Mental wellness is a critical component of healthy development and serves as a way to protect against stress and promote resilience against psychopathology. Emerging adulthood is an important time to foster mental wellness as individuals adjust to changing social roles, such as transitioning to college. Emotion regulation is a key mechanism for effective prevention because of its role in socio-emotional competence and its transdiagnostic significance for psychopathology. In this dissertation study, a brief, time and cost-effective emotion regulation training program for emerging adults (BERT) was developed and tested. Phase 1 focused on program development. Phase 2 utilized the brainwriting premortem method to refine program content. Undergraduate students (n = 12) attended four focus groups presenting initial program content. Four clinicians were also interviewed to determine program barriers. Qualitative analyses aggregated participant feedback to identify compliments, changes, and concerns about BERT in preparation for the pilot, and critical feedback was immediately implemented. In Phase 3, the 5-week program was pilot-tested in a college sample (N = 42) to evaluate Implementation (low attrition, high content engagement, favorable attitudes, low incidence of technical errors, costs), Reach (enrollment and completion demographics comparable to the population in which recruitment took place), and Efficacy (positive change in emotion regulation pre- to post-program). Twenty-seven participants completed at least 80% of program content. Chi-square analyses did not show any significant difference between participants who started the study and those who dropped out. Repeated measures ANOVAs exhibited significant improvements in emotion regulation, psychological distress, anxiety, stress, negative affectivity, and quality of life, suggesting promising initial efficacy. Development of BERT has high potential significance for promoting healthy development because the electronic delivery and brief nature of the program will reduce barriers to adoption and Implementation and the program development process that incorporates stakeholder feedback at multiple levels is expected to improve program Reach and Efficacy. The program development process, which incorporates stakeholder feedback at multiple levels, informs better implementation and dissemination. / Doctor of Philosophy / Mental wellness is important for healthy development and serves as a way to protect against stress and promote resilience against psychological distress. After the teenage years, emerging adulthood is an important time to foster mental wellness as individuals adjust to changing social roles, such as transitioning to college. Emotion regulation, or how one manages or responds to emotions, is important for protecting against negative psychological outcomes while fostering well-being. In this dissertation study, a brief, time and cost-effective emotion regulation training program for emerging adults (BERT) was developed and tested in three phases. Phase 1 focused on program development. Phase 2 utilized focus groups to get program feedback. Participant feedback identified compliments, changes, and concerns about BERT in preparation for the pilot, and critical feedback was immediately implemented. In Phase 3, the 5-week program was pilot-tested in a college sample. Twenty-seven participants completed at least 80% of program content. Significant improvements were found in in emotion regulation, psychological distress, anxiety, stress, negative emotions, and quality of life, suggesting promising initial efficacy. The program development process, which incorporates stakeholder feedback at multiple levels, informs better implementation and dissemination. Development of BERT has high potential significance for promoting healthy development because the electronic delivery and brief nature of the program will reduce barriers to adoption, implementation, and maintenance.

Children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) can have heterogeneous presentations due to varying combinations of the eight criterion A symptoms. Researchers have identified a subtype of ODD for children with primarily angry/irritable mood symptoms and who are at risk for developing mood and anxiety disorders. Despite the prevalence of anger and mood issues in children with ODD, established treatments for disruptive behavior disorders typically focus primarily on teaching caregivers more effective parenting strategies to address oppositional and defiant behaviors, rather than directly targeting children's difficulties with emotions. To address the dearth of emotion-focused treatments for ODD, a novel emotion regulation intervention was developed based on a framework offered by Southam-Gerow (2013). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the initial feasibility of this intervention and to explore its efficacy for reducing ODD and associated emotion regulation problems in middle childhood. Following a non-concurrent multiple baseline design, children ages 8-12 were assessed with semi-structured diagnostic interviews to determine study eligibility, and subsequently enrolled in a 13-week intervention with their caregivers. Treatment feasibility was supported by participant satisfaction ratings as well as treatment fidelity results. Treatment protocol adherence in terms of delivery by the therapist was high, but caregiver symptom reporting was less consistent. Nevertheless, multiple metrics support the efficacy of the intervention in reducing symptoms of ODD as well as some efficacy in improving child emotion regulation abilities. Overall, results support further research into emotion regulation-focused intervention for ODD. / PHD

This thesis was a study of a structure that legitimized the senses and provoked emotion by creating different experiential conditions. / Master of Architecture

<p dir="ltr">Adolescence is a key developmental period characterized by increased maladaptive risky behaviors. Two related, but distinct constructs, urgency (the tendency to act rashly in response to strong negative or positive emotions) and emotion dysregulation are important risk factors for engaging in maladaptive risky behaviors. Thus far, research has largely agreed that these two risk factors are highly correlated; however, the causal direction between these constructs is less understood. The goal of the current study is to determine whether urgency predicts emotion dysregulation among adolescents. This project is a secondary data analysis of a larger study designed to test the effectiveness of a school-based intervention for youth at risk of maladaptive risk taking, as compared to a control group of youth enrolled in a health class. The current study utilized data from the control youth (n=544, 49.8% female, M_age=14.22, SD=0.52) to test whether urgency at baseline predicts change in emotion dysregulation over a nine-week period, and whether that relationship differs across boys and girls. Results found that negative, but not positive, urgency significantly predicted emotion dysregulation change (negative urgency: <i>b</i>=0.11, <i>p</i>=0.03; positive urgency: <i>b</i>=0.03, <i>p</i>=0.54). Gender did not moderate either relationship (<i>p</i>’s>0.30). This work provides initial evidence of a temporal relationship between negative urgency and changes in emotion dysregulation. The next step is to determine whether negative urgency imparts risk for malapative behaviors through its effect on emotion dysregulation. This program of research may lead to better identification of effective interventions to decrease negative urgency-based risk-taking and better identify those at risk of developing maladaptive risk-taking.</p>

The present study aimed to investigate sleep disturbances and negative emotions as predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom trajectories in a publicly available longitudinal dataset of patients (N = 1127; mean age = 36.53; SD = 13.29; 65.5% women) who presented to a U.S. emergency department (ED) in the early aftermath of a trauma exposure. Latent growth curve models were fitted iteratively to characterize PTSD symptom trajectories over 1-year. Models then examined the simultaneous influence of sleep disturbances (i.e., insomnia symptoms, nightmares, and sleep duration) and negative emotions (i.e., feelings of anxiety and depression) on PTSD symptom trajectories, as well as whether negative emotions mediate the link between sleep disturbances and PTSD symptom trajectories. Results indicated that (a) PTSD symptom trajectories reflected a quadratic trend across time, although there was variability between individuals, (b) both sleep disturbances and negative emotions were uniquely associated with PTSD symptom trajectories, and (c) negative emotions partially explained associations between sleep disturbances and PTSD symptom trajectories. The results from this study can potentially aid detection of modifiable risk factors during the early course of PTSD and inform cognitive-behavioral intervention efforts.

The question "what is an emotion?" has been asked often throughout the history of philosophy, but few have come to an agreement about a definition or even how to study the emotions. In this thesis, I attempt to describe the nature and importance of emotions in terms of the way emotions affect one's experience of the world. I begin by analyzing five different theories of emotion: those of the Stoics, Aristotle, Spinoza, William James, and Sartre, which depict a wide range of theories that view emotion in both a positive and a negative sense. From them, I come to general definition of emotion that utilizes the strengths of the historical theories and goes beyond them. Then, I tum to addressing the way emotions affect the way the world is experienced. Using Heidegger, I claim that emotions attune people to the world, so that they notice different aspects of the world in one emotional state than they would in another emotional state. From here, the relationship between emotions and rationality is addressed. I claim that emotions are not irrational or arational, but are important to reason because they function as salience generators. As salience generators, emotions focus the reasoning process, narrowing down the options so that one can reason more quickly and with personal purpose. Finally, it is explained that emotion, though helpful to reason, is not a perfect way of knowing. Emotions are shown to be subjective, but not in a negative sense. They can be misleading at times, but they can still be trusted through three methods: (1) harmony between ways of knowing, (2) intersubjective corroboration, and (3) personal reflection.

Past research demonstrates that fearful faces lead to an increase in temporal and a decrease in spatial gap detection, an effect proposed to be caused by a flow of input to the magnocellular pathways from the amygdala to the visual system (Bocanegra & Zeelenberg, 2009). The amygdala is also active for positive and arousing stimuli, including happy faces. The current study extends past research by presenting happy facial cues just before a gap detection task. Facial stimuli (i.e., happy/neutral faces) were presented in the periphery of the receptive field and quickly followed by a Landolt circle. Half of the participants were asked to detect a temporal gap and half a spatial gap. Response accuracy of gap detection was measured using signal detection theory. Consistent with past research on fearful faces, positive expressions were expected to facilitate temporal gap detection but not spatial gap detection when happy faces were used as cues in gap detection tasks. The current study found no difference in spatial or temporal gap detection given the emotional cue that preceded gap detection on each trial. Positive emotion did not appear to have the same impact as fear on the amygdala and visual areas involving attention.

The thesis is a theological enquiry into the nature of human affections (or ‘emotions’), their role in morality and their significance for political relations. The argument builds critically on the work of cognitivist theorists of emotion, such as Martha Nussbaum, who oppose both rationalist disavowals of the reasonableness of emotion and empiricist fascination with physical sensation. Nussbaum holds that emotions’ intentional (object-directed), evaluative quality indicates a cognitive aptitude. Using the language of ‘affection’, the argument shows how this aptitude shapes individuals’ and communities’ interrelation with their diverse systems of valuation, the created, vindicated moral order and creation’s God. Drawing on phenomenological and spiritual approaches, the endurance of affection is accounted for through the connection of memory and affection while virtue is assigned a secondary place as a fragmentary and less reliable contributor to such endurance. Affections emerge as the beginnings of attracted understanding concerning the world as it appears, the world as it is and the world as it will be, recognitions of value which are open to intersubjective discussion and initiate moral reflection and deliberation. Jonathan Edwards’ account of affections is found epistemologically and ethically implausible but his doctrine of excellency is adopted to interpret the nature of affections’ endurance and eschatological participation in the moral order. With particular attention to joy, shame, anger and awe, the intersubjective, affective dimension of political life is then explored through consideration of certain institutions, practices and traditions of modern political societies, ancient Israel and the early church as represented in Luke and Acts. Affective wisdom within institutions of political representation and law are considered in light of secular and Christian political eschatologies. Findings from this discussion then guide a conversation between European ‘constitutional patriotism’ and British conservatism which explores the connection between affections and locality. An account of national identity is given which takes localised affective understanding seriously yet relativises it in light of the transnational affective understandings which stem both from the international political system and from Christian faith. Finally, the role of churches’ affections within modern political society are discussed. Resources from the Lutheran tradition are utilised to examine the political significance of churches’ joyful praise of the crucified, risen Jesus Christ.

Le thème de notre thèse porte sur les rythmes de la vigilance et de la cognition. La première partie porte sur la validation d’échelles subjectives étalonnées sur des tests itératifs de latence d’endormissement. Une analyse factorielle des résultats identifie au moins trois sous catégories de la vigilance (ergique ou comportementale, cognitive, émotionnelle). Ensuite, les rythmes chronologiques de ces trois dimensions sont mesurés avec les variations circadiennes sur vingt-cinq heures de la température centrale et lors d’une modification provoquée d’état de conscience (hypnose). La variation des vigilances cognitives et comportementales semble être corrélée à la variation de la température centrale. De même, les vigilances comportementales et émotionnelles semblent se modifier lors d’une modification d’état de conscience de type hypnotique.La deuxième partie porte sur la variation des processus cognitifs lors d’états de conscience différents (veille, sommeil, hypnose). En utilisant un test d’apprentissage Remember-Know, nous observons des modifications de la mémoire (conditions verbales, imagées et affectives) suivant l’état de conscience du sujet. De plus, nous mettons en évidence que le phénomène d’oubli n’est pas un effacement de l’information, mais dépend des moyens d’accès à la mémoire. / The topic of this thesis relates to the rhythm of vigilance and cognition. In the first part, we validate a subjective evaluation of sleep propensity by reference to MSLT (Multiple Sleep Latency Test). By factorial analysis, it is assumed that there are three main dimensional components of vigilance (ergic or behavioral, emotional, and cognitive). Then, the rhythms of these three dimensions are measured with the circadian variations of the core body temperature and during a modification of state of consciousness (hypnosis). There is a reliable self-evaluation of sleep propensity. The variation of core body temperature seems to be correlated with the rhythm of the ergic dimension and with the cognitive dimension of vigilance. During a modification of state of consciousness as hypnosis, behaviour dimension and emotional dimension of vigilance seem to change.In the second part, we focus on the process of cognition during different state of consciousness (sleep, wake, hypnosis). By using a Remember/Know memory test, we observe quality recall modification (verbal, imagery and emotional conditions) according to the states of consciousness of the subject. Moreover, we highlight that forgetfulness is not a deleted process of information, but depends on access to memory.

Child abuse and neglect is a significant social issue with long term consequences for affected children and young people, including increased risk of emotional and social difficulties. Models of the impacts of maltreatment outline a developmental process in which maltreating parent-child relationships affect the development of neural networks, which in turn undermine developing cognitive processes, including emotion regulation and social understanding, thereby increasing risk of emotional and social difficulties. This study explores a subset of these cognitive processes in a sample of adolescents in long-term out-of-home care as a result of maltreatment, relative to a sample of non-maltreated peers, including situation selection (conditioned avoidance and risk-taking), attentional deployment (attention biases and attention control) and cognitive change (interpretation bias), as well as aspects of social understanding (mentalising, emotion understanding and prosocial responding). Further, the relative effects of maltreatment factors, and the relationship between emotion regulation and social understanding with adolescent adjustment was also explored. Results demonstrated maltreatment-related effects in conditioned avoidance, risk-taking, attention processes and social understanding, and explored the relative effect of exposure to physical abuse on the development of these processes, differences in such processes did not appear to significantly predict poor or normative adjustment of maltreated adolescents. These results are discussed with respect to models of maltreatment, emotion regulation and social understanding, with implications for the development and implementation of interventions.