This study investigated how emotion-regulation would moderate the relationship between shyness and joint engagement and how joint engagement would mediate the relationship between shyness and language skills. Fifty-three mother-child dyads were observed in the laboratory according to the Communication Play Protocol (Adamson & Bakeman, 1999) when the toddlers were 24 and 30 months of age. Mothers completed the Temperament Behavior Assessment Questionnaire-Revised (Rothbart & Goldsmith, unpublished). Toddlers also completed the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III; Dunn & Dunn, 1997) and Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT; Williams, 1997). The relationship between shyness and the percentage of time spent in non-symbol-infused coordinated joint engagement was moderated by a toddler’s ability to self-soothe. Shyer toddlers had significantly lower receptive language scores than less shy toddlers, and this relationship was partially mediated by the percentage of time toddlers spent in symbol-infused supported and coordinated joint engagement states. INDEX WORDS: Temperament, Shyness, Emotion-regulation, Language Skills, Joint Engagement

Social anxiety is associated with an unusually high level of negative affect, yet little is known about the strategies used by socially anxious individuals to manage and regulate their emotions. The present research examined differences in trait and state levels of expressive emotion suppression in high- and low- socially anxious participants, and explored possible causes and consequences of such suppression across two studies. Using self-reports of trait-like characteristics, Study 1 examined a theoretical model positing that individuals high in social anxiety would report greater emotion suppression than those low in social anxiety; and that authenticity, in turn, would predict diminished well-being. Study 2 used self-report measures administered following a brief social interaction in the laboratory to examine group differences in state-like emotion suppression and the effects of such differences on situational authenticity. Additionally, Study 2 investigated the contributions of state negative affect and acceptance of mood to help explain possible increases in emotion suppression in socially anxious participants. The results of Study 1 supported the hypothesis that diminished well-being in individuals with social anxiety is partially accounted for by low authenticity, which, in turn, is partially accounted for by high emotion suppression. Study 2 revealed that socially anxious participants suppressed their emotions more, and felt less authentic than, controls during the social interaction. However, state negative affect and acceptance of mood did not significantly mediate the relationship between group status and state-like emotion suppression. Implications of the present findings are discussed in terms of contemporary cognitive-behavioural theory and treatment, with indications for future directions for research.

<p>Eating disorders pose a serious threat to the physical and mental health of those who suffer from them. Given the impact of these disorders and difficulty treating them, it is important to understand the nature of them and factors involved in their development and maintenance. The empirical investigation of eating disorders is made difficult by the extreme heterogeneity seen within current DSM-IV diagnostic categories. Research on emotion regulation in eating disorders is rising, yet scant in terms of identifying specific difficulties and points of intervention. The proposed study focused on the construct of emotion regulation and its relation to the eating disorders by: (1) empirically identifying groups of eating disorder participants based on symptoms and (2) examining specific difficulties in emotion regulation capacities in each of the identified groups of eating disorder participants and (3) identifying whether difficulties in emotion regulation contribute to eating disorder symptom severity. A clinical sample of individuals with eating disorders was classified into subgroups based on symptom frequency using latent profile analysis. The most parsimonious and best fitting model was a four-profile solution which resulted in four distinct subgroups. Profile 1 consisted of individuals who endorsed moderate restriction and occasional binge eating and vomiting, all at a subclinical level. Profiles 2, 3, and 4 all met criteria for bulimia nervosa and consisted of individuals who engaged in restriction, binge eating, and purging though in varying degrees. When these groups were compared to a sample of college aged healthy control participants using multivariate analysis of variance, results indicate that individuals in profile 1, which comprised 71% of the sample, experience greater difficulty with emotion regulation in the areas of awareness, nonacceptance, and perceived access to strategies to help them feel better. Results of three hierarchical regression analyses showed that difficulties in emotion regulation did not significantly contribute to symptom severity as anticipated..</p> / Dissertation

Although theorists, researchers, and therapists alike emphasize emotional intimacy as an important aspect of a couple’s relationship, empirical data to understand the underlying processes behind this concept are lacking. The purpose of this study is to examine Reis and Shaver’s interpersonal process model of intimacy in a community sample of couples and to contribute to the current understanding of constructs that may moderate the process of intimacy. Reis and Shaver’s model suggests that vulnerable self-disclosure by one partner, coupled with empathic responding by the other partner, results in greater subjective emotional intimacy. Previous studies have examined this interpersonal process model in a sample of community couples in committed romantic relationships. The present study aims to contribute to the extant literature by testing emotion dysregulation as a potential moderator in Reis and Shaver’s interpersonal process model of intimacy. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze data from 108 community couples. Couples completed measures and were asked to participate in videotaped interactions in which each partner discussed a time that someone other than the partner hurt their feelings (low threat condition) and a time the partner hurt their feelings (high threat condition). For each interaction, partners were assigned to a designated role (speaker or listener). Results lend support to Reis and Shaver’s interpersonal process model of intimacy suggesting that both vulnerable self-disclosure and empathic responding by the partner are key components to one’s subjective experience of emotional intimacy. Results also lend support to the idea that emotion dysregulation moderates the relation between self-disclosure, empathic responding, and resulting post-interaction intimacy; however, when measuring how emotion dysregulation affects post-interaction intimacy within this study, results varied based on whose intimacy was being measured (speaker or listener) and based on the condition (low or high threat.) Clinical implications as well as directions for future research were discussed.

Heavy drinking puts college students at risk for academic failure, alcohol use disorders, and even death. Although several interventions have proven moderately successful, overall rates of collegiate heavy drinking and consequences have significantly increased since 1998, as interventions may not adequately address underlying reasons for drinking. Research has consistently shown that college students who drink primarily to regulate emotions (i.e., internal drinking motives) are heavier drinkers, experience more consequences, and are likely to continue drinking heavily after college. Further, internal drinking motives are indicative of emotion dysregulation and associated personality traits. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is empirically supported and includes a group-based component designed to teach concrete behavioral emotion regulation, mindfulness, and distress tolerance skills. DBT skills training alone has been shown to reduce substance abuse and binge eating and is a promising, but untested, strategy for reducing collegiate alcohol abuse. The aims of the current study were threefold: (a) examine the efficacy of a DBT-based emotion regulation skills training (ERST) as an intervention for college student drinking, (b) examine theoretically-informed mechanisms of change (i.e., changes in mindfulness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance), and (c) examine intervention moderators (i.e., gender, readiness to change, and internal drinking motives). After completing pre-test measures, college students reporting two or more heavy drinking episodes during the past month were randomly assigned to an ERST or assessment-only control (AO) condition. ERST participants completed a single 3-hour group session of ERST within 7 days of completing pre-intervention measures and all participants completed two additional assessments. The current study found that ERST participants showed significantly greater reductions in heavy drinking and alcohol-related consequences relative to AO control participants. Contrary to hypotheses, intervention participation did not increase hypothesized mechanisms of change (i.e., mindfulness, emotion regulation, or distress tolerance) although emotion regulation and distress tolerance moderated intervention efficacy. Finally, ERST participation appeared to serve as a protective factor against heavy drinking and consequences for internally motivated drinkers. Overall findings provide preliminary support for the feasibility of ERST as a new intervention for reducing problematic drinking by college students and suggest future directions for mechanisms of change and moderation hypotheses. / text

One of the most challenging aspects of being a parent is managing the many emotions that are aroused in the context of caring for a child. This dissertation explores the relationships among self-compassion, affective distress, parenting self-efficacy, and negative parenting behaviors in a sample of mothers of preschool-aged children (n = 139). Participants completed several self-report measures on-line including the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC), and the Parenting Scale (PS). Higher levels of self-compassion were associated with fewer negative parenting behaviors and higher levels of parenting satisfaction. Initial data analyses revealed the relationship between self-compassion and negative parenting behaviors was partially mediated by affective distress and parenting self-efficacy. However, when lax and overreactive parenting behaviors were examined separately, only overreactive parenting behaviors were significantly related to self-compassion. Self-efficacy---but not negative affect---continued to partially mediate this relationship. The results of the study suggest that self-compassion, as a way of being and as a strategy of emotion regulation, is an asset when facing the challenges and emotional tide of parenting. Limitations of the study and future areas of research are discussed. / text

Social relationships affect a range of health outcomes, including even mortality risk. However, important questions remain concerning the precise mechanisms through which close relationships exert their influence. The present research focuses specifically on immunological and interpersonal emotion processes that may link social relationships and health. The specific aims of this study were to: (1) determine: a) how long it takes for adults' inflammatory levels to recover after an interpersonal laboratory stressor, and b) whether there are associations between allostatic load indicators of cardiovascular functioning and lipid/fat metabolism and immune recovery; (2) determine whether partners' immune patterns are linked, above and beyond the expected diurnal rhythm; and (3) examine the moderating effects of interpersonal emotion regulation patterns on partners' immune functioning. A final goal of the present study was to test the feasibility of conducting such a study in a naturalistic setting with multiple ambulatory immune measures per day, across multiple days. Twenty-four committed heterosexual couples collected their own salivary immune samples 4 times each day (upon waking, mid-morning, later afternoon, and before bed) for 5 consecutive days, including 2 days before a laboratory dyadic stressor (discussing an area of disagreement in the relationship), the day of, and 2 days after, to capture normative baseline diurnal variability and immune recovery post-stressor. Four additional saliva samples were collected on the lab stressor day at baseline, immediately after the disagreement conversation, 30-min. post-conversation, and 90-min. post conversation, for a total of 8 samples collected on the lab stressor day. Salivary samples were assayed for interleukin(IL)-6 using ELISAs (Salimetrics, LLC). As predicted, after the interpersonal laboratory stressor, immune recovery occurred within 48 hours of the stressor, and in fact recovered as early as the evening of the stressor. However, on the day of the lab stressor, IL-6 levels appeared to still be elevated at the later afternoon time point, approximately 3 hours after the stressor had ended. Contrary to my hypothesis, allostatic load indicators of cardiovascular functioning and lipid/fat metabolism did not moderate immune recovery. Secondly, as expected, partners displayed physiological (immune) linkage; specifically, couples showed "anti-phase" physiological linkage on the day of the lab stressor, and "in-phase" linkage on all other days, pooled together, suggesting that couples may have engaged in more of a regulatory effort on the day of the lab stressor, whereas on all other days, there was a relaxation of regulation and enhanced emotional connection. Third, couples' interpersonal emotion dynamics moderated the diurnal pattern of IL-6 such that couples who exhibited disconnected negative emotions, disconnected positive emotions, and displayed indeterminate patterns in their positive emotions, showed dysregulated diurnal IL-6 slopes. Lastly, the methodology of the present study proved to be feasible, and the study was accomplished without unforeseen problems. Ultimately, studying these immune and emotion processes as they occur in every-day life may help to uncover patterns in couples' biology and emotions that may accumulate over time to set people on different health trajectories.

Most people have difficulty maintaining a healthy diet. Both social and individual factors play a role in shaping one's diet, and individual factors might be differentially associated with eating depending on social conditions. The present research focuses on eating to regulate emotion and body weight in the context of couple relationships. Forty-three committed heterosexual couples reported on emotion-regulation strategies including the use of eating to regulate emotion (ERE). During a lab visit, participants discussed their health habits with their partners and their body composition was measured (e.g.: weight, height, percent body fat). Finally, participants completed daily diaries assessing their emotions as well as their food intake relative to their own normal eating. I first tested whether ERE was associated with other measures of emotion regulation as well as body composition at an individual level. As predicted, ERE demonstrated internal consistency, was moderately correlated with an established measure of emotion-eating, and uncorrelated with other measures of emotion regulation. High ERE was associated with higher body mass index, as well as higher waist circumference and percent body fat among older women, and with higher percent body fat among younger men. Secondly, I tested whether self-reported ERE predicted connections between daily emotional fluctuations and eating. Consistent with my hypothesis, those who reported high ERE ate worse when they experienced negative emotions or did not eat better when they experienced positive ones (which was the case among people with low ERE). Finally, I tested whether ERE in couples was associated with body composition under specific relationship conditions. As predicted, when both partners had high ERE, women who used more we-talk during a discussion of health habits also had higher BMI. However, women who used high I-talk in such couples had lower BMI despite having high ERE. Moreover, in such couples expression of negative emotion by partners was associated with higher BMI. Identifying individual and couple-level factors shaping dietary practices adds to development of interventions for poor health habits. It is an important step in shifting disease-focused models of medical care towards more comprehensive, patient-centered care.

The feasibility of using real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) feedback regarding the level of activation in rostromedial prefrontal cortex (rMPFC) to learn improved regulation of this brain area was examined in a group of 5 young adults. Subjects received real-time feedback from the target brain region while engaging in a blocked-design task involving alternating blocks of attempted up-regulation and down-regulation of the target brain region. A transient negative emotional state was induced prior to each scanning session. Subjects completed 6 scanning sessions (a pre-training session, 4 feedback sessions and a post-training session - no feedback was provided for pre and post-training sessions). The guideline strategy provided to subjects of engaging in emotional awareness during up-regulation and bodily awareness during down-regulation was found to consistently regulate the region in the pre-training session prior to the fMRI feedback sessions. This finding is in line with the previously proposed role of the rMPFC in emotional awareness. In contrast to previous real-time fMRI findings, greater recruitment of the region was observed in the pre-training session compared to the post-training session, with a non-significant negative trend observed across feedback sessions. These results suggest that there may be limitations to which the feedback techniques successfully employed for other brain regions extend to yet unexplored brain regions.

Children's difficulties with regulating or controlling emotion are associated with externalizing problems (Eisenberg et al., 2001). Emotion regulation develops through interactions with caregivers during childhood, where children are socialized about the management and expression of emotions (Kopp, 1989). The parent-child relationship is thus one factor associated with children's externalizing problems and, to date, research on children’s externalizing problems has focused on relationships with parental emotion socialization and parent-child emotions (Granic & Lamey, 2002; Lengua, 2006). However, parent-child co-regulation— the bidirectional process whereby individuals mutually regulate emotions with others (Fogel, 1993)— is also likely a proximal factor in children's externalizing problems. Over time, dyadic patterns emerge and are reinforced through co-regulation, and children develop regulated or dysregulated emotional patterns with their parents (Granic & Lamey, 2002). Co-regulation is also likely related to differences in externalizing symptomatologies, as dyads with children with co-occurring externalizing and internalizing problems (MIXED) show more mutual hostility over the course of a conflict than dyads with purely externalizing children (EXT; Granic & Lamey, 2002). The current study examined co-regulation in 255 parent-child dyads, of which 80 had EXT children (73% male), 111 had MIXED children (87% male), and 64 had typically-developing children (63% male). Children were between the ages of 8 and 12 (M = 9.56). Behaviours during positive and conflict discussions were coded with a new observational tool, the Co-Regulation of Emotion (CORE) coding system. CORE's validity was supported with associations with independent raters’ impressions of the interactions. Generally, co-regulation was higher during the conflict as compared to the positive discussions, as expected. Contrary to hypotheses, dyads with EXT and MIXED children did not show more non-supportive co-regulation than dyads with typically-developing children, and dyads with typically-developing children did not show more supportive co-regulation. Similarly, group differences on the association between interaction partners' supportive and non-supportive co-regulation and negative affect were not significant. Overall, MIXED dyads did not show more non-supportive co-regulation than EXT dyads, as had been expected. The findings did not support the hypothesis that emotion co-regulation differentiates dyads with externalizing children from dyads with typically-developing children in middle childhood. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2012-08-07 11:41:10.329