Parents’ adverse childhood experiences in relation to parent-child emotion socialization Objective: Parents have an integral role in a child’s development of important emotional and psychosocial processes through emotion socialization. The goal of this paper is to examine the presence of adverse childhood experiences during the parents’ childhood and adolescence alongside the parents’ responses to their child’s emotional expression. The impact of adverse childhood experiences on a parent’s ability to socialize their child’s emotions is a key factor in the continued objective of cultivating positive parent-child interaction and improving adolescent mental health. Methods: Participants were 165 adolescents and their parents. Adolescent participants had an age range of13 to 17 years, (M=14.56, SD= 1.34) and were 33% female. Participants completed several standard questionnaires as part of a larger online survey. Adolescents reported on how their parents typically respond to their negative emotions (Emotions as Child Questionnaire; O’Neal & Magai, 2005), and their parents reported on their exposure to adverse childhood events (ACE’s questionnaire). Results: Mediation analyses tested the study hypotheses regarding whether parent emotion dysregulation mediated the link between parent ACEs and parent emotion socialization responses (reward, punish). Covariates included parent and child gender, parent race, and parent education level. In the first model examining reward responses, there was an overall significant effect on parent reward and punishment responses. There was a significant indirect effect of parent ACEs on parent reward and parent punishment responses with parent emotion dysregulation as the mediator. Conclusion: Together, these findings suggest the value and necessity of healthy and stable emotion regulation, especially in parents. The present study shows a need for the recognition of the impact that a parent's ability to successfully regulate their own emotions has on their ability to effectively respond to their children’s emotions. Additionally, stable parent child emotion socialization outcomes improve the child’s ability to self- regulate emotions which ultimately makes an insurmountable impact on children’s mental health throughout the lifespan.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts the lives of millions of individuals. Previous studies frequently cite family-of-origin aggression as a risk factor for later experiences with IPV. The current study sought to identify factors that explain and moderate risk for dating psychological aggression (DPA) in college adults, and gender differences in those associations. Participants (464 women, 142 men) aged 18 to 37 years, who were in a current romantic relationship lasting at least 3 months, completed measures of past psychological aggression in the family-of-origin (PAF), current emotion dysregulation, and DPA perpetrated in current intimate relationships. Emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between PAF and current DPA; however, differences among specific types of PAF and gender were noted. Results support an intergenerational transmission of family aggression and suggest that parent–child gender dyads influence this process. The findings also provide evidence that higher levels of drinking are associated with increased emotion dysregulation.

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Several theoretical risk models were proposed previously regarding the prediction of child maltreatment. Although child maltreatment was predicted individually in these models by such variables as parent temperament, emotional and behavioral regulation, stress, coping, and child temperament, these variables were not yet examined collectively. As such, a new transactional theory was proposed for the current study. As part of this study, a national community sample of 158 culturally diverse mothers of young children who were between the ages of 1½- to 5-years rated their own temperament, emotional and behavioral regulation abilities, parenting stress, daily hassles, and coping behaviors as well as their young children's temperament. Correlational analyses demonstrated many significant relationships among the variables of interest. In addition, hierarchical regression analyses suggested that several parent (i.e., mother mood quality, mother flexibility/rigidity, emotion dysregulation, parenting stress, cumulated severity of stress, and emotion-focused coping) and child characteristics (i.e., young child mood quality) added unique incremental variance to the prediction of child maltreatment potential. Finally, mediation analyses indicated that mothers' emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between mothers' flexibility/rigidity and child maltreatment potential. Overall, this study contributed information regarding the importance of emotion dysregulation as a mechanism through which difficult mother temperament may be related to increased child maltreatment potential. Accordingly, these findings suggested that emotion regulation skills may serve as a potential point of intervention for mothers who are at increased risk for child maltreatment due to difficult temperament characteristics.

Extant treatments for borderline personality disorder (BPD) are time-intensive, consist of multiple components, and are informed by different theoretical perspectives. Comprehensive evaluation of the driving mechanism(s) maintaining BPD is warranted to maximize cost-effectiveness and efficiency of treatment. Focusing on impaired interpersonal functioning in BPD, a hallmark characteristic of the disorder, may provide a useful microcosm for evaluating different approaches to understanding what drives the full expression of the disorder. This study evaluated two brief, theoretically distinct interventions for BPD and their effects on interpersonal conflict using single case experimental design. Patients (N = 8; 6 female, mean age 27.00, range 19–55) were randomized to receive an intervention either informed by emotion dysregulation theory or attachment theory. Patients reported their frequency of daily interpersonal conflicts using ecological momentary assessment and completed weekly questionnaires including measurement of theoretically-consistent mechanisms and global BPD symptoms. It was hypothesized that patients would demonstrate a significant response (50% decrease in daily interpersonal conflicts) during either intervention compared to baseline. It was also hypothesized that patients would evidence decreases in the purported mechanism of whichever intervention they received. Regarding change in interpersonal conflicts, three participants responded after the first module (two in the attachment security intervention, one in the emotion regulation intervention), three were partial responders (two in attachment security, one in emotion regulation), and two were classified as non-responders (both in emotion regulation). Furthermore, there were decreasing trends in both mechanisms for the majority of patients who received the corresponding interventions. Interestingly, there were decreasing trends in the alternate mechanism even when patients did not receive the corresponding intervention. No significant differences between conditions were observed related to interpersonal conflict or mechanisms. Notably, there were decreases in global BPD symptoms across both conditions. Results indicate that interpersonal conflict specifically and BPD symptoms can improve in brief interventions informed by different theories. This study suggests that multiple mechanisms may be driving BPD symptomatology and/or mechanisms may be more similar than previously stated in the literature, and points to the importance of idiographic evaluation in BPD research and treatment.

There is scant research into the influence of leader or follower personality on the development of leader-member exchange quality (LMX; Dienesch & Liden, 1986; Gerstner & Day, 1997; Liden, Sparrowe, & Wayne, 1997, Harris, Harris, & Eplion, 2007). Furthermore, where such research has been undertaken, it has focused mostly on broad-trait based personality factors (such as the Big-Five; Phillips & Bedeian, 1994; Erdogan, Liden, & Wayne, 2006). There are strong theoretical grounds for expecting that more narrow and specific relationship-based personality assessments will provide superior prediction of LMX quality, and richer insights into the LMX development process. The current study draws on attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969/1982, 1973, 1980; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007) to examine how individuals' dispositions relate to their LMX quality and two relationship-based aspects of work performance (organizational citizenship behaviour [OCB] and counterproductive work behaviour [CWB]). The moderating influence of emotion regulation and affectivity on these relationships was also explored. Data were collected from managers, front-line staff, and their co-workers at two Canadian hospitals. Emotion regulation (Gross, 1998a; Gross & John, 2003) was found to moderate the association between attachment and LMX. Additionally, in some instances leaders' trait affectivity interacted with emotion regulation to influence the impact of leader attachment on LMX quality. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The ability to experience, use, and eventually control anger is crucial for maintaining well-being, achieving our goals, and building healthy relationships. Despite its relevance, the neural and psychological mechanisms behind this emotion are still in their early stages. Therefore, the present work represents an effort towards the investigation of these features of anger, where the ambition is to take a step forward to bridge the gaps between the research and clinical fields. Chapter 1 will expose an introduction on anger, while Chapter 2 will expose the evidence in literature on the neural bases of anger relying on a meta-analytic approach, where the neural bases of anger perception and anger experience will be investigated. Chapter 3 relies on a multivariate data-driven approach in order to study the neural networks of anger-related individual differences, identifying a structural network associated with trait anger and a functional network associated with anger control. Chapter 4 focuses on the neural bases of other anger-related individual differences, relying on functional connectivity analysis to investigate the frontal asymmetry hypothesis, finding an association of a left pattern of connectivity with anger externalization and a right pattern of connectivity with anger internalization. Finally, the following two chapters focused on the regulation of anger, in particular considering two different strategies, reappraisal versus suppression, and the related effect of a mindfulness course on the regulation of anger. The final chapter will summarize the evidence provided in this thesis in order to integrate the different results.

Psykisk ohälsa hos ungdomar är ett växande problem och tonårstiden är en sårbar period för utveckling av bland annat stress, ångest och depression, tillstånd där skam och självkritik ofta ingår. Vidare har svårigheter att reglera känslor identifierats som en orsak till psykiska problem. Compassionfokuserad terapi (CFT) är en behandlingsform som har tagits fram för att fånga upp patienter som upplever skam och självkritik och metoden har god evidens för en vuxen population. Däremot finns det färre studier där behandlingens utfall undersökts för ungdomar, i synnerhet forskning där ungdomarnas egna erfarenheter av terapin studerats. Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka upplevelser av känslor efter avslutad compassionfokuserad gruppbehandling hos ungdomar med lindrig till måttlig grad av stress, ångest och depression. Tjugosex deltagare, 21 kvinnor, tre män och två icke-binära, i åldersgruppen 15-20 år intervjuades i fokusgrupper, och materialet analyserades med tematisk analys. I analyserna framkom olika beskrivningar av känslor som tolkades i fem teman: Förståelse för sig själv, Förändring, Gruppallians, Upplevelsebaserat och Värna Kroppen. Analysen ledde till slutsatser avseende deltagarnas beskrivningar av känslor som indikerar att olika dimensioner i den compassionfokuserade behandlingen har påverkat deltagarnas förmåga att känna trygghet och medvetandegöra känslor. Möjligheter att skifta perspektiv, få en ökad förståelse för sig själv, känna social tillhörighet, uppleva medveten närvaro och förstå kroppsliga sensationer kan bidra till ökad compassion vilket i sin tur kan påverka förmågan att förstå och reglera känslor. / Mental health issues among adolescents are a growing concern, and adolescence is a vulnerable period for the development of stress, anxiety and depression, conditions which often involve elements of shame and self-criticism. Difficulties with emotion regulation have been identified as a cause of mental health problems. Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) has been developed to help patients who experience shame and self-criticism, and there is significant evidence that supports its efficiency in an adult population. However, only a few studies have investigated treatment outcomes for adolescents, particularly those examining the youths’ own experience of therapy. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of emotions after completing a compassion-focused treatment in a group of adolescents with mild to moderate levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Twenty-six participants, 21 females, three males, and two non-binary individuals, aged 15-20 years were interviewed in focus groups, and the material was analyzed using thematic analysis. In the analysis different descriptions of the participants' emotions emerged, which was interpreted into five themes: Self-Understanding, Change, Group Alliance, Experience-Based, and Care of the Body. The analysis led to conclusions about the participants' descriptions of emotions, which indicate that different dimensions of the compassion-focused treatment have influenced the participants’ ability to feel secure and be aware of their emotional experience. The opportunity to shift perspective, increase self-understanding, feel social belonging, experience mindfulness and understand bodily sensations may contribute to increased compassion and capacity to understand and regulate emotions.

College students with ADHD tend to struggle with their academic performance and are less likely to graduate college than their neurotypical peers. Emotion dysregulation, a common symptom of ADHD, can cause significant functional impairment throughout life. Acute exercise improves ADHD symptom severity, yet medication is the first line of treatment. Less is understood about the effectiveness of habitual exercise or ADHD medication on emotion dysregulation and quality of life (QoL). Therefore, the purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the relationship between habitual exercise, emotion regulation, and QoL in college students with ADHD, and the possible moderating effects of ADHD medication. A sample of 53 participants completed a Qualtrics survey that included items on recent exercise, emotion regulation strategies, medication status, and QoL. A subset of participants (n=6) also completed a semi-structured interview. A moderated mediation model of linear regression was used to examine the relationships between habitual exercise, emotion regulation, and QoL, and explore the moderating effects of ADHD medication. A 6-step thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data. Results found a positive main effect of habitual exercise on expression suppression, (p=0.007). Greater use of cognitive reappraisal was associated with greater QoL (p=0.02). There was a stronger association between habitual exercise and cognitive reappraisal in participants taking ADHD medication (p=0.006), than those who were not taking ADHD medication (p=0.942). Medication status did not show a moderating effect. Qualitative analysis identified primary themes of both ADHD-related exercise benefits (increased focus, reduced hyperactivity, improved emotion regulation), and non-ADHD related exercise benefits (feelings of accomplishment, elevated mood, coping mechanism, improved health and fitness). Although further research is necessary, habitual exercise in conjunction with ADHD medication may be an effective treatment for emotion dysregulation associated with ADHD.