Theories of emotion regulation and social engagement indicate that resting and reactive respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), which reflect vagal activity, in early childhood can inform the development of social and emotional behaviors later in life. Low RSA at baseline and during a stressful task have been associated with symptoms of ED and disorders characterized by social impairments. The current study examined the mediating role of ED at 24-months-old (mo) on the prospective association between early infant resting and reactive RSA at 5 mo on social functioning outcomes at 48 mo, and the mediating role of social functioning at 24 mo on infant RSA at 5 mo and ED at 48 mo in 237 healthy children. It was hypothesized that ED would mediate the relationship between infant RSA and later childhood social function. Results largely indicated no support of the hypotheses and that there is no mediating effect of childhood ED on early RSA on later childhood social behavior; however, there was a significant relationship between infant resting and reactive RSA and later ED. Limitations and future directions for improving the methodology are addressed. / M.S. / Early childhood heart rate has been thought to influence the development of later child emotional and social development. The Polyvagal Theory suggests that low variability in heart rate, as measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), is related to greater difficulties in emotional and social behavior. Finding an underlying biological reason for emotional and social development can be important for understanding childhood psychological disorders. This research study examined healthy children at three different time points during development: 5 months old (mo), 24 mo, 48 mo. RSA was measured at 5 mo, and frustration levels and social abilities at 24 and 48 mo. It was hypothesized that low RSA at 5 mo predicts low social abilities at 48 mo because of high frustration levels at 24 mo. To rule out an alternate hypothesis, this study also tested if low RSA at 5 mo predicts high frustration levels at 48 mo because of low social abilities at 24 mo. The results of this study did not support the predictions and there was no evidence of emotional abilities affecting how RSA predicts later social abilities. Possible explanations for the lack of findings and ideas for future research were discussed.

Despite the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (2016) recommendation to limit screen exposure in the early years, toddlers’ screen use exceeds these guidelines (Rideout & Robb, 2020). Given the significant role of parental media use in children’s exposure to screens (Domoff et al., 2020; Lauricella et al., 2015), it is important to understand the factors that contribute to parental screen use. Digital technologies have been posited as tools for emotion regulation (Wadley et al., 2020), suggesting that parental emotion regulation may serve as a significant determinant of parental media use. Prior studies have shown the association between emotion regulation strategies and different types of screen use, including non-interactive and interactive media (Extremera et al., 2019; Rozgonjuk & Elhai, 2021). It has also been suggested that the role of emotion regulations strategies may differ by personality traits (Gross & John, 2003). However, limited research to date examined these associations with the focus on parents of toddlers. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the association between parents’ emotion regulation strategies on their screen use and the moderating role of personality traits in this association. This study used secondary data collected from an online survey of 296 mothers of children between 18 to 36 months in the United States. Linear regression models were fitted to examine the association between emotion regulation strategies and parental screen use, with a focus on two specific regulation strategies and interactive and non-interactive screen use. They were founded that cognitive reappraisal was not related either non-interactive and interactive screen uses and that expressive suppression was only associated with non-interactive screen use. Cognitive reappraisal was related to agreeableness and expressive suppression was related to extraversion. No moderator roles of agreeableness on the association between cognitive reappraisal and both types of screen use and extraversion on the association between expressive suppression and both types of screen use were found. Future research is needed to test the possible biases resulting from the self-report technique, understand the causation between emotion regulation strategies and screen use, and include the context of screen media for deeper understanding. / Toddlers use screens, like smartphones and tablets, more than recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics (2016), and understanding why may help to support children’s healthy developmental outcomes. How much parents use screens is related to how much children use screens (Lauricella et al., 2015), making it valuable to examine parents' screen use. Screens may help individuals learn to control or regulate their emotions (Wadley et al., 2020), suggesting that parental emotion regulation may be one reason that parents use screens. Prior studies have shown that emotion regulation is related to different types of screen use, including non-interactive (e.g., video viewing) and interactive media (e.g., playing video games; Extremera et al., 2019; Rozgonjuk & Elhai, 2021). I examined two strategies of emotion regulation: cognitive reappraisal, which is reinterpreting the situation that cause emotions, and expressive suppression, which is hiding and inhibiting emotions. It has also been suggested that the role of emotion regulations strategies may differ by personality traits (Gross & John, 2003). However, limited research to date examined these associations with the focus on parents of toddlers. The current study examined how maternal cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression related to both non-interactive and interactive screen use and moderating role of personality traits on these relations. Mothers of toddlers (N = 296; M_age = 31.8 years) completed surveys for this study. Findings showed that cognitive reappraisal was not related to either non-interactive or interactive screen use, although it was related to agreeableness and that expressive suppression was related to non-interactive screen use and extraversion. Associations between these two emotion regulation strategies and both types of screen use were not moderated by personality characteristics. Further explanation is needed to examine the context of screen media and the causal links between emotion regulation strategies and screen use.

Rationale: The severity of insomnia symptoms, including difficulty falling asleep and returning to sleep when awakened in the night, are major risk factors for more severe suicidality including suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and death by suicide. As a modifiable risk factor, insomnia is a potential target for suicide prevention. There are several commonly observed gaps in the literature studying the association between insomnia and suicidality including little exploration of potential mediators, limited assessments of insomnia and suicidality, and a lack of sample diversity and representativeness. As such, the models that explain the association between insomnia and suicidality remain unclear and understudied. The purpose of this study is to investigate potential mediators that are associated with both insomnia severity and suicidality severity including emotion dysregulation, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness with the use of validated measures in a nationally representative sample. Background: Evidence suggests that insomnia severity is related to suicidality severity, even when accounting for common risk factors of suicidality such as depression. Several models have been developed to explain the association between insomnia and suicidality severity. Neurocognitive models propose that insomnia prevents natural recuperative functions of sleep, thereby contributing to daytime impairment such as emotion dysregulation. Joiner’s suicide risk model may also outline potential psychosocial components that facilitate the association between insomnia and suicidality severity including thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Emotion dysregulation, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness have been individually associated with both insomnia and suicidality severity. Methods: We collected data on demographics, insomnia severity, depression, anxiety, suicidality severity, emotional regulation, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness from 428 participants through an online survey. Our first aim was to replicate previous findings of the insomnia-suicidality severity association through regression analyses between self-reported insomnia and suicidality severity whilst controlling demographic variables, self-reported depression severity, and self-reported anxiety severity. Our second aim is to understand the role emotion dysregulation, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness play in the insomnia and suicidal severity association, even when accounting for depression, through testing our proposed mediation models using structural equation modeling. Results: Insomnia severity was related to greater suicidality, but not when accounting for depression severity. Emotion dysregulation and perceived burdensomeness partially mediated the association between insomnia severity and suicidality severity. When accounting for depression severity, emotion dysregulation and perceived burdensomeness fully mediated the association between insomnia severity and suicidality severity. Conclusions: Depression, perceived burdensomeness, and emotion dysregulation may explain the association between insomnia and suicidality severity. These difficulties may serve as potent markers for suicide risk and potential targets for treatment and suicide prevention.

Kan hanteringen och bearbetningen av känslosamma minnen med hjälp av emotionsreglering skilja sig åt beroende på vilken personlighet en människa har? Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka sambanden mellan personlighetsdragen extraversion , introversion, emotionsreglering (suppression och reappraisal) och emotionellt arbetsminne. Uppsatsen är ämnad för att ge förståelse kring hur personlighet påverkar arbetsminnet vid exponering av emotionella bilder och hur olika personlighetstyper använder emotionsreglering. Deltagarna rekryterades genom ett bekvämlighetsurval och datainsamlingen består av ett experimentellt minnestest, ett frågeformulär om emotionsreglering och ett personlighetstest. Analysmetoderna inkluderade icke-parametriska korrelationsanalyser, mixed-ANOVA och oberoende t-test. Resultaten visade inga signifikanta samband eller skillnader mellan variablerna, slutsatsen är att trots resultaten giver uppsatsen värdefulla insikter och uppmuntrar till vidare forskning om hur personlighet, emotionsreglering och arbetsminne samverkar. / Can the processing and management of emotional memories through emotion regulation differ depending on an individual´s personality? This thesis aimed to explore the associations between the personality traits of extraversion, introversion, emotion regulation strategies (suppression and reappraisal) and emotional working memory. The aim was to understand how personality influences working memory when exposed to emotional images and how different personality types utilize emotion regulation. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling, and data collection included an experimental memory test, and emotion regulation questionnaire, and a personality test. The analysis methods encompassed non-parametric correlation analyses, mixed-ANOVA and independent t-test. The results revealed no significant correlations or differences between the variables. Despite these finding, the thesis provides valuable insights and encourages further research on the interplay between personality, emotion regulation and working memory.

Submitted by Caroline Xavier (caroline.xavier@pucrs.br) on 2017-06-30T17:24:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_JULIA_LUIZA_SCHAFER_PARCIAL.pdf: 1950516 bytes, checksum: d087e3b380f5026a78af786f693a37b3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-30T17:24:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_JULIA_LUIZA_SCHAFER_PARCIAL.pdf: 1950516 bytes, checksum: d087e3b380f5026a78af786f693a37b3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-08 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / Introdu??o: A literatura sugere que respostas emocionais est?o associadas ao desenvolvimento e manuten??o de sintomas do Transtorno de Estresse P?s-Traum?tico (TEPT). A capacidade de influenciar a experi?ncia e express?o emocional, conhecida como regula??o emocional (RE), pode ser cr?tica ao lidar com n?veis significativos de estresse. Especificamente, a RE atrav?s de cogni??es, ou pensamentos (ou seja, Regula??o Emocional Cognitiva, REC), ajuda os indiv?duos a manter o controle sobre sua experi?ncia emocional durante, ou depois de serem expostos a eventos estressores, ou traum?ticos. O Question?rio de Regula??o Emocional Cognitiva (CERQ), foi desenvolvido para medir nove diferentes estrat?gias de REC que se referem ? maneira consciente e atencional de lidar com eventos de vida amea?adores, ou negativos. Objetivos: Os objetivos gerais desta disserta??o foram desenvolver e investigar as evid?ncias de validade da vers?o brasileira do CERQ (Estudo 1) e investigar a rela??o entre a exposi??o a traumas, estrat?gias cognitivas de RE, afeto e Sintomas de Estresse P?s-Traum?tico (SEPT) atrav?s de um modelo de media??o dupla (Estudo 2). M?todo: Uma amostra de 445 estudantes universit?rios completou um Question?rio S?cio-Demogr?fico, a Life of Events Checklist (LEC-5), a vers?o brasileira do CERQ, a Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) e a Posttraumatic Symptoms Checklist (PCL-5) em uma plataforma de pesquisa on-line. Para o Estudo 1, o processo de adapta??o da vers?o brasileira do CERQ incluiu tradu??o, retro-tradu??o, avalia??o de ju?zes e teste em 30 participantes da popula??o-alvo. As evid?ncias de validade de construto foram avaliadas atrav?s de an?lise fatorial confirmat?ria, da consist?ncia interna atrav?s dos alfas de Cronbach e de correla??es com as vari?veis afetivas mensuradas pelo PANAS. Para o Estudo 2 foram realizadas an?lises preliminares de correla??o e de regress?o linear m?ltipla para investigar associa??es entre tipo de trauma, estrat?gias cognitivas de regula??o emocional, afeto e severidade de SEPT. Em seguida, um modelo com rumina??o e afeto negativo como mediadores do efeito da exposi??o ao trauma les?o moral causada por outros sobre os SEPT foi testado usando o macro PROCESS para o SPSS. Resultados: As an?lises de validade mostraram que a estrutura original do CERQ possui boa validade fatorial na amostra e alta confiabilidade, com ? de Cronbach variando entre .71 e .88. An?lises preliminares de associa??o entre tipo de trauma, estrat?gias de regula??o emocional cognitiva, afeto e SEPT mostraram que o tipo de trauma de les?o moral causada por outros, rumina??o e afeto negativo s?o preditores significativos da gravidade de SEPT. Ao testar o modelo de media??o dupla, os resultados sugerem que a rumina??o ? um mediador forte e independente entre o tipo de trauma de les?o moral causada por outros e SEPT, enquanto afeto negativo ? um mediador apenas quando a rumina??o est? presente no modelo. Discuss?o: Nossos resultados indicam que a vers?o brasileira do CERQ ? uma ferramenta v?lida e confi?vel para avaliar as estrat?gias cognitivas de regula??o emocional e que os indiv?duos expostos ao tipo de trauma de les?o moral causada pelos outros utilizam rumina??o como uma estrat?gia de regula??o emocional cognitiva com mais frequ?ncia. O uso aumentado dessa estrat?gia amplifica os n?veis de afeto negativo que acaba levando a n?veis mais elevados de SEPT. Em geral, esses resultados podem influenciar pesquisas e auxiliar no desenvolvimento e melhoria de interven??es cognitivas para indiv?duos expostos a eventos traum?ticos. / Background: Literature suggests that emotional responses are associated to the development and maintenance of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The ability to influence emotional experience and expression, known as emotion regulation (ER), can be critical when dealing with significant levels of stress. Specifically, ER through cognitions, or thoughts (i.e. Cognitive Emotion Regulation; CER), helps individuals to maintain control over their emotional experience during, or after being exposed to stressful, or traumatic events. The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) was developed to measure nine different CER strategies that refer to the conscious and attentional way people deal with threatening, or negative life events. Objectives: Therefore, the general purposes of this thesis were to develop and evaluate validity evidences of the Brazilian version of the CERQ (Study 1) and to investigate the relationship between trauma exposure, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, affect and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS) testing for a double mediation model (Study2). Method: A sample of 445 university students completed a Socio-Demographic Questionnaire, the Life of Events Checklist (LEC-5), the Brazilian version of the CERQ, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Posttraumatic Symptoms Checklist (PCL-5) on an on-line research platform. For Study 1, adaptation process of the Brazilian version of the CERQ included translation, backtranslation, expert committee?s evaluation, and testing on 30 participants from the target population. Validity evidence was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency through the Cronbach?s alpha analysis, and correlations with the affective variables measured by the PANAS. For Study 2, preliminary correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to investigate associations among trauma type exposure, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, affect and PTSS severity. Next, a model positing rumination and negative affect as double mediators of the effect of trauma type of moral injury by others on PTSS was tested using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results: Validity analyses showed that the original structure of the CERQ has good factorial validity in the sample and high reliabilities, with Cronbach?s ? ranging between .71 and .88. Preliminary analyses of the association among trauma type, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, affect and PTSS showed that trauma type of moral injury, rumination and negative affect were significant predictors of PTSS severity. When testing for the double mediation model, results suggested that rumination is a strong and independent mediator between trauma type moral injury by others and PTSS, while negative affect is a mediator only when rumination is also included. Discussion: Our results indicate that the Brazilian version of the CERQ is a valid and reliable tool for assessing cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and that individuals who are exposed to trauma type of moral injury by others engage more frequently in rumination as a cognitive emotion regulation strategy, which in turn amplifies levels of negative effect that ends up leading to higher levels of PTSS. Overall, these results can influence further researches and aid the development and improvement of cognitive treatment interventions for individuals exposed to traumatic events.

No description available.

The aging process is often coupled with major life changes such as retirement, death of friends and family members, and declines in physical and psychological functioning. Intuitively, any one or a conjunction of these events might be expected to lead to decreases in positive affect (PA) and increases in negative affect (NA). However, older adults tend to be emotionally positive and stable even late in life. Thus, it is possible that emotion-based strategies for coping with the challenges presented in later life can be used effectively by older adults, even amidst potential vulnerabilities in other domains. The design of effective interventions and technologies aimed at facilitating this coping process, will depend on understanding that emotions can influence health in different ways. Affect level and intraindividual variability (IIV) are independently related to distal factors such as personality and health-related outcomes such as immune functioning and mortality, among others. By nature, emotions are subject to daily fluctuations that cannot be captured by investigation of mean affect levels alone. Research on affect IIV has focused primarily on whether there are stability differences in younger and older adults. In general, older adults tend to be more stable, perhaps because the failure to regulate emotions is particularly detrimental for older adults’ physiological health. It is therefore important to understand how proximal factors in everyday life lead to intraindividual emotional changes. The primary goal of this study was to identify the factors occurring within older adults’ daily lives that predicted emotional deviations and to determine whether individuals differed in the types of factors that were emotionally-relevant. As such, it was imperative to employ a methodology that could differentiate the factors that evoked consistent emotional responses across all individuals from the factors whose impact on affect were person-dependent. Specifically, participants were given online surveys three times per day for 20 consecutive weekdays that included assessments of their current positive and negative emotional states and questions (at least once per day) about their stress, pain, sleep quality, life space, physical activity, and social activity. Multilevel modeling (MLM) was used to determine if there was significant affect IIV for these older adults and how much IIV could be explained by these proximal predictors. This analysis approach was used because it is well-suited for nested data (in this case, observations nested within-persons) and does not assume independence of observations (which is a concern when individuals receive repeated assessments). Additionally, MLM analyzes the complete dataset rather than complete cases (individuals), which allowed for comparison of fixed effects regression models and random effects regression models. Random effects models, which are the hallmark of MLM, enabled the analysis of potential individual differences in the within-person relationships between the predictors and affect. As expected, there was significant affect IIV in these older adults for both PA and NA. The predictors of PA and NA were analyzed first in isolation (referred to as “isolated models”) and then when controlling for the other proximal variables (referred to as “full models”). The random effects isolated models were generally better fitting than the fixed effects isolated models, indicating that the models that did not constrain individual predictor-affect slopes to be the same across persons (random) were more accurate representations of the observed data than models that constrained individuals’ slopes to be the same (fixed). Full fixed slopes and full random slopes models were built in stepwise fashion based on the results of the isolated models. Again, the random effects full models better fit the observed data than the fixed effects models for both PA and NA, providing strong evidence in favor of the hypothesis that a larger percentage of affect IIV would be explained when allowing individual differences in the within-person predictor-affect relationships. The full random models accounted for 32% of the PA IIV, and 45% of the NA IIV. These were both better fitting than their respective null models, indicating that overall, the proximal predictors accounted for significant proportions of the within-person PA and NA variance. Certain factors accounted for larger percentages of the IIV than others and in general, there were differences between the PA and NA model in terms of which factors led to emotional fluctuations. Subjective health accounted for the largest percentage of PA IIV and stress accounted for the largest percentage of NA IIV. Additionally, subjective health, life space, stress, and pain were significant unique predictors of PA, NA, or both. However, there were specific unique effects across both PA and NA, namely, the slope variances for stress and pain. Follow-up analyses were unable to account for these slope variances using person-level predictors. In essence, an individual’s emotional reactivity to pain and stress did not depend on his or her overall mean level of those factors, or of the other daily predictors. This provided further evidence that PA and NA should be treated as separable variables (e.g., it is possible for a daily event to decrease older adult’s positivity without necessarily increasing their negativity) but also highlighted factors that have pervasive influences on emotion regardless of valence, which is harmonious with models of affect that propose a dynamic relationship between PA and NA. The results from this study have theoretical and practical implications. Theories on emotional stability often focus on if and why older adults are more stable than younger adults. Findings of the present study both support and expand upon these theories by identifying within an older adult population, which proximal factors were likely to cause emotional deviations after partialling out the effects of other daily variables, including factors that were previously unstudied in this domain. The analysis methodology implemented in the present research allowed for direct investigation of whether certain individuals were more prone to the influences of these factors than others. These results are discussed in the context of coping and resiliency theories that posit individual differences in emotional responses to stimuli based on these capabilities. From a practical perspective, these results highlight that the design of interventions and technologies intended to provide older adults with effective skills and resources to maintain or improve their emotional well-being should be tailored to individuals’ affective profiles.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka sambandet mellan trygga anknytningsrelationer och emotionsreglering under adolescensen. Totalt deltog 82 ungdomar i studien, 47 kvinnor och 35 män mellan 17 och 20 år, genom att fylla i självskattningsformulären Viktiga personer i mitt liv (VIPIL) och Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Resultaten visar att det finns olika starka samband mellan anknytningsrelationerna och emotionsregleringsstrategierna kognitiv omvärdering och undantryckande. Anknytningsrelationerna är en svag prediktor för användandet av kognitiv omvärdering och förklarar cirka 5 procent av variansen, medan de predicerar cirka 41 procent av användandet av undantryckande. En jämförelse mellan könen visar att unga män använder kognitiv omvärdering oftare än unga kvinnor. Vänskapsrelationerna framstår som särskilt betydelsefulla för emotionsreglering under adolescensen, vilket kan bero på att ungdomar söker sig till vänner i större utsträckning när de frigör sig från föräldrarna och blir mer självständiga. Därför är det viktigt att vidare undersöka hur avsaknad av trygga vänskapsrelationer påverkar ungdomar i stort inklusive deras emotionsreglering. / The aim of this study was to examine the links between secure attachment relationships and emotion regulation during adolescence. In total 82 adolescents, 47 women and 35 men, between the ages of 17 and 20 years participated in the study by completing Swedish versions of the self-assessment forms Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). The results show that the relationships between attachment and the emotion regulation strategies cognitive reappraisal and suppression, differ in strength. The attachment relationships are a weak predictor of cognitive reappraisal and explains approximately 5 percent of the variance, while they predict approximately 41 percent of the variance of suppression. A comparison between women and men showed that young men use cognitive reappraisal more frequently than young women. The relationships with friends appears to be particularly significant to emotion regulation during adolescence, which may be due to that adolescents rely on their friends to greater extent when they separate themselves from their parents and become more independent. Therefore, it is important to further examine how the absence of secure friendships affect young people in general including their emotion regulation.

Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation war es zum einen die experimentelle Prüfung von Faktoren der Emotionsregulierung auf empathische Reaktion sowie die Identifikation von Ansatzpunkten zur Verbesserung von Emotionsregulierung als Handlungskompetenz in einem beruflichen Umfeld zu überprüfen. Der Schwerpunkt der Dissertation wurde auf das Modell der adaptiven Emotionsregulierung (Adaptiv Coping with Emotion, ACE-Modell, Berking and Heizer, 2010; Berking and Schwarz, 2014; Berking, et al., 2008) gelegt. In Studie I wurde in einem Experiment untersucht, ob Kompetenzen der Emotionsregulierung eine Interaktion mit Stress in Bezug auf Schmerzeinfühlung zeigen. Bei 120 randomisierten Versuchspersonen kam in der Versuchsgruppe der Trierer-Stress-Test (TSST, Kirschbaum, et al., 1993) als valides Instrument zum Einsatz, mit dem akuter Stress induziert wird. Als psychophysiologischer Manipulationscheck für die Stress-Induktion erfolgte die kardiovaskuläre Reaktion durch die Messung der Herzrate. Die Ergebnisse zeigen Interaktionseffekte zwischen selbsteingeschätzten emotionsregulatorischer Kompetenzen (Klarheit, Verstehen und Akzeptanz) und Stress auf Schmerzeinfühlung. Unter akutem Stress und fehlenden Kompetenzen der Emotionsregulierung kommt es tendenziell zu einer eingeschränkten empathischen Reaktion. Studie II war eine ressourcenorientierten Interventionsstudie zur Förderung sozial-emotionaler Kompetenzen der Emotionsregulierung durch das standardisierte Training emotionaler Kompetenzen (TEK, Berking, 2014) bei 96 Beschäftigten der stationären Altenpflege in einem quasi-experimentellen Design. Es fanden sich signifikante positive Effekte über die Zeit (Post und Follow-Up nach 6 Monaten) für einzelne Kompetenzen der Emotionsregulierung (vor allem Toleranz und Modifikation). Außerdem zeigte sich ein direkter Zusammenhang der Regulierungskompetenzen mit psychischem Wohlbefinden, in dem Sinne, dass die durch das Training erhöhten Kompetenzen direkt zu einer Erhöhung des Wohlbefindens beitrugen. Abschließend kann festgestellt werden, dass emotionale Zustände und ihre Regulierung im Sinne emotionaler und personaler Ressourcen zukünftig verstärkt Eingang in gesundheitswissenschaftliche Konzepte finden sollten. / Therefore, the aim of the present thesis was to experimentally investigate the influence of emotion regulation on empathic responses on one hand and the identification of approaches to improve emotion regulation in an occupational environment on the other hand. Thus, the thesis focused on the Adaptive Coping with Emotion (ACE) - Model, (Modell der adaptiven Emotionsregulierung, Berking and Heizer, 2010); (Berking and Schwarz, 2014); (Berking, et al., 2008). Relating to this, study I experimentally investigated whether an interaction between emotion regulation competencies and stress experiences impact the evaluation of feeling of pain in others. In 120 subjects, randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group, the Trier Social Stress Task (Trierer-Sozial-Stress-Test, TSST, Kirschbaum, et al., 1993) was used to validly trigger acute stress reactions. Heart rate measurements were used as a manipulation check. Results indicate a target interaction effect of specific emotion regulation skills (tolerance, acceptance) in the prediction of feeling of pain. With unavailable adaptive emotion regulation competencies the empathic reaction is apparently reduced during acute stress. Study II has been conducted to analyze a resource-oriented intervention for fostering individual emotion regulation competencies in 96 employees in inpatient elderly care following a quasi-experimental design. Results show significant positive effects over time (pre to post- and follow-up-intervention after 6 months) for certain emotion regulation competencies (in particular tolerance and modification). Moreover, a direct relation between intervention-related improvement in emotion regulation skills and increases in psychological well-being could be found. Hence, aiming at personality development, the Adaptive Regulation Training is significantly contributing to health promotion at work. In sum, it can be concluded that emotional states and their regulation in the sense of emotional and personal resources should increasingly be incorporated into the public health research, because designing healthy work places and fostering healthy behavior is bound to the opportunity of personality development. Moreover, the results of the thesis prove the importance of emotion regulation serving as an additional approach and a personal resource for strengthening and maintaining mental health at work.

Exposure to interparental conflict has been implicated in children's development. Research suggests that underlying mechanisms, such as neuropsychological indicators of cognitive processes, may shed light on how exposure to interparental conflict differentially influences children's outcomes over time. Event-related potentials (ERP), extracted from electroencephalogram data, allow for examination of neuropsychological markers of cognition based on precise timing and scalp topography of electrical activity in the brain. For example, the late positive potential (LPP) ERP component has been implicated in the timing and magnitude of sustained attention and emotion regulation processes elicited in response to emotionally salient stimuli. LPP amplitudes and peak latencies were compared for a community sample of 23 children (9-11 years of age, 12 females) during an oddball task, which used images of couples looking angry, happy, and neutral toward each other. Linear mixed models were used to analyze whether children's perceptions of interparental conflict, and whether they were from high- compared to low-conflict homes, influenced their level of neuropsychological resources directed toward angry compared to happy emotionally-charged interpersonal images. Significant results were found for when children were directed to respond to angry images. Differences emerged in LPP amplitudes for all children in the sample, with the greatest amplitudes produced for happy images compared to neutral and angry images. Regarding conflict exposure and perceptions of conflict, children from homes with greater levels of conflict and children who blamed themselves for conflicts they witnessed between parents produced greater LPP amplitudes when happy trials were presented compared to neutral trials. Finally, females reached their maximum LPP amplitude faster than males for neutral trials compared to angry trials. Results are discussed in terms of the implications for children's processing of interpersonal emotions as it is related to underlying neuropsychological mechanisms for sustained attention and emotion regulation.