Background Beliefs about voices, their origin, intent and powerfulness can all impact on the voice hearer, their level of distress and their need for help. Interpersonal difficulties can exacerbate distress and be reflected in the person’s relationship with their voices. Emotion regulation strategies, which may be functional or dysfunctional help the person manage their reaction. This study aims to investigate beliefs about voices, symptoms and interpersonal issues as well as how well these areas predict emotion regulation strategies Methods Two groups of participants (18 with low and 16 with high omnipotence scores) were recruited through their mental health workers. The participants completed six self-report measures that assessed beliefs, emotion regulation strategies, interpersonal difficulties, dimensions of voice hearing and symptoms. Results Omnipotence scores differentiated some of the interpersonal issues and only one symptom subscale (phobic anxiety); those who scored high on the omnipotence subscale experienced more difficulties. For the emotion regulation subscales, lower omnipotence scorers differed significantly from the higher omnipotence scorers, using more external functional and dysfunctional strategies. Regression analysis showed that ‘distress’ incorporating the PSYRATS emotion subscale, the BSI grand total and the IIP-32 total predicted the use of dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies, but omnipotence beliefs did not add much to this. Conclusions Overall voice hearers experience a range of beliefs about their voices. Those with higher omnipotence beliefs find it difficult to socialise, be involved with other people, and are too dependent and caring with reference to other people. Omnipotent beliefs did not, in general, differentiate symptoms or emotion regulation strategies. This would suggest that beliefs may not be what determines distress and subsequent help seeking. Distress and interpersonal issues predict the use of emotion regulation strategies with little being added to the prediction by omnipotent beliefs; this suggests that there may be an alternative to the single symptom approach. Further research is required to assess the contribution made by emotion regulation to the development, maintenance and course of voice hearing. Assessment and interventions with reference to emotion regulation also require investigation.

Despite having fewer cognitive resources, older adults regulate their emotions as well as, if not better than, younger adults. This study aimed to (1) test the limits of older adults’ emotion regulation capacity and (2) gain a better understanding of how older adults use their more limited resources to regulate their emotions. Participants included 48 healthy older adults aged 65-85 from the community and 50 healthy younger adults aged 18-25 from the student population. They were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups involving an initial activity that was high or low in self-regulatory demand followed by a test task of emotion regulation or attention regulation. As expected, older adults performed equally as well as younger adults on the emotion regulation test task, though worse on the attention regulation test task. Using resting heart rate variability (HRV) as a physiological measure of self-regulatory capacity, older adults appeared to allocate more resources toward the emotion regulation task compared to the attention regulation task, and relative to younger adults. The results suggest that older adults maintain their emotion regulation capacity in part by allocating more resources toward emotion regulation goals.

The daughters of women with a history of depression are at heightened risk for a range of mental health problems. The present study investigated emotion regulation, cortisol reactivity to stress, and interpersonal competence as potential indicators of risk in adolescent girls at high versus low risk for depression. Participants were a community sample of 47 girls and their mothers (27 high risk and 20 low risk). Mothers and daughters had been interviewed to assess diagnostic history as part of a previous longitudinal study. In the current study, daughters completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) and cortisol samples were collected before and after exposure to this psychosocial stressor. Both mothers and daughters completed self-report questionnaires and daughters were re-assessed using the Depressive Disorders module of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. High risk mothers were also interviewed to assess the timing and chronicity of their depressive episodes during their daughters’ lifetime. High and low risk girls had equivalent ratings of self-reported stress following the TSST-C, but different physiological responses. Girls at high risk for depression showed a blunted cortisol response to the TSST-C whereas low risk girls showed a normal cortisol response. High risk status for depression predicted a blunted cortisol response to stress, which predicted difficulties with emotion regulation; difficulties with emotion regulation in turn predicted a greater number of self-reported depressive symptoms. These results suggest that maternal depression may act as a stressor that compromises stress-response system functioning in daughters and produces related difficulties with emotion regulation.

Relational aggression encompasses behaviour meant to hurt others by destroying their friendships and reputation (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995). As peer relationships take on greater importance in early adolescence, relational aggression becomes more accepted and prevalent, yet perceived as equally or more harmful to its targets than physical aggression. The present study explored whether reactive and proactive subtypes of relational aggression were associated with an inability to empathize with others, regulate emotional states, and hold attitudes that it is acceptable to manipulate and harm others. Empathy, emotion regulation, and Machiavellianism’s roles in predicting reactive and proactive relational aggression was examined using Crick and Dodge’s (1994) reformulated Social Information-Processing Theory’s framework. Reactive relational aggression was expected to be associated with low empathy and high emotion dysreglation. Proactive relational aggression was expected to be predicted by high empathy, low emotion dysregulation, and high Machiavellianism. Low empathy was expected to predict overt aggression indices. One hundred and thirty-three children (73 females, 60 males, Mage = 12.84 years) in grades 6 through 8 from five schools in a public Ontario schoolboard were recruited. Caregivers completed a measure of their child’s emotions and behaviours (The Emotion Regulation Checklist; Shields & Cicchetti, 1995). Participating students completed four self-report measures assessing relational and overt aggression (Children’s Social Behaviour Scale – Self-Report; Crick & Grotpeter, 1995), proactive and reactive subtypes of aggression (Little, Jones, Henrich, & Hawley, 2003), empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index; Davis, 1980), and Machiavellianism (Kiddie Mach Scale; Christie & Geis, 1970) during one 60 minute session. Empathy, Machiavellianism, and emotion dysregulation scores were associated with total, reactive, and proactive relational aggression scores. When contrasting subtypes of aggression were controlled, however, these emotional and cognitive variables did not predict total and reactive relational aggression. There was a non-significant trend for higher levels of empathy to predict proactive relational aggression. Low empathy significantly predicted total and reactive overt aggression indices. Machiavellianism predicted reactive and proactive overt aggression. Emotion regulation was not a significant predictor in analyses. Results provide support for the role of Machiavellianism and empathy in relational aggression, particularly proactive or goal-oriented instances.

Using neutral and emotional faces as stimuli, the Emotional Continuous Performance Task (EMO-CPT) was designed to measure both “cold” and “hot” executive functions. It was predicted that neutral stimuli would be associated with “cold” circuit functions such as sustained attention and response speed, while emotionally-laden EMO-CPT stimuli would be associated with “hot” circuit functions such as emotional judgement and response inhibition. Twenty-one male and 56 female university students (M = 21.57 years; SD = 3.15) completed the EMO-CPT, Counting Stroop (CS), Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), and a demographic survey. The EMO-CPT consisted of 240 trials counterbalanced into 8 separate blocks of neutral, happy, and angry faces, with 1500ms and 3000ms stimulus intervals. Principle axis factor analysis with orthogonal (varimax) rotation revealed “Sustained/Speed” (SS; Eigenvalue = 4.26) and “Accuracy/Inhibition” (AI; Eigenvalue = 2.49) factors accounting for 48.75% of the total variance. The SS factor was modestly correlated with the BRIEF Metacognitive Index (MI; r=.25), and both the Sustained/Speed factor (r=.27) and the Accuracy/Inhibition factor (r=.25) were modestly correlated with the BRIEF Behavioural Regulation Index (BRI). As predicted, “cold” Counting Stroop reaction time variables were related to the Sustained/Speed factor (r’s .30 to .36), and the “hot” BART adjusted inflations SD were related to the Accuracy/Inhibition factor (r = -.22). Correlated with the CS and BRIEF MI, the Sustained/Speed factor appeared to tap “cold” dorsal circuit functions, while the Accuracy/Inhibition factor appeared to be related to “hot” ventral circuit functions. / Graduate

Mindfulness, som ett akademiskt begrepp, har ökat i popularitet och betydelse på senaretid, och av intresse är, mer specifikt, det ökade stödet för dess samband med anknytningsteorisom har observerats. Detta motiverar djupare inblick i vad som beskriver och förklarar dettasamband ytterligare. Studien syftade till att undersöka förklaringar av sambandet mellananknytning och mindfulness. Medierande analyser inom området är få till antalet, dock hartidigare studier påvisat att emotionsreglering utverkar en medierande effekt mellananknytning och mindfulness. Litteraturen ger även anledning att undersöka ifall sambandetmellan anknytning och mindfulness är dubbelriktat. Således undersökte studien ävenmindfulness meta-mekanismen decentrering som medierande förklaring mellan mindfulnessoch anknytning. Totalt deltagarantal utgjordes av 53 kvinnor och 59 män som samtligabesvarade en standardiserad enkät, designad att mäta anknytning, mindfulness, emotionellreglering och decentrering. Resultatet bekräftar den medierande effekten av emotionsregleringmellan anknytning och mindfulness. Resultatet bekräftade även decentrerings medierande rolli sambandet mellan mindfulness och anknytning. Sammanfattningsvis understryksteoribildningens dubbelriktade förhållande samt diskussion av dess eventuella betydelse följerdärpå. / Mindfulness, seen as an academic term, have steadily been gaining more popularity latelyand, more specifically, an interest towards the increasing support for the correlation withattachment theory have been observed. This motivates a deeper understanding into thedescribing and explaining factors involved. The study set out to investigate the mediatingeffects of emotion regulation between attachment and mindfulness. Previous mediatinganalysis within this research area have, so far, been few, but earlier research has foundsupport for emotion regulation to mediate the effect between attachment and mindfulness. Theresearch literature also provide reason to further investigate if the correlation could be bidirectional,for this reason the study also investigate the mindfulness meta-mechanismdecentering as an proposed mediator between mindfulness and attachment. The total numberof participants comprised of 53 women and 59 men, which were asked to answer questionsdesigned to assess attachment anxiety and avoidance, mindfulness, emotion regulation anddecentering, using a standardized questionnaire. The results of the study confirm themediating effects of emotion regulation between attachment and mindfulness. The results alsofound support for the mediating effects of decentering between mindfulness and attachment.In conclusion, the suggested bi-directional nature of the relationship seems to be correct and adiscussion and implications of these findings follow.

A growing body of literature is focusing on the influence of personality and emotion regulation on psychological health. Using archival data from an expressive writing project, the current study investigated the relationship between perfectionistic self-presentation and emotion regulation, and the influence of the interaction of these variables on psychological health among trauma survivors. The results indicate that both perfectionistic self-presentation and more difficulties in emotion regulation contribute to symptoms of distress. As well, higher levels of perfectionistic self-presentation were associated with more difficulties in emotion regulation. Further, emotion regulation mediated the relationship between perfectionistic self-presentation and psychological distress but not common physical complaints. More specifically, the non-acceptance subscale of emotion regulation was found to be significant in a test of multiple mediator model.

Inledning: Ett psykiskt trauma kan ibland medföra utveckling av dissociativa symtom. Syfte: Studien undersökte vad som varit betydelsefullt för psykoterapeuten i det psykoterapeutiska arbetet med patienter med trauma och dissociation. Metod: En kvalitativ studie valdes. Fem legitimerade psykoterapeuter intervjuades, alla med lång erfarenhet av traumaterapi och psykodynamisk terapi. Resultat: I denna studie menar informanterna att trauma och dissociation är ett underskattat forskningsområde och betonar vikten av diagnosen, enkel PTSD och dissociativa störningar. Informanterna beskriver sina erfarenheter och svårigheter av att arbeta med traumatiserade och dissocierade patienter.  Den terapeutiska ramen står för trygghet och stabilitet men också gränssättning i det terapeutiska kontraktet. Informanterna indelar det psykoterapeutiska arbetet i 3 faser: Stabilisering, bearbetning och integrering. I terapeutrollen belyser Informanterna att det är särskilt viktigt med egenvård, kompetensutveckling, handledning och andra stödfunktioner vid arbete med patienter med trauma och dissociation.  Informanterna beskriver hur de påverkas starkt känslomässigt och kroppsligt i sitt terapeutiska arbete. Traumatisk överföring och motöverföring betonas som en viktig del som informationskälla för att kunna föra processen framåt vid traumabehandling. Slutsatser: Framgångfaktorer vid traumabehandling är att blanda olika teorier och tekniker som anknytningsteori och terapier som i, EMDR, hypnos och symboldrama men även kroppsterapi som integreras med psykoterapi. Psykoterapeutens roll har stor betydelse för att föra fram arbetsprocessen. Kroppsliga och starka överföringar och motöverföringar sker i mötet med dessa patienter, de tar ofta med sig skräckupplevelser in i terapirummet som måste härbärgeras av psykoterapeuten.

Traumatic incidences happen all around the globe. Some of the people who experience trauma develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while some do not. Even more interesting is that some also experience growth afterwards (post-traumatic growth; PTG). The purpose of this paper is to look at neural aspects of why some people develop PTSD and others PTG after a traumatic event. To fulfill the aim, both PTSD and PTG will be reviewed to create an image of the existing research in behavioral and neurological terms. In addition to looking at the constructs separately, a chapter will also look at studies where both PTSD and PTG are acknowledged collaterally in participants. When looking deeper into the theories of PTSD divisions occur, and more research is needed to establish the most prominent explanation of PTSD. PTG on the other hand has only been studied for a short period of time but yields important insights into trauma-related outcomes. These fields need to be submerged and new multidisciplinary definitions are needed for future research. The key to PTSD is suggested to emerge within the new field.

The thesis is focused on repressive coping style and self-reports of the anger. In the theoretical part are elaborated chapters concerning the definition of emotion, emotion regulation, coping and repressive coping style. The Repressors are characterized by unconscious denial of their own anxiety and self-image distortion within the low susceptibility to negative emotions. The research study focuses on the expression of anger by repressors and their comparison with other groups. Respondents (n=122) were divided into four groups using conventional questionnaires (STAI, MCSD): repressors (n=26), high-anxious (n=16), defensive high-anxious (n=47) and low-anxious (n=33). The aim of the study was find out differences in the expression of anger and trait anger. The hypotheses were partly supported, as the results in the expression of anger and trait anger pointed to differences between repressors and low-anxious and partly supported among other groups. The present study shows that repressors distort even other socially censored emotions, in this case anger.