- and
teacher-reported symptoms at baseline, posttreatment, and 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow-up. Analyses
were conducted using multilevel growth curve modeling and Bayesian post hoc analysis.
Results: EFST showed efficacy in reducing parent-reported externalizing (b = −1.72, p < .001,
d = 1.0) and internalizing (b = −1.71, p < .001, d = 0.9) symptoms, and teacher-reported externalizing
(b = −.96, p < .001, d = 0.4), but not internalizing (b = −.13, p > .05, d = 0.2) symptoms. Multilevel
analyses showed nonsignificant differences between conditions (all p’s > .05), although a Bayesian
longitudinal sensitivity analysis indicated a better outcome for the experiential condition.
Conclusion: EFST showed efficacy in symptom reduction for children and adolescents with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Outcomes were maintained over 12 months for both conditions, supporting EFST as a transdiagnostic parental approach for early intervention
... The paradoxical effect whereby individuals who suppress negative thoughts actually ruminate over these more, results in greater distress (Wang et al., 2020). Therefore, the current findings suggest that by participating in targeted MBIs individuals with ACE histories may come to accept such negative thoughts and, in turn, improve overall psychological wellbeing (Ford et al., 2018). ...
Unlabelled:
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are associated with increased psychological wellbeing. The literature suggests that individuals exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may benefit greatly from MBIs. However, research has tended to focus on universal MBIs for this population with less attention on the effectiveness of targeted approaches. Moreover, there is growing concern regarding the methodological rigor of MBI research. This systematic mixed studies review (SMRS) reports the effectiveness of MBIs for improving mental health and cognition among individuals with ACE histories. Additionally, the review reports the quality and rigor of the included research. Systematic searches of PsycInfo, EMBASE, MEDLINE, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, ProQuest Social Science database and the Child Development and Adolescent Studies database were conducted. Results were screened and data were extracted then synthesized using a data-based convergent synthesis design. Thirteen studies were included in the final review. Six prominent themes emerged. Themes indicated that MBIs were effective for improving mental health and cognition for individuals with ACEs. For example, improvements in mood and anxieties, as well as a better ability to manage emotions. Shortcomings in the quality of MBI research included lack of reporting of methodological details (e.g., randomization procedures) and not systematically reporting adverse event evaluations. Recommendations are made for future research to strengthen the evidence base for MBIs for individuals with ACEs.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40653-022-00454-5.
... Acceptance is considered a key metacognitive skill because it allows employees to witness an experience without becoming entirely immersed in it (Jankowski & Holas, 2014). As Ford et al. (2018) stated, it is a type of behavioral regulation, in that employees have the skills needed to accept their negative reactions (e.g., undesirable emotions and thoughts). Being mindful in this way enables employees to avoid exacerbating and prolonging those negative impacts on themselves. ...
While mindfulness has garnered increasing attention in organizations, few studies have operationalized workplace mindfulness and developed a valid measurement of this construct. Given this limitation, it is difficult to obtain a comprehensive understanding of workplace mindfulness or to promote theoretical and empirical research investigating this construct. To address this issue, the current research aims to examine the conceptualization of workplace mindfulness and seeks to develop a psychometrically sound scale assessing this construct. Based on the mindfulness literature, we propose a multidimensional model of workplace mindfulness consisting of three dimensions: awareness, attention, and acceptance. Across seven phases with six independent samples, and using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, our results provide support for the proposed multidimensional structure and reveal sound reliability and validity of the developed scale. This new instrument will be a valuable tool for both researchers and practitioners to assess employees’ mindfulness in working situations.
... Second, subjective norms are personal emotional factors, and research has previously shown that emotions significantly influence consumer purchasing decisions (e.g., Chowdhury, 2017). For example, qualitative research by Gregory-Smith et al. (2013) claimed that emotions (such as guilt) are significant drivers of sustainable consumption choices (Ford et al., 2018), implying that moral emotions impact individuals' work efficiency and well-being. ...
The effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumer’s attitude and intentions have attracted the attention of the researchers. The examination of the role of CSR green practices on Green Purchase Intension (GPI) and Green Impulse Buying (GIB) has received a little attention. The present study primarily explores this relationship between CSR, GPI, and GIB. The study empirically establishes a relationship between eco-advertising and Ban-on-Plastic (BOP) as CSR green practices, consumer’s GPI, subjective norms, and GIB. We examine the mediating role of eco-advertising, BOP, GPI, and moderating role of subjective norms towards GIB in such relationships. The authors find it a key factor that is likely to explain individuals’ behaviors that could be explored through a holistic approach to green buying behavior. For this purpose, the present study has utilized data from 479 Chinese consumers and structural equation modelling approach has been used for the analysis. The findings empirically support the Guagnano and Kolter-Zaltman theories partially, i.e., CSR has a direct and positive effect on GIB. Eco-advertising and BOP positively impact GPI. Moreover, while GPI mediates the relationship between CSR green practices and GIB, the moderating role of subjective norms is significant only in GPI-GIB relationship. The study provides a better understanding into GIB, with several implications for green strategies, and opens new research avenues for further investigation in the field of CSR green practices and GIB.
... Feeling bad about oneself for feeling upset was the most central aspect of emotion dysregulation in our networks. Although this study is among the first to examine emotion dysregulation using network methodology, these results are consistent with a large body of literature emphasizing the benefits of emotional acceptance and negative consequences of emotional nonacceptance (e.g., Ford et al., 2018;Shallcross et al., 2010). Several treatments, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes et al., 2006), and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT; Segal et al., 2002), encourage clients to observe their emotions as they occur in the moment. ...
Despite the clearly established link between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and emotion dysregulation, little is known about how individual symptoms of PTSD and aspects of emotion dysregulation interrelate. The network approach to mental health disorders provides a novel framework for conceptualizing the association between PTSD and emotion dysregulation as a system of interacting nodes. In this study, we estimated the structural relations among PTSD symptoms and aspects of emotion dysregulation within a large sample of women who participated in a multi-site study of sexual revictimization (N = 463). We estimated expected influence to reveal differential associations among PTSD symptoms and aspects of emotion dysregulation. Further, we estimated bridge expected influence to identify influential nodes connecting PTSD symptoms and aspects of emotion dysregulation. Results highlighted the key role of concentration difficulties in expected influence and bridge expected influence. Findings highlight several PTSD symptoms and aspects of emotion dysregulation that may be targets for future intervention.
... Second, subjective norms are personal emotional factors, and research has previously shown that emotions significantly influence consumer purchasing decisions (e.g., Chowdhury, 2017). For example, qualitative research by Gregory-Smith et al. (2013) claimed that emotions (such as guilt) are significant drivers of sustainable consumption choices (Ford et al., 2018), implying that moral emotions impact individuals' work efficiency and well-being. ...
Purpose
The study examines the relationship between consumers’ ethical sensitivity, corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and impulse behaviors. Ethical behavior has been a subject of increasing research interest. However, there is an imperious need to inspect ethical decision-making through holistic attention to impulse purchasing.
Design/methodology/approach
The study develops a set of hypotheses to understand the relationships. The online survey method was used to collect data, and 420 valid questionnaires, in total, were retrieved. In a two-step process, first, reliability and validity were initially measured. Second, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The analyses support the social marketing theory (SMT) and the general theory of marketing (GTM) ethics related to business strategy. Moreover, the study examines the mediating role of organizational trust, organizational identification and eco-branding in these relationships. The ethical and CSR practices for stakeholders positively affect organizational identification and trust that mediate the relationship between impulse buying and ethical attempts. Furthermore, from an ethical and climate change perspective, eco-branding positively mediates the relationship between impulse buying and environmental advertising. The moderating role of trust is significant in the relationship between impulse buying behavior (IBB) and repurchase behavior.
Originality/value
A critical factor explaining individuals’ behaviors has never been investigated using a holistic approach to IBB with ethical and CSR practices. The study profoundly contributes to knowledge about consumer ethics, with potential effects for ethical public relations, while also offering new research avenues for future exploration.
... Prior studies have found higher levels of stress reported via EMA than collected during laboratory stressor paradigms in highly stressed populations such as dementia caregivers (Fonareva et al., 2012). Additionally, research has found that end-ofday ecological stress reporting methods such as journaling are highly internally reliable, and correspond uniquely with constructs such as general well-being and coping style (Ford et al., 2017(Ford et al., , 2018. Similarly, physiological stress data collected via EMA methods (e.g., diurnal cortisol) have been associated with EMA PS (Lazarides et al., 2020). ...
Background: Research suggests that respiration rate is related to psychological factors such as neuroticism and perceived stress in addition to physiological factors. However, it is unclear how respiration rate during a laboratory stress task relates to the relationship between neuroticism and perceived stress.
Participants and Procedure: This cross-sectional secondary analysis examined respiration rate during a stress task in moderating the relationship between neuroticism and perceived stress in a sample of generally healthy older adults (n = 64). Respiration data were collected during an auditory oddball paradigm and the Portland Arithmetic Stress Task (PAST), a laboratory-based cognitive stressor.
Results: Results indicated that respiration rate during the PAST significantly moderated the relationship between neuroticism and perceived stress (p = .03), such that participants who exhibited a very low (-1.78 SD) respiration rate showed a non-significant relationship between neuroticism and perceived stress, whereas participants with average (Mean; p < .001) and elevated respiration rates (+1 SD; p < .001) exhibited a significant positive relationship between neuroticism and perceived stress.
Conclusion: These findings add to a body of literature suggesting that stress reactivity is an important link between personality factors and negative outcomes. However, this is the first study to our knowledge to examine the role of physiological stress reactivity in buffering this relationship. Results suggest that individuals higher in neuroticism may attenuate the relationship between stress vulnerability and perceived stress through decreased physiological stress reactivity, particularly by exhibiting slow breathing during a stressor.
... There are no significant GHQ-12 scores in participants exhibiting avoidance behaviour which could also mean that this avoidance could be a component of resigning acceptance and hence the participants were not distressed by this avoidance behaviour. Acceptance helps one experience fewer negative emotions and may protect an individual from developing depressive symptoms in response to stressors (Shallcross et al., 2010;Ford et al., 2018). It is also a form of accommodative coping (Brandtstädter, Wentura and Rothermund, 1999) when the situation cannot be changed and the emotional impact of an event can be changed through acceptance. ...
Objective: To assess the prevalence of psychological distress and identify the predictors and factors associated with the distress during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic among the Indian population. Materials and methods: An online cross-sectional study with a semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess the psychological distress using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) among Indians. Descriptive statistics and the prevalence of psychological distress were calculated. A chi-square test was done to find the association between the independent variables and psychological distress. Factors that are significantly associated with psychological distress were further analysed using multiple logistic regression analysis to identify the predictors. Results: 846 responses were obtained with a mean age of 32 years (32.45 ± 11.44). 35% (n=290) had significant psychological distress with a mean GHQ-12 score of 2.37. Factors associated were age (p=0.002), family members having COVID-19 symptoms (p=0.017), lockdown distress (p=0.0001), source of health information (p=0.041), perception that information by social media increased fear (p=0.0001), the likelihood of family contracting COVID-19 (p=0.022), the pattern of food consumption (p=0.0001) and worry about financial burden during lockdown (p=0.0001). By logistic regression analysis, we found increased odds of developing psychological distress among the participants aged less than 40 years (OR=1.49, C.I=1-2.249,p=0.050); people who felt distressed due to the lockdown situation (OR= 2.31, C.I=1.694-3.162, p=0.0001); individuals whose fear increased due to social media information (OR=1.55, C.I= 1.144-2.113, p=0.005) and participants whose food pattern increased during the lockdown period (OR=1.41, C.I=1.035-1.923, p=0.029). Conclusion: Nearly a third of the participants were in a state of psychological distress which transcended topographical barriers with factors such as being less than 40 years of age, accessing health information through social media, a pattern of food consumption being increased and being in the lockdown situation as predictors of psychological distress.
... There are no significant GHQ-12 scores in participants exhibiting avoidance behaviour which could also mean that this avoidance could be a component of resigning acceptance and hence the participants were not distressed by this avoidance behaviour. Acceptance helps one experience fewer negative emotions and may protect an individual from developing depressive symptoms in response to stressors (Shallcross et al., 2010;Ford et al., 2018). It is also a form of accommodative coping (Brandtstädter, Wentura and Rothermund, 1999) when the situation cannot be changed and the emotional impact of an event can be changed through acceptance. ...
Objectives: To assess the prevalence of psychological distress and identify the predictors and factors associated with the distress during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic among the Indian population.
Material and methods: An online cross-sectional study with a semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess the psychological distress using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) among Indians. Descriptive statistics and the prevalence of psychological distress were further analyzed using multiple logistic regression analysis to identify the predictors.
Results: 846 responses were obtained with a mean age of 32 years (32.45 ± 11.44), 35% (n= 290) had significant psychological distress with a mean GHQ-12 score of 2.37. Factors associated were age ( p= 0.002), family members having COVID-19 symptoms (p=0.017) , lockdown distress (p= 0.0001), source of health information (p= 0.041), perception that information by social media increased fear ( p= 0.0001), the likelihood of family contracting COVID-19 (p=0.022), the pattern of food consumption (p= 0.0001) and worry about financial burden during lockdown (p=0.0001). By logistic regression analysis, we found increased odds of developing psychological distress among the participants aged less than 40 years (OR= 1.49, C.1 =1-2.249, p= 0.050); people who felt distressed due to the lockdown situation (OR=2.31, C.1 = 1.694- 3.162, p=0.0001); individuals whose fear increased due to social media information (OR = 1.55, C.1=1.144 - 2.113, p= 0.005) and participants whose food pattern increased during the lockdown period (OR = 1.41, C.1 = 1.035 - 1.923, p= 0.029).
Conclusion: Neatly a third of the participants were in a state of psychological distress which transcended topographical barriers with factors such as being less than 40 years of age, accessing health information through social media, a pattern of food consumption being increased and being in the lockdown situation as predictors of psychological distress.
Keywords
COVID-19, pandemic, mental health, healthcare workers, misinfodemics
... In order to do this most effectively, we have to be willing to experience everything we keep inside. Contrary to conventional wisdom, acknowledging our painful emotions and experiences actually helps us feel fewer negative emotions and feel them less strongly (Ford et al. 2017), and helps us feel more positive emotions (Troy et al. 2018, Gross andLevenson 1997). The research evidence is clear -accepting our negative emotions helps us experience more positive emotions, improves our relationship with our bodies, strengthens our connection with those around us, and increases our intuitive abilities. ...
We humans are magnificent beyond our understanding. It is our birthright, our gift, and our responsibility to grow and blossom into ever-fuller expression of our magnificence. Intuition loves to help us along the way. Einstein famously said the most important question we have to answer for ourselves is whether or not we live in a friendly universe. When we open our hearts to the voice of intuition, we come to the realization that the universe supports our growth and courageous expression in every moment. We begin to welcome the creative connection between all things, inner and outer, and learn to trust ourselves and the healing wisdom that comes from within. It is my great honor to write this Foreword to Maura Torkildson's book. She has created a masterful guide to developing our intuitive abilities. Building a relationship with our inner source of knowing is one of the most important and rewarding tasks we can undertake. By connecting with our intuition, we can experience a sense of safety and comfort in everyday life, we can discover an immediately responsive source of useful information that helps us make better decisions, and we can uncover a profound source of connection with the divine, the all-that-is which underlies and gives meaning to our lives. In this Foreword we will first consider some of the defining characteristics of intuition, and show some of the ways I've experienced these characteristics by sharing stories of how intuition has played a pivotal role in my life. Then we will look at some of the scientific evidence supporting Maura Torkildson's groundbreaking new model for how to develop your own intuitive abilities.
Extensive research has been conducted regarding how people manage their emotions. Within this research, there has been growing attention towards the role of mindfulness in emotion regulation. While prior reviews have discussed mindfulness in the context of emotion regulation, they have not provided a thorough integration using the prevailing models of emotion regulation or mindfulness. The present review discusses the Extended Process Model of Emotion Regulation and Monitoring and Acceptance Theory of mindfulness in order to propose a novel integrated framework, the Dual-mode Model of Mindful Emotion Regulation (D-MER). This model proposes two "modes" of mindfulness: Implementation and facilitation. Implementation posits that mindfulness components act as emotion regulation strategies through attentional deployment and cognitive change. Facilitation posits that mindfulness components act on emotion generation and regulation through effects on cognitive processes and positive or negative valence systems. Empirical and theoretical support for this model are discussed, specific hypotheses to guide further research are provided, and clinical implications are presented. Use of this model may identify mechanisms underlying the interaction between mindfulness and emotion regulation which can be used in ongoing affective and clinical research.
The fundamental importance of compassion in promoting high quality patient care is well recognised, but teaching compassion is no easy task for the medical educator. In this thought piece I will explore the journey I have taken with year 2 medical students, exploring how to make compassion matter to my learners, and how to translate reflection into compassionate practice. I will look at the role of medical humanities, and reflective writing in particular, in promoting compassion and empathy, and achieving a deeper understanding of what it means to practise in a truly patient-centred way. I will reflect on my own approach to teaching compassion and encouraging reflection, through role modelling, storytelling and involving patients as educators, and the successes and shortcomings that I have encountered in my teaching. I will then consider the next steps I plan to take as an educator in order to support my learners to become compassionate, reflective practitioners.
The current literature suggests that emotion regulation, the mechanism of change in treatment, is the common etiological and maintenance factor for different psychopathologies. This study aims to conduct an adaptation study of the Perth
Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI; Preece et al., 2018) into Turkish and to examine the scale’s psychometric properties. The study sample consists of 461 participants, of whom 77.4% are female and 22.3% male with a mean age of 21.49 years old. The study first adapted PERCI from English to Turkish using the back translation method. Next, the participants completed a demographic information form, the Turkish version of PERCI; the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ); and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). The measurement set was applied to the participants using an online platform. The study then conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and compared the generated groups using cluster analysis, with the Pearson correlation coefficients being calculated for scores from the PERCI, the ERQ, and the DASS-21 within the scope of examining the validity of the Turkish version of PERCI. The study also calculated Cronbach’s α and McDonald’s ω for the reliability examination. The CFA findings for the factor structure of PERCI have revealed the scale to have eight first-order factors, each factor consisting of four
items (i.e., controlling experience, inhibiting behavior, activating behavior, and tolerating emotions for both negative and positive emotions) being loaded onto two second-order factors (i.e., negative and positive emotion regulation). The negative, positive, and general emotion regulation scores showed expected correlations with the variables of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms and also indicated significant differences among the high, medium, and low symptom groups. High reliability coefficients were obtained for all of PERCI’s subscale scores. In conclusion, these findings provide evidence for the validity and reliability of the scores obtained from the Turkish version of PERCI. For future emotion regulation research, a measure that enables a more detailed examination of the relationships involved in emotion regulation in the context of positive and negative emotions and other structures has been brought to Türkiye’s national literature.
Güncel alanyazına göre, farklı psikopatolojilerin etiyolojik ve sürdürücü faktörlerinden birinin tanılar üstü olarak değerlendirilen duygu düzenleme yapısı olduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Perth Duygu Düzenlemede Yetkinlik Envanterinin (Perth DDYE; Preece ve ark., 2018) Türkçe formunun ulusal alanyazına kazandırılması ve psikometrik özelliklerinin incelenmesidir. Çalışma örneklemi, 461 katılımcıdan oluşmaktadır. Katılımcıların %77.4’ü kadın, %22.3’ü erkek olup yaş ortalaması 21.49’dur. Çalışma kapsamında ilk olarak, Perth DDYE çeviri-geri çeviri yöntemiyle İngilizceden Türkçeye uyarlanmıştır. Katılımcılar, demografik bilgi formunu, Perth DDYE’yi, Duygu Düzenleme Ölçeğini ve Depresyon, Anksiyete ve Stres Ölçeği�21’i doldurmuştur. Ölçek seti, katılımcılara online bir platform aracılığıyla uygulanmıştır. Geçerlik incelemeleri kapsamında, Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizi (DFA) yapılmış, kümeleme analizi ile elde edilen gruplar arası karşılaştırma yapılmış ve Perth DDYE puanları ile duygu düzenleme ve depresyon, anksiyete ve stres puanları arasındaki Pearson korelasyon katsayıları hesaplanmıştır. Ölçekten alınan puanların güvenirlik incelemesi için, Cronbach α ve McDonald ω güvenirlik katsayıları hesaplanmıştır. Perth DDYE’nin faktör yapısına yönelik DFA bulguları, her biri dört maddeden oluşan sekiz birinci-düzey faktörün (negatif ve pozitif duygular için deneyimi kontrol etme, davranışı engelleme, davranışı harekete geçirme, duyguları tolere etme), iki ikinci-düzey faktöre (negatif ve pozitif duyguları düzenleme) yüklendiğini göstermiştir. Negatif, pozitif ve genel duygu düzenleme puanları depresyon, anksiyete ve stres belirti değişkenleri ile beklendik yönde ilişkiler göstermiş ve yüksek, orta, düşük belirti grupları arasında anlamlı şekilde farklılaşmıştır. Tüm alt-ölçek puanları için yüksek güvenirlik katsayıları elde edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak bu bulgular, Perth DDYE’nin Türkçe formundan elde edilen puanların güvenirlik ve geçerliğine ilişkin kanıtlar sunmaktadır. Mevcut araştırma, ileride yürütülecek olan duygu düzenleme araştırmalarında duygu düzenleme ve diğer yapılar arasındaki ilişkileri pozitif ve negatif duygular bağlamında daha ayrıntılı bir bakış açısıyla incelemeyi mümkün kılan bir ölçme aracını ulusal alanyazına kazandırmıştır.
Emotional intelligence (EI), also known as emotional quotient or EQ, is the ability to monitor people's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide their own thinking and actions. This chapter explores the transformative benefits of developing EI for dental professionals and how to do so. Emotions give people feedback on their environment, that is, whether it is dangerous or friendly. Emotions are also modified by the genetic makeup of a person and the socialisation process. Barbara Fredrickson, leading researcher in positive emotions, has been studying this area with avid interest. High EI is positively related with subjective well‐being; mediated by emotional regulation strategies, such as emotional savouring. The most supported theory on emotional intelligence comes from the pioneering work of Mayer and Salovey and their theory on EI.
Individuals differ in the extent to which they believe that their emotions are controllable or not, and these beliefs have significant impacts on emotional functioning. A strong belief that your emotions are uncontrollable (fixed mindset) is a vulnerability for emotional dysfunction, such as internalizing symptoms; however, the proximal mechanisms that might explain how emotional beliefs manifest as symptoms remain unclear. Across two studies, we examined whether mindset was indirectly related to internalizing symptoms through use of avoidance-based strategies and whether perceptions of stress function to amplify this relationship. In Study 1, (N = 163; mean age = 17.9), a fixed mindset was associated with a greater presence of depression and anxiety symptoms in undergraduates indirectly through the use of avoidance for anxiety, but not depression. Perceived stress did not moderate the indirect effect. In Study 2 (N = 183; mean age = 18.74) we replicated this model and extended this finding by examining social-avoidance. There was an indirect effect of mindset on anxiety and on depression via the use of avoidance-based strategies; however, there was no moderating effect of perceived stress. These findings extend the previous literature by demonstrating for role of avoidance in understanding the relationship between fixed mindsets and internalizing symptoms.
Exposure to adversity (e.g., poverty, bereavement) is a robust predictor of disruptions in psychological functioning. However, people vary greatly in their responses to adversity; some experience severe long-term disruptions, others experience minimal disruptions or even improvements . We refer to the latter outcomes—faring better than expected given adversity—as psychological resilience. Understanding what processes explain resilience has critical theoretical and practical implications. Yet, psychology's understanding of resilience is incomplete, for two reasons: ( a) We lack conceptual clarity, and ( b) two major approaches to resilience—the stress and coping approach and the emotion and emotion-regulation approach—have limitations and are relatively isolated from one another. To address these two obstacles, we first discuss conceptual questions about resilience. Next, we offer an integrative affect-regulation framework that capitalizes on complementary strengths of both approaches. This framework advances our understanding of resilience by integrating existing findings, highlighting gaps in knowledge, and guiding future research.
Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 74 is January 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Research into emotion regulation (ER) has focused primarily on the intra-personal process through which we regulate our own emotions intrinsically. More recently, however, studies have begun to explore the inter-personal nature of intrinsic ER – that is, how we regulate our emotions under the guidance of others. Preliminary evidence suggests that ER might be more effective when implemented in an inter- compared with an intra-personal manner, but these findings are based almost exclusively on self-reported ratings that capture only the subjective experience of emotions. The current study therefore investigated whether this apparent superiority of inter-personal intrinsic ER could be replicated and extended to physiological measures of affective reactions – namely, various metrics of electrodermal activity. In a within-subjects design, a sufficiently powered sample (N = 146) were required to down-regulate their emotional reactions to negatively valenced images using an ER strategy they had chosen themselves intra-personally or one that had been recommended to them inter-personally. Physiological responses converged to demonstrate the greater effectiveness of inter- over intra-personal ER in decreasing negative affective reactions, despite subjective ratings suggesting that participants perceived the opposite to be true. The superiority of inter- over intra-personal ER in physiological recordings was unrelated to individuals' perceptions of their ability to regulate their own emotions, however, and so it remains to be seen if and how such benefits extend to clinical populations.
Etiological beliefs of depression have differing impacts on motivation, hope, and treatment expectations. However, it is unclear where people are exposed to these beliefs. Objective: This study examined beliefs about depression and their relations to symptoms, attitudes about depression, and treatment preferences. Participants: 426 undergraduates attending a large midwestern university. Methods: Participants completed an online survey asking about causes of depression, if and where they had heard about the "chemical imbalance" explanation of depression, attitudes about depression, as well as measures of their symptoms, treatment history, and hypothetical treatment preferences. Results: Sixty-two percent of the sample had hard of the chemical imbalance explanation, most commonly from the classroom. Biochemical beliefs about depression were most strongly endorsed among participants with a family history of depression and who had had personal experience with treatment. The chemical imbalance belief was uniquely related to dysfunctional beliefs about depression. Etiological beliefs were largely unrelated to treatment preferences. Conclusion: College students are exposed to models of mental health that may not be ideal for treatment and recovery.
Objective:
People differ in how they regulate their emotions, and how they do so is guided by their beliefs about emotion. We propose that social power - one's perceived influence over others - relates to one's beliefs about emotion and to emotion regulation. More powerful people are characterized as authentic and uninhibited, which should translate to the belief that one should not have to control one's emotions and, in turn, less suppression and more acceptance. More powerful people are also characterized as self-efficacious and confident, which should translate to the belief that one can control one's emotions and, in turn, more reappraisal and acceptance.
Method:
Two preregistered studies using four samples (Ntotal =1,286) tested these hypotheses using cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys as well as diaries.
Results:
In Study 1, power related to beliefs about emotion and emotion regulation in hypothesized ways. Study 2 also largely supported the hypotheses: The belief that one should not have to control one's emotions accounted for the links between power and suppression and acceptance, whereas the belief that one can control one's emotions accounted for the link between power and reappraisal.
Conclusion:
Power and emotion regulation are interconnected, in part because of their links with beliefs about emotions.
This study consists of two separate studies. In the first study, the Turkish adaptation of the Beliefs About Emotions Questionnaire (BAEQ; Manser et al., 2012) was carried out. A total of 436 Turkish university students between the ages of 18-29 (M = 23.5, SD = 3.19) participated in the study. The findings showed that the data set confirmed the factor structure suggested for BAEQ with some modifications, and that the 37-item scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used by emotion regulation researchers and mental health professionals in Turkey. In the second study, a structural equation model was tested in order to better understand the relationships between trait/dispositional mindfulness, beliefs about emotions, adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, and negative and positive mental health. A total of 608 Turkish university students between the ages of 18-29 (M = 23.14, SD = 2.89) participated in the study. The findings revealed that the indirect effect of trait/dispositional mindfulness on adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies as well as on positive and negative mental health through beliefs about emotions and the indirect effect of beliefs about emotions on negative and positive mental health through maladaptive and adaptive emotion regulation strategies were statistically significant. The present findings are discussed in accordance with the relevant literature.
Background: Globally, arterial hypertension (AH) has increased by 90% over the last four decades, and has increased by 1.6% in Peru over the previous four years. Scientific evidence indicates the prevalence of depressive symptoms in patients with AH and its importance in the comprehensive evaluation of the adult for adherence to clinical treatment. Previous studies carried out in the Peruvian population with AH mostly report the prevalence and associations, but do not indicate which depressive symptoms are more relevant in patients with AH. This study involved a network analysis of depressive symptomatology in Peruvian patients with AH using network estimation. Network analysis is used in this study for analysis, control, and monitoring purposes.
Method: A representative cross-sectional study at the national level, using secondary data from 2019 Demographic and Family Health Survey (ENDES) was performed. The sample used included men and women of age over 17 years diagnosed with AH and was able to respond to Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).
Results: The symptoms of depressive mood (bridging force and centrality) and energy fatigue or loss (bridge centrality) play an essential role in the network structure, as does the feeling of uselessness in terms of closeness and intermediation.
Conclusion: The study highlighted the symptoms related to depressive mood and energy fatigue or loss as bridging symptoms, which could trigger a depressive episode in patients diagnosed with AH. The results will contribute to developing personalized treatments aimed at patients with specific depressive symptoms who have also been diagnosed with AH. The study analysis presents statistical coefficients of effect size (≤ 0,1 = small; > 0,1 to < 0,5 = moderate; ≥ 0,5 = large) to determine network connections.
The chapter highlights the importance of mental health in the multi-faceted context of adolescents. It explains the factors affecting adolescent mental health. Further, it discusses the promotion of mental health and well-being among adolescents in the backdrop that the positive effects of mental health promotion and preventive measures for the young people are cumulative and carry over across the life span. A concerted approach involving both prevention and intervention measures is important in achieving sustainable mental health among adolescents. Various measures at individual and group level for promoting mental health in adolescents are described. Finally, the chapter points out the challenges to mental health promotion in the socio-cultural context of adolescence and advocating a rights-based approach to mental health.
Emotion evaluations are assumed to play a crucial role in the emotion regulation process. We tested a postulate from our framework of emotion dysregulation (Nowak, U., Wittkamp, M. F., Clamor, A., & Lincoln, T. M. [2021]. Using the Ball-in-Bowl metaphor to outline an integrative framework for understanding dysregulated emotion. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 118), namely that the extent to which individuals evaluate an emotion as harmful and their personal resources to modify and accept/tolerate the emotion as sufficient predict the subsequent use of regulation strategies. Participants (n = 118) from a community sample took part in an experience-sampling assessment over 7 days including 10 daily paired measurements. The first measured momentary affective valence and arousal along with harmfulness evaluations and evaluations of personal resources to modify and accept/tolerate an emotion. The second followed three minutes later and measured emotion regulation strategies. The more harmful individuals evaluated an emotion, the more likely they were to use an emotion regulation strategy. The more harmful individuals evaluated an emotion, and the less sufficient they evaluated their personal resources to accept/tolerate an emotion, the more likely they were to use a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy. We conclude that emotions that people evaluate as harmful or difficult to accept are most likely to be regulated in a maladaptive manner. This implies that modifying beliefs about emotions could represent a promising treatment approach.
Nearly all students experience stress as they pursue important academic goals. Because stress can be magnified for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, it becomes important to identify interventions that can help mitigate this stress, particularly for these populations as they enter academic environments. We examine the effects of stress mindset and stress management interventions administered to students from disadvantaged backgrounds (N = 140) before freshman year. We compare effects on affect, sleep, and performance during end-of-year exams seen in a subset of these students who could be tracked via experience sampling (N = 57) to those of a comparison group at the same elite university (N = 74) receiving no such stress interventions. As predicted, we find significant differences in exam-week positive affect between the stress mindset and comparison groups. However, there was no difference in positive affect between the stress mindset and management groups or the stress management and comparison groups. For negative affect, stress, sleep, and exam performance, we find no significant differences between any of the three groups. However, both stress interventions decoupled the significant negative association between exam-week stress and exam performance exhibited by the comparison group, rendering the relationship nonsignificant. The reduction in this association was somewhat more pronounced for the mindset relative to the management group. These findings suggest that mindset and management approaches both confer benefits in certain circumstances and highlight the potential value of targeting mindsets about stress using a "wise intervention" approach for students from disadvantaged backgrounds during stressful times. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Recent studies point to an increase in psychological distress among graduate students. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of mindfulness practices on emotion regulation, on the perception of stress, and on the psychological well-being of graduate students. Forty-five (45) graduate students participated in the study, divided into an intervention and a control group. Questionnaires were applied for self-assessment of mindfulness, perceived stress, and psychological well-being, in addition to qualitative interviews in the pre- and post-timeframes of a mindfulness-based intervention. Quantitative data were analyzed using ANOVAs for repeated measures, while the interviews were analyzed using the thematic content analysis technique. The results indicated increases in the levels of mindfulness and psychological well-being, and a reduction in perceived stress in the intervention group, post-intervention. The interviews indicated the presence of ambivalent emotions in relation to graduate studies and the development of new strategies to cope with the stress in this work context. The main contribution of the study was to present empirical evidence of the effectiveness of mindfulness practices in the graduate-level education context, allowing students to become more capable of dealing with the challenges of an academic career.
Emotion regulation is central to psychological health, and several emotion-regulation strategies have been identified as beneficial. However, new theorizing suggests the benefits of emotion regulation should depend on its context. One important contextual moderator might be socioeconomic status (SES), because SES powerfully shapes people’s ecology: lower SES affords less control over one’s environment and thus, the ability to self-regulate should be particularly important. Accordingly, effectively regulating one’s emotions (e.g., using cognitive reappraisal) could be more beneficial in lower (vs. higher) SES contexts. Three studies (N = 429) tested whether SES moderates the link between cognitive reappraisal ability (CRA; measured with surveys and in the laboratory) and depression. Each study and a meta-analysis of the 3 studies revealed that CRA was associated with less depression for lower SES but not higher SES individuals. Thus, CRA may be uniquely beneficial in lower SES contexts. More broadly, the effects of emotion regulation depend upon the ecology within which it is used.
Both dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness training may help to uncouple the degree to which distress is experienced in response to aversive internal experience and external events. Because emotional reactivity is a transdiagnostic process implicated in numerous psychological disorders, dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness training could exert mental health benefits, in part, by buffering emotional reactivity. The present studies examine whether dispositional mindfulness moderates two understudied processes in stress reactivity research: the degree of concordance between subjective and physiological reactivity to a laboratory stressor (study 1) and the degree of dysphoric mood reactivity to lapses in executive functioning in daily life (study 2). In both studies, lower emotional reactivity to aversive experiences was observed among individuals scoring higher in mindfulness, particularly non-judging, relative to those scoring lower in mindfulness. These findings support the hypothesis that higher dispositional mindfulness fosters lower emotional reactivity. Results are discussed in terms of implications for applying mindfulness-based interventions to a range of psychological disorders in which people have difficulty regulating emotional reactions to stress.
Randomized controlled trials of mindfulness-based interventions have demonstrated beneficial effects of treatment across a variety of disorders (Keng et al., Clin Psych Rev 31:1041-1056, 2011). More research is needed to determine the mechanisms through which these treatments improve psychological functioning. This chapter provides a variety of concrete recommendations for conducting methodologically rigorous studies, including design, sample, psychometric, and statistical considerations. Because reliable and valid assessment of mindfulness is critical to research on mechanisms of change, we review the available tools for measuring trait and state mindfulness processes. In addition, a brief review of treatment-based mediational studies is included, revealing the need for more theory-based, systematic exploration of mediational pathways. By optimizing and standardizing methods in this area of research, clinical scientists can hasten accumulation of knowledge about how mindfulness-based interventions work.
Mindfulness based interventions have been associated with improvements in physical health; however, the mechanisms underlying these changes are unclear. The current study explored relationships between trait mindfulness, blood pressure (BP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Relationships between physical health variables and (1) a composite score of mindfulness, (2) individual facets of mindfulness and (3) interactions between theoretically relevant pairs of mindfulness subscales were investigated. One hundred and thirty healthy, young adults [M (SD) age = 21.7(2.7) years] reported trait levels of mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, subscales include: observing, describing, acting with awareness (AWA), nonjudging and nonreactivity), had their resting BP measured and underwent a blood draw to assesses circulating IL-6 levels. Age, gender, body mass index, race/ethnicity, depression and perceived stress were obtained and used as covariates. A composite score of trait mindfulness was associated with lower BP and a trend suggested that it was also associated with lower IL-6. Investigation of individual facets of mindfulness revealed interactions between the subscales AWA and nonjudging, such that higher endorsement of AWA was associated with lower BP only when nonjudging was also high. A second interaction was observed between the subscales observing and nonreactivity, such that higher endorsement of observing was associated with lower IL-6 only when levels of nonreactivity were also high. Trait mindfulness was associated with both BP and IL-6. Examining interactions between facets of mindfulness variables may be important in understanding how mindfulness based interventions influence physiology.
Intentionally hurting one's body (deliberate self-harm; DSH) is theorized to be associated with high negative emotional reactivity and poor emotion regulation ability. However, little research has assessed the relationship between these potential risk factors and DSH using laboratory measures. Therefore, we conducted 2 studies using laboratory measures of negative emotional reactivity and emotion regulation ability. Study 1 assessed self-reported negative emotions during a sad film clip (reactivity) and during a sad film clip for which participants were instructed to use reappraisal (regulation). Those with a history of DSH were compared with 2 control groups without a history of DSH matched on key demographics: 1 healthy group low in depression and anxiety symptoms and 1 group matched to the DSH group on depression and anxiety symptoms. Study 2 extended Study 1 by assessing neural responding to negative images (reactivity) and negative images for which participants were instructed to use reappraisal (regulation). Those with a history of DSH were compared with a control group matched to the DSH group on demographics, depression, and anxiety symptoms. Compared with control groups, participants with a history of DSH did not exhibit greater negative emotional reactivity but did exhibit lower ability to regulate emotion with reappraisal (greater self-reported negative emotions in Study 1 and greater amygdala activation in Study 2 during regulation). These results suggest that poor emotion regulation ability, but not necessarily greater negative emotional reactivity, is a correlate of and may be a risk factor for DSH, even when controlling for mood disorder symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
Emotion regulation is central to psychological health. For instance, cognitive reappraisal (reframing an emotional situation) is generally an adaptive emotion-regulation strategy (i.e., it is associated with increased psychological health). However, a person-by-situation approach suggests that the adaptiveness of different emotion-regulation strategies depends on the context in which they are used. Specifically, reappraisal may be adaptive when stressors are uncontrollable (when the person can regulate only the self) but maladaptive when stressors can be controlled (when the person can change the situation). To test this prediction, we measured cognitive-reappraisal ability, the severity of recent life stressors, stressor controllability, and level of depression in 170 participants. For participants with uncontrollable stress, higher cognitive-reappraisal ability was associated with lower levels of depression. In contrast, for participants with controllable stress, higher cognitive-reappraisal ability was associated with greater levels of depression. These findings support a theoretical model in which particular emotion-regulation strategies are not adaptive or maladaptive per se; rather, their adaptiveness depends on the context.
The present study describes the development of a short, general measure of experiential avoidance, based on a specific theoretical approach to this process. A theoretically driven iterative exploratory analysis using structural equation modeling on data from a clinical sample yielded a single factor comprising 9 items, A fully confirmatory factor analysis upheld this same 9-item factor in an independent clinical sample. The operational characteristics of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAO) were then examined in 8 additional samples. All totaled, over 2,400
Acceptance as a coping reaction to unchangeable negative events has been discussed controversially. While some studies suggest it is adaptive, others report negative effects on mental health. We propose a distinction between two forms of acceptance reactions: active acceptance, which is associated with positive psychological outcomes, and resigning acceptance, which is associated with negative psychological outcomes. In this study, 534 individuals were surveyed with respect to several hypothetical situations. We tested the proposed acceptance model by confirmatory factor analysis, and examined the convergent and discriminant validity using personality and coping measures (Trier Personality Questionnaire, Bernese Bitterness Questionnaire, COPE). The results support the distinction between the two forms of acceptance reactions, and, in particular, that active acceptance is an adaptive reaction to unchangeable situations.
Although aging involves cognitive and physical declines, it is also associated with improved emotional well-being, particularly lower negative affect. However, the relationship between age and global negative affect, versus discrete negative emotions, and the pathways that link age to lower negative affect are not well understood. We hypothesize that 1 important link between age and lower negative affect may be acceptance of negative emotional experiences. The present study examined this hypothesis in a community sample of 21- to 73-year-olds (N = 340) by measuring acceptance and multiple indices of negative affect: trait negative affect, negative experiential and physiological reactivity to a laboratory stress induction, daily experience of negative affect, and trait negative affect 6 months after the initial assessment. Negative affect was measured using a discrete emotions approach whereby anger, anxiety, and sadness were assessed at each time point. Age was associated with increased acceptance as well as lower anger and anxiety (but not sadness) across measurement modalities and time points. Further, acceptance statistically mediated the relationship between age on the one hand and anger and anxiety on the other hand. These results are consistent with the idea that acceptance may be an important pathway in the link between age and lower negative affect. Implications of these results for understanding the nature of age-related decreases in discrete negative emotions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
Recent research has demonstrated that higher levels of mindfulness are associated with greater psychological and physical health. However, the majority of this research has been conducted with adults; research is only beginning to examine the effects of mindfulness among adolescents. Further, research into adolescent mindfulness has typically conceptualized mindfulness as a unidimensional phenomenon and has not yet examined multidimensional models of mindfulness that have emerged in the adult literature. Further, the mechanisms through which mindfulness influences these outcomes are presently unclear. The present study examined the effects of three facets of mindfulness among adolescents. Seventy-eight adolescents (61% female, 94% Caucasian, M age = 16) completed a measure of dispositional mindfulness at baseline. Participants then completed measures of daily stress, dysphoric affect, and state rumination over a 7-day period. Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that facets of mindfulness (i.e., nonreactivity and nonjudgment) were associated with lower levels of dysphoric mood. Mindfulness interacted with daily stress to predict later dysphoria; less mindful individuals were particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of stress. Finally, analyses demonstrated that the effect of the Mindfulness × Stress Moderation was significantly mediated by increases in daily rumination. These findings support the importance of mindfulness among adolescents and help to elucidate the mechanisms through which mindfulness influences psychological health.
The present study explores the role of (1) “experiential avoidance” (being non-accepting towards mental events) and (2) “mindful awareness” (being attentive in the present moment) in the prediction of well-being. These established constructs are newly complemented with (3) “meta-emotions” (emotional reactions about one’s own emotions) that allow for a meaningful differentiation of processes in experiential avoidance. Psychometric properties of the newly developed Meta-Emotion Scale (MES) are presented. Psychological well-being is strongly predicted by all three facets. Of the six MES subscales, substantial predictive power could be confirmed for “contempt/shame”, “suppression”, “tough control” and “interest”, whereas “anger” and “compassionate care”, unexpectedly, exerted little influence in our non-clinical sample. The role of meta-emotions in emotion regulation is discussed.
Emotions are widely held to involve changes in experiential, behavioural, and physiological systems. It is not clear, however, just how tightly coupled these changes are during emotional responding. To examine this issue, we induced social anxiety in 47 high trait social anxiety (HTSA) and 50 low trait social anxiety (LTSA) participants using an impromptu speech paradigm. We assessed anxiety experience, behaviour, perceived physiological activation, and actual physiological activation. HTSA participants felt more anxious, perceived greater physiological activation, and exhibited more anxiety behaviour than LTSA participants. Unexpectedly, the two groups did not differ in objectively measured physiological responding. Internal analyses indicated that for both HTSA and LTSA participants, anxiety experience was associated with perceived physiological activation, but not with actual physiological responding. These results suggest that anxiety experience and perceived physiological activation may be less tightly coupled with actual physiological responses than is typically thought.
Few things seem more natural and functional than wanting to be happy. We suggest that, counter to this intuition, valuing happiness may have some surprising negative consequences. Specifically, because striving for personal gains can damage connections with others and because happiness is usually defined in terms of personal positive feelings (a personal gain) in western contexts, striving for happiness might damage people's connections with others and make them lonely. In 2 studies, we provide support for this hypothesis. Study 1 suggests that the more people value happiness, the lonelier they feel on a daily basis (assessed over 2 weeks with diaries). Study 2 provides an experimental manipulation of valuing happiness and demonstrates that inducing people to value happiness leads to relatively greater loneliness, as measured by self-reports and a hormonal index (progesterone). In each study, key potential confounds, such as positive and negative affect, were ruled out. These findings suggest that wanting to be happy can make people lonely. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in therapies that include the learning of mindfulness skills. The 39-item Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) has been developed as a reliable and valid comprehensive instrument for assessing different aspects of mindfulness in community and student samples. In this study, the psychometric properties of the Dutch FFMQ were assessed in a sample of 376 adults with clinically relevant symptoms of depression and anxiety. Construct validity was examined with confirmatory factor analyses and by relating the FFMQ to measures of psychological symptoms, well-being, experiential avoidance, and the personality factors neuroticism and openness to experience. In addition, a 24-item short form of the FFMQ (FFMQ-SF) was developed and assessed in the same sample and cross-validated in an independent sample of patients with fibromyalgia. Confirmatory factor analyses showed acceptable model fit for a correlated five-factor structure of the FFMQ and good model fit for the structure of the FFMQ-SF. The replicability of the five-factor structure of the FFMQ-SF was confirmed in the fibromyalgia sample. Both instruments proved highly sensitive to change. It is concluded that both the FFMQ and the FFMQ-SF are reliable and valid instruments for use in adults with clinically relevant symptoms of depression and anxiety.
When is reappraisal-reframing a situation's meaning to alter its emotional impact-associated with psychological health? To answer this question, we should consider that reappraisal is a multicomponent process that includes, first, deciding to attempt to use reappraisal and, second, implementing reappraisal with varying degrees of success. Although theories of emotion regulation suggest that both attempting reappraisal more frequently and implementing reappraisal more successfully are necessary to achieve greater psychological health, no research has directly tested this assumption. We propose that daily diaries are particularly well suited to assess these 2 components because diaries can capture repeated attempts and success in daily life and with relative precision. In a sample of community adults (N = 219), we found that among participants experiencing elevated life stress (but not among those experiencing lower life stress), attempting reappraisal more frequently was associated with fewer depressive symptoms for those who used reappraisal more successfully, but was associated with somewhat more depressive symptoms for those who used reappraisal less successfully. These findings suggest that attempting reappraisal is associated with benefits only when individuals can implement it successfully. Thus, to fully understand the health implications of emotion regulation, we must consider it as a multicomponent process. (PsycINFO Database Record
Interest in the application of mindfulness-based intervention for the treatment of psychological disorders and promotion of wellbeing has grown exponentially in recent years. Mindfulness-based interventions have been found to be beneficial for treatment of various forms of psychopathology as well as improve psychological wellbeing and enhance physical health. Little research has investigated for whom and under what conditions training people to use mindfulness-based therapeutic techniques is most effective. Recent studies have found evidence that individual differences in personality traits are associated with mindfulness. For example, neuroticism has been found to be negatively associated with mindfulness. These associations raise the possibility that individual differences in personality may potentially moderate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions. In the present study we draw on Gray's revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (r-RST) to examine relationships between personality traits, mindfulness and psychological distress. We found that the Flight, Fight, Freeze system mediated the relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological distress, while trait mindfulness moderated the relationship between the Flight, Fight, Freeze system and psychological distress. Both results are consistent with the suggestion that acquiring the skills from learning and practicing mindfulness techniques is potentially useful, particularly for threat-sensitive individuals with low to moderate levels of trait mindfulness.
Interest in mindfulness has risen exponentially in recent years, yet it remains unclear whether dispositional mindfulness represents a distinct and valid psychological construct. Mapping dispositional mindfulness onto well-established personality constructs is essential for developing and testing theoretical models of mindfulness. The current paper presents a critical review of dispositional mindfulness that examines historical context, operational definitions, measurement, and convergent and discriminant validity across personality domains. It is concluded that dispositional mindfulness: (a) is a multidimensional construct reflecting the focus and quality of attention, (b) appears to exist independently from other forms of mindfulness, such as learned or cultivated mindfulness, and (c) demonstrates associations with well-established personality traits, such as neuroticism and conscientiousness, yet appears to be conceptually unique. Whether dispositional mindfulness should be considered a basic tendency or a characteristic adaptation is fodder for future research. Additionally, research examining specific mechanisms underlying dispositional mindfulness (e.g., cognitive skills, attitudes) is needed to strengthen ongoing construct validation efforts. Researchers are encouraged to capitalize on the growing evidence base and approach DM as a unique individual difference factor strongly rooted in developmental, cognitive, and personality disciplines.
Emotion regulation involves the pursuit of desired emotional states (i.e., emotion goals) in the service of superordinate motives. The nature and consequences of emotion regulation, therefore, are likely to depend on the motives it is intended to serve. Nonetheless, limited attention has been devoted to studying what motivates emotion regulation. By mapping the potential benefits of emotion to key human motives, this review identifies key classes of motives in emotion regulation. The proposed taxonomy distinguishes between hedonic motives that target the immediate phenomenology of emotions, and instrumental motives that target other potential benefits of emotions. Instrumental motives include behavioral, epistemic, social, and eudaimonic motives. The proposed taxonomy offers important implications for understanding the mechanism of emotion regulation, variation across individuals and contexts, and psychological function and dysfunction, and points to novel research directions.
© 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.
One of the fastest growing areas within psychology is the field of emotion regulation. However, enthusiasm for this topic continues to outstrip conceptual clarity, and there remains considerable uncertainty as to what is even meant by “emotion regulation.” The goal of this review is to examine the current status and future prospects of this rapidly growing field. In the first section, I define emotion and emotion regulation and distinguish both from related constructs. In the second section, I use the process model of emotion regulation to selectively review evidence that different regulation strategies have different consequences. In the third section, I introduce the extended process model of emotion regulation; this model considers emotion regulation to be one type of valuation, and distinguishes three emotion regulation stages (identification, selection, implementation). In the final section, I consider five key growth points for the field of emotion regulation.
Emotional acceptance has begun to attract considerable attention from researchers and clinicians alike. It is not yet clear, however, what effects emotional acceptance has on early emotion response dynamics. To address this question, participants (N=37) were shown emotional pictures and cued either to simply attend to them, or to accept or suppress their emotional responses. Continuous measures of emotion experience, expressive behavior, and autonomic responses were obtained. Results indicated that compared to no regulation, acceptance led to more positive emotions, transiently enhanced expressivity, and lowered respiratory rate. Compared to suppression, acceptance led to more positive emotions, stronger expressivity, and smaller changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and pulse amplitude, as well as greater oxygenation. Acceptance and suppression thus have opposite effects on emotional response dynamics. Because acceptance enhances positive emotion experience and expression, this strategy may be particularly useful in facilitating social interactions.
Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.
In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting the broaden-and-build theory is reviewed, and open empirical questions that remain to be tested are identified. The theory and findings suggest that the capacity to experience positive emotions may be a fundamental human strength central to the study of human flourishing.
Although people who experience happiness tend to have better psychological health, people who value happiness to an extreme tend to have worse psychological health, including more depression. We propose that the extreme valuing of happiness may be a general risk factor for mood disturbances, both depressive and manic. To test this hypothesis, we examined the relationship between the extreme valuing of happiness and risk for, diagnosis of, and illness course for bipolar disorder (BD). Supporting our hypothesis, the extreme valuing of happiness was associated with a measure of increased risk for developing BD (Studies 1 and 2), increased likelihood of past diagnosis of BD (Studies 2 and 3), and worse prospective illness course in BD (Study 3), even when controlling for current mood symptoms (Studies 1-3). These findings indicate that the extreme valuing of happiness is associated with and even predicts BD. Taken together with previous evidence, these findings suggest that the extreme valuing of happiness is a general risk factor for mood disturbances. More broadly, what emotions people strive to feel may play a critical role in psychological health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
In the present paper, we introduce the Quadratic Vagal Activity-Prosociality Hypothesis,
a theoretical framework for understanding the vagus nerve’s involvement in prosociality. We
argue that vagus nerve activity supports prosocial behavior by regulating physiological systems
that enable emotional expression, empathy for others’ mental and emotional states, the regulation
of one’s own distress, and the experience of positive emotions. However, we contend that
extremely high levels of vagal activity can be detrimental to prosociality. This paper presents
three studies providing support for our model, finding consistent evidence of a quadratic
relationship between respiratory sinus arrhythmia—the degree to which the vagus nerve
modulates the heart rate—and prosociality. Individual differences in vagal activity were
quadratically related to prosocial traits (Study 1), prosocial emotions (Study 2), and outside
ratings of prosociality by complete strangers (Study 3). Thus, too much or too little vagal activity
appears to be detrimental to prosociality. The present paper provides the first theoretical and
empirical account of the non-linear relationship between vagal activity and prosociality.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been shown to be an effective treatment for mood and anxiety disorders. Little is known, however, about the specific psychological skills that may improve with MBCT. The present study investigated the relationship between history of MBCT and emotion regulation ability. Specifically, we examined cognitive reappraisal ability (CRA) in a sample of individuals with a history of MBCT compared with two control groups: a group without a history of any type of therapy and a group with a history of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Groups were matched on key variables including age, sex, education, working memory, emotional reactivity, and life stress. CRA was measured using a standardized laboratory challenge. Results indicated that participants with a history of MBCT demonstrated higher CRA than both the no-therapy control group and the CBT control group. These results suggest that, by guiding people to accept thoughts and feelings without judgment and to focus on the present moment, MBCT may lay the foundation for increased CRA.
Rumination, worry, and other forms of negative self-referential processing are familiar to everyone, as reflecting on the self is perhaps our most human characteristic. However, for a substantial subgroup of patients, negative self-referential processing (NSRP) arises in response to intense emotionality, worsening the clinical presentation and diminishing the treatment response. The combination of emotionality and NSRP likely reflects the endophenotype of complicated and treatment refractory patients who fail to achieve a satisfactory treatment response in our trials and our clinics. An important next step is to personalize treatments by deliberately targeting NSRPs within established treatment protocols or in as yet novel treatments. Enriching treatments with mindfulness meditation is one possible avenue for personalized care of patients with this hypothesized endophenotype.