Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has included disruption, uncertainty, and additional stress for students. Adverse learning outcomes are a growing concern especially for vulnerable groups, such as middle school students. While COVID-19 research in academic fields is currently emerging, more research needs to address the specific experiences of middle school students. The current study examined the relationship between COVID-19 related stress (distress or fatigue) and student outcomes (student engagement and school aversion) for a sample of middle school students (N = 301). Specifically, coping (i.e., emotion regulation strategies) and perceptions of school climate were examined as mediators in the above relationship. Findings indicated that COVID-19 fatigue was inversely related to student engagement and positively related to school aversion. Emotion regulation mediated this relationship such that utilizing adaptive emotion regulation strategies promoted student engagement and dampened school aversion in relation to COVID-19 fatigue. School climate was also a significant mediator above and beyond the role of emotion regulation such that positive perceptions of school climate promoted engagement and reduced school aversion. A deeper explanation of the importance of regulation and the way middle schoolers perceive school rules and supports in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is discussed. / Graduate

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Introduction. Social networks are used by around 3,600 million people, they facilitate communication and promote human ties; but its inappropriate use could cause problems and extreme addiction. Objective: Relate addiction to social networks and emotional intelligence. Method: Correlational study, 279 students of technical-superior level participated; The Social Media Addiction Questionnaire (ARS) and the Wong-Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (EI) were administered. Results: Obsession (ARS) negatively correlates with Use of one’s own emotions and Regulation of emotions; likewise, Lack of control and Excessive use (ARS) with the dimensions Valuation of one’s own emotions, Use of one’s own emotions and Regulation of emotions; but, no factor of the ARS correlates with Valuation of the Emotions of the others; Likewise, men and women do not differ in the ARS, those who have more hours of connection are more likely to show higher scores in network addiction; and, in terms of emotional intelligence, women value the emotions of others more. Conclusions: Addiction to social networks and emotional intelligence are negatively related in almost all their dimensions, but it is an association of low magnitudes. / Introducción. Las redes sociales son usadas por alrededor de 3,600 millones de personas, ellas facilitan la comunicación y favorecen los vínculos humanos; pero su uso inadecuado, podría ocasionar problemas y en el extremo adicción. Objetivo: Relacionar adicción a redes sociales e inteligencia emocional. Método: Estudio correlacional, participaron 279 estudiantes de nivel técnico-superior; se administraron el Cuestionario de Adicción a Redes Sociales (ARS) y la Escala de Inteligencia Emocional (IE) de Wong-Law. Resultados: Obsesión (ARS) correlaciona negativamente con Uso de las propias emociones y Regulación de las emociones; igualmente, Falta de control y Uso excesivo (ARS) con las dimensiones Valoración de las propias emociones, Uso de las propias emociones y Regulación de las emociones; pero, ningún factor del ARS correlaciona con Valoración de las Emociones de los demás; asimismo, hombres y mujeres no se diferencian en la ARS, los que tienen más horas de conexión son más propensos a mostrar puntajes más altos en adicción a redes; y, en cuanto a la inteligencia emocional, las mujeres valoran más las emociones de los demás. Conclusiones: La adicción a las redes sociales y la inteligencia emocional se relacionan negativamente en casi todas sus dimensiones, pero es una asociación de baja magnitud.

This project is part of a community-based intervention research project in rural Appalachia called Mom Power. Mom Power is a trauma-informed parenting intervention developed to improve mental health and parenting among high-risk mothers with young children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal self-care beliefs, and maternal emotion regulation and coping skills. It was hypothesized that self-care beliefs would be negatively associated with emotion regulation difficulties and positively associated with coping skills. To date, 53 mothers oversampled for psychosocial stressors (e.g., low income, mental health difficulties, trauma histories) have completed self-report questionnaires on self-care, emotion regulation difficulties, and coping skills. Self-care beliefs were found to have a nonsignificant correlation with emotion regulation difficulties (r = -0.04) and a nonsignificant correlation with coping skills (r = 0.22). Though nonsignificant, the results add to our understanding of the relationship between these constructs such that there was a trend towards a positive relationship between self-care beliefs and coping, but not a relationship between self-care beliefs and emotion regulation difficulties. More research is needed on this topic to better provide for high-risk mothers.

The opponent process theory of emotion [Solomon, R.L., and Corbit, J.D. (1974). An opponent-process theory of motivation: I. Temporal dynamics of affect. Psychological Review, 81, 119-143.] predicts a temporary reversal of emotional valence during the recovery from emotional stimulation. We hypothesized that this affective contrast would be apparent in asymmetrical activity patterns in the frontal lobes, and would be more apparent for left frontally active individuals. The present study tested this prediction by examining EEG asymmetries during and after blocked presentations of aversive pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). 12 neutral images, 12 aversive images, and 24 neutral images were presented in blocks. Participants who were right frontally active at baseline did not show changes in EEG asymmetry while viewing aversive slides or after cessation. Participants left frontally active at baseline, however, exhibited greater relative left frontal activity after aversive stimulation than before stimulation. Asymmetrical activity patterns in the frontal lobes may relate to affect regulatory processes, including contrasting opponent after-reactions to aversive stimuli.

This research paper analyzes the strategies that translation students of a Peruvian university use to regulate their emotions. The results show the most common scenarios: getting lower grades than expected, the lack of confidence in their conceptual and thematic background, aspects of the course methodology, and their relationships with their professors and classmates. The students’ process starts with the use of maladaptive strategies, such as rumination and self-blame. However, students continue their process and then use adaptive strategies to fulfill their goals, such as refocusing on their planning.

This thesis reviews the literature on theoretical cognitive neuroscientific findings linked to self-compassion, emotion regulation and compassion. Further, an empirical study was conducted with the aim to investigate correlational findings of self-compassion in relation to mental health in India. Mental health was measured through positive and negative affect, symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and depression. The background of the thesis is mainly centred on the emotion regulation strategy cognitive reappraisal and compassion to provide more understanding of the links regarding self-compassion and mental health. The neural underpinnings regarding reappraisal and self-compassion are mostly related to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum, anterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, insula and amygdala. These regions are involved in functions such as attention, memory, reward, emotion processes and responses. The correlational study involved 91 south Indian university students between the age of 19-24 years. The most significant results indicate a strong negative relationship between self-compassion and negative affect. Self-compassion was moderately positively correlated with positive affect. Furthermore, self-compassion was moderately negatively correlated with symptoms of depression. In addition, a strong positive correlation between negative affect and symptoms of depression was found. A discussion regarding current findings in relation to the neural underpinnings of emotion regulation and self-compassion, limitations of the study as well as directions for future research is provided.

Social networking has become an integral part of daily communication and information sharing. Although researchers continue to explore the fields of social networking and emotion regulation separately, there is a lack of research bridging these areas of interest, particularly in the adolescent population. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive relationship between the environmental and social variables of Facebook use, online social connectedness, and quality of parent-child relationship with adolescent emotion regulation. Fogel's social process theory of emotion provided the framework for this study and allowed for examination of the social networking environment. Research questions addressed independent variables of Facebook use, online social connectedness, and quality of parent-child relationship as well as interactions. Hypotheses were directed at different facets of emotion regulation including emotional control, emotional self-awareness, and situational responsiveness. A sample of 80 adolescents 13- to 18-years old was gathered through snowball sampling of Facebook groups and pages targeting parents of adolescents. Individual multiple regressions were used to examine prediction and interaction among variables. Results showed greater Facebook use predicted decreased emotional self-awareness and greater quality of parent-child relationship predicted improved emotional control in adolescents. The findings of this study promote positive social change by implicating the role of social networking use in predicting maladaptive adolescent emotional development and well-being. Future research will benefit from a larger sample size and include various social networking platforms along with gender and age-specific data.

The present thesis examined emotion regulation differences among victims and non victims of bullying and its role as a mediator in the link between victimization and internalizing or externalizing outcomes. Participants from Grades 6 to 8 (n = 240) completed measures that assessed level of victimization, emotions felt relative to emotions expressed during bullying situations, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Weak victim-related differences revealed that boy victims reported feeling more shame and expressing more fear than nonvictims, whereas girl victims reported expressing more shame and feeling and expressing more anger and sadness. A new measure of emotional regulation did not reveal any victim -related differences , nor was emotional regulation found to play a mediating role. Discussion focuses on how antecedent- and response-focused regulation can account for victim-related differences found, and how victims' emotional regulation difficulties may be more attributable to antecedent-focused regulation and poor evaluation of consequences of expressing certain emotions than emotional inhibition during a bullying interaction.

Latinx adolescents report higher levels of anxiety and depression symptoms (i.e., internalizing symptoms) compared to other ethnic groups. Research studies primarily conducted with European American youth have concluded that difficulties in emotion regulation and parent-adolescent conflict are associated with an increased risk for youth internalizing symptoms. Additionally, an important Latinx cultural value, familism, has been identified as a protective factor for internalizing symptoms for Latinx adolescents. Therefore, the current study examined how familism, parent-adolescent conflict, and difficulties in emotion regulation interact to influence the development of internalizing symptoms among Latinx adolescents. It was hypothesized that (a) parent-adolescent conflict and difficulties in emotion regulation would be positively correlated with internalizing symptoms, (b) a mediation model of the association between parent-adolescent conflict and internalizing symptoms through difficulties in emotion regulation would be supported, (c) familism would be negatively correlated with internalizing symptoms, and (e) familism would moderate the relation between parent-adolescent conflict and difficulties in emotion regulation. Lastly, this project explored whether familism would moderate the mediation model of the association between parent-adolescent conflict and internalizing symptoms through difficulties in emotion regulation. To test this, data from the Salud de los Adolescentes Latinos study, which recruited Latinx adolescents (N = 92) from Northern Utah, was analyzed. Results from the study showed that higher levels of parent-adolescent conflict, difficulties in emotion regulation, and the future support subscale of familism were associated with an increased risk for internalizing symptoms among Latinx adolescents. Based on previous research, it was predicted that higher levels of familism would be associated with lower levels of internalizing symptoms, showing a protective effect. However, an association in the opposite direction was found, indicating that in this study familism served as a risk factor. In addition, familism did not moderate the association between parent-adolescent conflict and difficulties in emotion regulation nor the mediation model tested from the second study aim. Future studies should investigate the specific risk and protective properties of familism for Latinx adolescents. Findings also indicated that the association between parent-adolescent conflict and internalizing symptoms was partially explained through difficulties in emotion regulation. In other words, higher parent-adolescent conflict was associated with more adolescent difficulties in emotion regulation, which subsequently increased the risk for internalizing symptoms. These findings suggest that parent-adolescent conflict and difficulties in emotion regulation are risk factors for Latinx youth internalizing problems. Therefore, prevention and intervention efforts should target parent-adolescent conflict and difficulties in emotion regulation to reduce the risk for internalizing symptoms among Latinx adolescents.