Past studies have suggested that individuals who adopt a psychologically immersed, as opposed to a psychologically distanced perspective when reflecting on negative emotional experiences, tend to experience greater negative affect and have more difficulty reappraising their experiences in an objective manner. Psychological distancing and immersion have not been studied systematically in socially anxious (SA) individuals, despite previous research showing that trait social anxiety is strongly associated with negatively biased appraisals of social experiences during self-reflection and post-event processing. The current study investigated the relationship between trait social anxiety, psychological immersion, and the cognitive and affective experiences of 76 participants while they engaged in a laboratory-based social task. Participants wrote about and reflected on a recent negative experience in which something they did or said in a social situation did not turn out the way they thought it should have. Thereafter, participants imagined an upcoming social interaction in which they believed they would be judged on their ability to impress a social partner. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in which they were instructed to self-reflect on these experiences in a distanced or immersed manner. Participants completed self-report measures of affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), subjective distress (SUDS), cognitions (Negative Self Portrayal Scale), and psychological immersion (Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire) at several time points during the study. Although there were no significant effects of condition in the primary analyses, secondary analyses demonstrated that psychological immersion was significantly correlated with higher negative and lower positive affect, and with greater self portrayal concerns (but only for the social anticipation task), accounting for unique and significant variance in these outcomes, over and above the variance accounted for by trait SA. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between psychological distancing and SA status during the social anticipation self-reflection task, such that high SA participants experienced significantly greater negative affect than their low SA counterparts, but only at high levels of self-immersion. At low levels of self-immersion, both high and low SA participants reported comparatively low levels of negative affect. These results suggest that individual differences in psychological immersion and distancing may help to explain the circumstances under which self-reflection could have detrimental affective and cognitive consequences. In particular, high levels of self-immersion during self-reflection appear to interact with high levels of trait SA to drive negative emotional responses and beliefs within social contexts. Implications of these preliminary findings, their limitations, and ideas for future research are discussed within the context of cognitive behavioural models of SA.

Past studies have suggested that individuals who adopt a psychologically immersed, as opposed to a psychologically distanced perspective when reflecting on negative emotional experiences, tend to experience greater negative affect and have more difficulty reappraising their experiences in an objective manner. Psychological distancing and immersion have not been studied systematically in socially anxious (SA) individuals, despite previous research showing that trait social anxiety is strongly associated with negatively biased appraisals of social experiences during self-reflection and post-event processing. The current study investigated the relationship between trait social anxiety, psychological immersion, and the cognitive and affective experiences of 76 participants while they engaged in a laboratory-based social task. Participants wrote about and reflected on a recent negative experience in which something they did or said in a social situation did not turn out the way they thought it should have. Thereafter, participants imagined an upcoming social interaction in which they believed they would be judged on their ability to impress a social partner. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in which they were instructed to self-reflect on these experiences in a distanced or immersed manner. Participants completed self-report measures of affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), subjective distress (SUDS), cognitions (Negative Self Portrayal Scale), and psychological immersion (Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire) at several time points during the study. Although there were no significant effects of condition in the primary analyses, secondary analyses demonstrated that psychological immersion was significantly correlated with higher negative and lower positive affect, and with greater self portrayal concerns (but only for the social anticipation task), accounting for unique and significant variance in these outcomes, over and above the variance accounted for by trait SA. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between psychological distancing and SA status during the social anticipation self-reflection task, such that high SA participants experienced significantly greater negative affect than their low SA counterparts, but only at high levels of self-immersion. At low levels of self-immersion, both high and low SA participants reported comparatively low levels of negative affect. These results suggest that individual differences in psychological immersion and distancing may help to explain the circumstances under which self-reflection could have detrimental affective and cognitive consequences. In particular, high levels of self-immersion during self-reflection appear to interact with high levels of trait SA to drive negative emotional responses and beliefs within social contexts. Implications of these preliminary findings, their limitations, and ideas for future research are discussed within the context of cognitive behavioural models of SA.

Adolescence is a unique period of development. This life phase seems to entail being sensitive to aversive and social cues. However, adolescents' performances have been seen as equivalent to that of adults in nonemotional contexts. For this reason, questions remain regarding adolescents’ sensitivity to, and cognitive regulation of, emotional content. In line with this, the following paper aimed to provide a literature review of the successful use of an emotion regulation (ER) strategy, known as reappraisal, and its normative development during adolescence. Specifically, the main focus ofthis paper was to review studies investigating age differences of adolescents' reappraisal capacity in association with related functional activity, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Reappraisal, i.e., to rethink the appraisal of an emotionally eliciting stimulus as to change one’s emotional response, is a well-studied psychological phenomenon. Research of reappraisal ability has mainly been studied on adults when viewing aversive images. Therefore, such findings in the field that are of relevance for the more in-depth review a represented. The studies reviewed suggest that reappraisal may account more for age differences in emotional responding than emotional reactivity. Generally, reappraisal ability shows increased success with increasing age. The paper ends with a discussion of results and limitations within the field, such as regarding the various terminology and instructions used for reappraisal tactics.

No description available.

Cognitive reappraisal is an emotion regulation strategy that has been shown effective in down-regulating negative emotions in both psychological and electrophysiological measures. Although there are many studies on cognitive reappraisal, only recently have there been studies differentiating between various ways of employing the strategy. This event-related potential (ERP) study sets out to compare the efficiency and temporal dynamics of three cognitive reappraisal techniques – situation-focused reappraisal, social distancing, and temporal distancing – by measuring their effects on emotional responses to aversive pictures, as indexed by the affective ERP component the late positive potential (LPP). EEG data was recorded from 17 participants. The results revealed no significant differences between emotion regulation strategies and baseline for the total ERP epoch (3,000 ms). When differentiating between early (400-800 ms), mid (800-1,500 ms), and late (1,500-3,000) periods of the epoch, significance was found in some conditions, but since no significant overall LPP activity was found, these numbers are difficult to interpret.

No description available.

Many scholars contend that family relationships are nonvoluntary despite evidence that suggests family estrangement is both significant and on the rise. Typically, family estrangement is a serious life rupture often brought on by physical, emotional, or psychological abuse. In order to explore this understudied phenomenon, I began by applying a discourse dependence perspective framework to analyze 52 accounts from adult children who voluntarily and intentionally distanced themselves from a parent or parents with whom they had a negative relationship. Specifically, I engaged in thematic analysis to explore the communicative practices adult children enact to accomplish and maintain distance with a parent or parents as well as the practices they use to disclose and sustain their estrangement to members of their social network. Based on in-depth interviews, results suggest that estrangement is a complex process that requires many communicative practices. At a broad level, these practices were categorized as declarative, one-time, and/or continuously enacted. Of note, adult children reported having to spend a considerable amount of time engaging in communicative practices to maintain the distance they were able to create, which suggests that relational maintenance is more than a constellation of practices that keep relationships close. Additional results reveal that the majority of participants did not disclose their estrangement to members of their social work. In the event others knew about the distance, it was typically because they were there to witness the distancing practices or because the participant conditionally disclosed the information. Similar to the emphasis on maintenance, adult children revealed that sustaining the estrangement required extensive communicative work. In other words, adult children had to resist social network members who sought to reconcile them with their parents. Taken together, results from this study hold promising theoretical and practical implications for researchers, clinicians, social network members, and other individuals going through the estrangement process. These implications and directions for research are discussed.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In the event of another pandemic influenza, it will be important to understand the public’s perception of quarantine and social distancing methods, as these methods will be the first line of defense in attempting to contain or lessen the severity of the outbreak until a vaccine and medications can be developed and produced in mass quantities. College students perceptions are particularly important to look at as their living situations can vary drastically from the general public, i.e. living far away from home and with roommates. This study looks at college students perceptions of quarantine and social distancing measures that could be implemented in the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza. The data revealed that undergraduate college students in this study favored the use of government implemented quarantine and social distancing methods, except for requiring that religious services be temporarily canceled. They are also worried about the potential problems that may occur as a result of the implementation of quarantine and social distancing methods, and the only information source that the majority of them trust to give them useful and accurate information regarding an influenza pandemic in their community was their physician or other health care professional. Of most significance to the college student population, as opposed to the general public, is the place of quarantine for the other people that live in the same residence. Fifty-three percent of the respondents in this study favored quarantining the other people living in their residence in a separate quarantine facility compared to 29% in the Blendon (2006) study that surveyed the general adult population in the United States.

Background: Elderly people are vulnerable and belong to the high-risk groups of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. Because of this, they also become more vulnerable in society due to COVID-19 restrictions. The government has used social distancing as a restriction to prevent the spread of COVID-19. People in general, and more specifically elderly people, were asked to stay at home to minimize the risk of becoming seriously ill for their own sake, and as not to overload the healthcare system. Social distancing had a negative impact on their health and well-being. Aim: To explore elderly's experience of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: The method used was a literature review, using qualitative and quantitative research.Results: Two overarching themes emerged: Psychological strain and facing a new reality, with four sub-themes: Increased loneliness, Negative emotions, New challenges and Coping strategies. Conclusions: The social distancing, related to the COVID-19 pandemic, has had a negative impact on the health of older people. Elderly people have suffered from loneliness, lack of well-being and have become isolated from society during the pandemic. They were encouraged not to burden the healthcare system and all their health promotion activities had been suspended due to the pandemic. Many elderly people have multiple illnesses and have previously experienced loneliness, which also worsened during the pandemic. The results showed an increased experience of loneliness and psychological burden. To cope with their new reality and challenges within, some older people found digital ways of socializing with each other and their relatives. It is important that society targets these high-risk groups to minimize their loneliness, depression, and subsequent increased morbidity. Keywords: COVID-19, elderly, loneliness, mental health, social distancing.

No description available.