Experiential avoidance (EA) is an emotion-regulation strategy used to control or avoid unpleasant internal experiences. Experimental studies, however, have shown that EA is associated with an ironic increase in unpleasant experiences. While single manipulation laboratory experiments can demonstrate the immediate ironic detrimental effects of EA, a different methodology is needed to establish how such ironic processes unfold over time in the natural environment. The current study uses a longitudinal design and daily-diary methodology to examine daily associations between EA and negative affect (NA) over a three-week period among college-students who initially reported high levels of psychological distress. A daily measure of state EA based on several avoidant behaviors (thought suppression, emotion suppression, distraction, reflective pondering, and lack of experiential acceptance) was developed for this study. Before and after making daily web-based reports of EA and NA for 21 consecutive days, participants completed a standardized checklist of psychological symptoms, with pre-post change scores on this measure serving as an index of symptomatic improvement. Multilevel modeling analyses showed that, as predicted, symptomatic improvement was associated with decreasing trajectories of EA and NA during the 21-day study period. More symptomatic improvement was associated with weakening (decoupling) of same-day EA-NA links over time. Contrary to predictions, same-day and one-day lagged associations between NA and EA were not associated with symptomatic change. Additional multilevel analyses showed that symptomatic worsening was associated with more daily EA, over and above what was accounted for by daily NA. Likewise, traditional between-person regression analyses showed that overall mean levels of daily EA (aggregated across days) predicted symptomatic worsening, even after statistically accounting for mean levels of daily NA. The results of this study provide partial support for the hypothesis that EA and NA are related to each other in an ironic positive feedback loop that unfolds over time and that symptomatic improvement may involve a process by which EA and NA both decrease and decouple from each other over time. These findings emphasize the importance of using methodologies that track the relationship between EA and its consequences over time using within-person analyses, rather than solely relying on between-person designs.

Lifespan theories of emotion suggest that the ability to regulate emotion improves with age. The supporting evidence, however, is indirect: older adults pay less attention to negative events, remember less negative information, and report fewer experiences of negative emotion. Few studies directly measure emotion regulation by explicitly instructing older adults to modulate their feelings while exposed to emotion-evoking stimuli. The purpose of this thesis was to directly compare younger and older adults in their ability to modulate feelings to investigate whether aging results in decline, stability, or improvement in emotion regulation and also to examine potential mechanisms underlying regulation skills. The study employed a startle modulation paradigm to measure both emotional reactivity and regulation. Two experimental tasks (Stroop colour-word interference, reversal learning) were also administered to explore the relationship between emotion regulation and two theoretically-relevant processes: (a) cognitive control and (b) modification of learned emotional associations. There were three main findings: (1) emotional reactivity was preserved in older adults. Both age groups showed emotion-modulated startle (negative > neutral) during the pre-regulation viewing period; (2) age-related decline in emotion regulation was evident on an objective measure of emotion regulation (startle eyeblink reflex) but not on a subjective measure (self-ratings). Specifically, for older adults, startle eyeblink was not enhanced or attenuated following increase and decrease instructions, respectively. In contrast, both groups showed similar modulation of valence and arousal ratings by regulation instruction (increase > look > decrease); (3) for older adults, reversal learning performance correlated positively with the degree of reappraisal-related startle attenuation in the decrease condition, suggesting a possible mechanism for impaired down-regulation. These findings suggest that even when emotional reactivity is similar, older adults are less effective at modulating their physiological responses.

Adolescence is a developmental period marked by heightened emotional intensity, negative emotions, and self-consciousness. Problems with emotion regulation during adolescence have been linked to the development of internalizing and externalizing disorders (Hastings et al., 2009). Emotion regulation involves changes across several integrated emotion domains: (1) Experience, (2) Arousal, and (3) Expression (Ekman, 1992; Gross, 2007; Lang, 1994; Lazarus, 1991; Levenson, 1994). Emotion is not necessarily regulated equally across these three domains, in fact discordant responses are more common than concordant ones (Mauss & Robinson, 2009). Discordance represents how emotion is being regulated during a specific event, but it has not been directly linked with habitual emotion regulation strategies. Different patterns among these emotional domains have been linked to internalizing and externalizing problems and coping skills (Hastings et al., 2009; Mauss et al, 2005; Zalewski et al., 2009a, b). The current study expands on previous research by (1) simultaneously measuring and analyzing experience, arousal, and expression, and (2) understanding how patterns of concordance and discordance relate to individual difference factors such as gender, habitual emotion regulation strategies, and internalizing and externalizing problems in a typically developing adolescent sample. This study involved measuring the experience, arousal, and expression of self-conscious emotion in 138 adolescents (55% female) during a video-recorded social stressor speech task. Participants rated their emotional experience via questionnaire after the speech task. Physiological data were reduced from recordings during the speech and observational coders rated the emotional expression of participants from video files of the speeches. Patterns of responses across experience, arousal, and expression were grouped using cluster analysis. The different patterns of response were related to different profiles of habitual emotion regulation strategies and problematic internalizing and externalizing behaviour. Adolescents classified as “Experience-Expressive” (high experience, moderate arousal, high expression) or “Suppressive” (high experience, high arousal, low expression) had more problematic socioemotional functioning than those classified as “Expressive” (low experience, moderate arousal, high expression) or “Low-Reactive” (low experience, low arousal, low expression). There was not strong evidence for differences across gender. The current study contributes to the understanding of adolescent emotional regulation and the development of psychopathology in adolescence. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2011-08-31 15:21:33.479

The primary objective of this thesis was to investigate the broader consequences of rumination. This entailed exploring the emotional and interpersonal outcomes of rumination at both an individual and dyadic level. A secondary objective was to investigate the unique contribution of attachment to rumination, and the contributing influence of context, with rumination in the confines of a romantic relationship specifically explored. It is proposed that insecure attachment may be both associated with an increased engagement in rumination and a greater likelihood of negative consequences as the result of ruminating. It is also proposed that rumination will not only have consequences for the individual, but that it will also have consequences for their romantic partner. Studies 1 and 2 explored the broader consequences of rumination, and the contribution of attachment, for the individual who is ruminating. Both studies involved student samples. Self-report data from Study 1 confirmed rumination was significantly correlated with depressive symptoms, depressive mood and the negative emotions of shame, guilt and anger. Rumination was also significantly correlated with insecure attachment. Together, rumination and insecure attachment were found to have a unique additive effect on the experience of depressive symptoms, shame and guilt. For depressive mood and anger, insecure attachment was found to moderate the effect of rumination. In Study 2 the relationship among rumination, attachment, negative emotion and interpersonal feelings was investigated experimentally. The contribution of context was also explored with individuals asked to either ruminate or distract after thinking about a negative relationship event. Correlational analyses indicated rumination was significantly associated with greater levels of negative emotion and relationship conflict, and lower levels of relationship depth and support. Experimental results confirmed ruminating on a negative relationship event resulted in lower levels of overall mood than distracting. Ruminating on a negative relationship event (as compared to distracting) did not result in lower levels of relationship satisfaction or relationship closeness, or greater negative feelings about the relationship. Neither anxious-ambivalent nor avoidant attachment significantly contributed to the experience of negative emotion or negative interpersonal feelings when ruminating (versus distracting) on a negative or typical relationship event. Studies 3 and 4 explored the broader consequences of rumination for both the individual and their romantic partner. Study 3 involved a student sample, while Study 4 involved a community sample of adults. All couples were in a heterosexual relationship. Structural Equation Modelling confirmed the presence of emotional and interpersonal consequences of rumination for both samples of individuals. In regards to the consequences of rumination for one’s partner, results for the student sample indicated rumination in males was associated with greater levels of negative emotion but also lower levels of conflict in their partner. Rumination in females was associated with greater negative emotion in the relationship and greater levels of conflict for their partner. For the community sample, rumination in males was associated with greater relationship satisfaction for their partner. Study 5 also explored rumination in the context of a romantic relationship. It did this by investigating the emotional and interpersonal consequences of verbally ruminating with a partner (referred to as co-rumination; Rose, 2002). A within-subjects experimental design was utilised where couples were asked to both co-ruminate, and to reflect together on a negative and a positive relationship event. Results indicated co-ruminating on a negative event resulted in greater relationship closeness and perceptions of support. Results also suggested that females felt they were giving more support to their partner while co-ruminating, while males felt they were giving more support while co-reflecting. No significant effect of co-rumination on emotion was noted. Overall, the current thesis has extended the literature by providing evidence that rumination has several broader consequences beyond its established relationship with depression. Specifically, it has been shown here that rumination not only affects an individual’s emotions but that it also influences their interpersonal feelings. A deeper understanding of the complexities of rumination has also been provided with results highlighting the importance of the content of ruminative thought and the internalised nature of rumination. In regards to contributors to rumination, results have increased our understanding of the role of insecure attachment in contributing to the tendency to ruminate and to the relationship between rumination, emotion and interpersonal feelings. Results have also highlighted the importance of context with rumination associated with emotional and interpersonal consequences both for the individual who is ruminating and for their romantic partner. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed in depth throughout this thesis.

<p>Effective emotion regulation plays an important role in psychological health. Two commonly-researched emotion regulation strategies are reappraisal, a cognitive change-based strategy, and mindfulness, an acceptance-based strategy. Although their potential in facilitating adaptive emotion regulation has been empirically demonstrated, little work has directly compared their cognitive and emotion regulatory effects, particularly in a symptomatic population. Using an analogue depressed sample, this study examined the relative effects of mindfulness and reappraisal in reducing sad mood and whether individual differences in trait mindfulness and habitual use of reappraisal moderated the effects. The study also compared the extent to which implementation of these strategies incurred cognitive resources and affected attitudes towards negative experiences. One hundred and twenty-nine participants were randomly assigned to receive training in mindfulness, reappraisal, or no training prior to undergoing an autobiographical sad mood induction. Following mood induction, participants rated their sadness on a visual analog scale before completing a Stroop test. Results showed that mindfulness and reappraisal were superior to no training, and equivalent in their effects in lowering sad moods. Compared to the mindfulness group, the reappraisal group reported significantly higher Stroop interference scores, reflecting greater depletion of cognitive resources. Higher trait mindfulness predicted greater reductions in sadness in the reappraisal group, but not in the mindfulness group. Habitual reappraisal did not moderate the effects of either mindfulness or reappraisal. Mindfulness, relative to reappraisal or no training, resulted in significant increases in acceptance of negative experiences and decreases in maladaptive beliefs about rumination. Overall, the study suggests that although mindfulness and reappraisal are equally effective in down-regulating sad mood, they incur different levels of cognitive costs and lead to differential changes in attitudes towards negative experiences.</p> / Dissertation

Mindful attention is qualitatively receptive and non-reactive, and is thought to facilitate adaptive emotional responding. Using a multi-method approach, I studied the relationship between individual differences in self-reported trait mindfulness and electrocortical, electromyographic, electrodermal, and self-reported responses to emotional pictures. Specifically, while subjects passively viewed IAPS pictures, electrocortical data, skin conductance, and also electromyographic data were recorded. Afterwards, subjects rated their subjective valence and arousal while viewing the pictures again. If trait mindfulness reduces general emotional responding, then responses from individuals with high mindfulness would be associated with decreased late positive potential amplitudes, decreased skin conductance response, and decreased subjective ratings of valence and arousal to emotional pictures. High mindfulness would also be associated with a decreased emotional modulation of startle eyeblink amplitudes and of startle P3 amplitudes during emotional pictures. Although analysis showed clear effects of emotion on dependent measures, in general, mindfulness did not moderate these effects.

Lifespan theories of emotion suggest that the ability to regulate emotion improves with age. The supporting evidence, however, is indirect: older adults pay less attention to negative events, remember less negative information, and report fewer experiences of negative emotion. Few studies directly measure emotion regulation by explicitly instructing older adults to modulate their feelings while exposed to emotion-evoking stimuli. The purpose of this thesis was to directly compare younger and older adults in their ability to modulate feelings to investigate whether aging results in decline, stability, or improvement in emotion regulation and also to examine potential mechanisms underlying regulation skills. The study employed a startle modulation paradigm to measure both emotional reactivity and regulation. Two experimental tasks (Stroop colour-word interference, reversal learning) were also administered to explore the relationship between emotion regulation and two theoretically-relevant processes: (a) cognitive control and (b) modification of learned emotional associations. There were three main findings: (1) emotional reactivity was preserved in older adults. Both age groups showed emotion-modulated startle (negative > neutral) during the pre-regulation viewing period; (2) age-related decline in emotion regulation was evident on an objective measure of emotion regulation (startle eyeblink reflex) but not on a subjective measure (self-ratings). Specifically, for older adults, startle eyeblink was not enhanced or attenuated following increase and decrease instructions, respectively. In contrast, both groups showed similar modulation of valence and arousal ratings by regulation instruction (increase > look > decrease); (3) for older adults, reversal learning performance correlated positively with the degree of reappraisal-related startle attenuation in the decrease condition, suggesting a possible mechanism for impaired down-regulation. These findings suggest that even when emotional reactivity is similar, older adults are less effective at modulating their physiological responses.

Obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21^st century, associated with a range of adverse physical, psychological, social and economic consequences. The aetiology of obesity is complex; however, the psychological factors associated with overweight and obesity remain poorly understood. The first paper critically appraises evidence for three of the most developed psychological theories of obesity. Based on these findings, literature from the fields of emotion regulation and attachment are reviewed, and a novel developmental theory of obesity based on an integration of these theoretical constructs is proposed. Recommendations for future research based on a theoretical framework of emotion regulation are made, and implications for clinical practice including a focus on enhancing caregiver sensitivity are highlighted. The second paper explores the applicability of an established cognitive model of Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and binge eating to an overweight and obese sample. Findings support the relevance of cognitive aspects of the model in an overweight and obese sample, and highlight the potential role of early attachment relationships in the formation of cognitions that make an individual vulnerable to overweight and obesity in later life. Theoretical and clinical implications based on the established cognitive model are considered. Limitations include reliance on self-report and the correlational nature of analyses used. Recommendations for future research with larger, more representative samples to address these limitations are made. Overall, this dissertation makes a unique contribution to the psychological understanding of overweight and obesity, which has the potential to enhance treatment outcomes and suggests useful avenues for further research.

This Thesis follows the portfolio format and a brief overview is given here. Chapter one is a systematic review of the literature on the relationship between emotion regulation, anxiety and depression in older adults. Chapter two is a research journal which explores the relationship between fear of falling and emotion regulation in community dwelling older adults. The systematic review is written up for publication in the Journal of Affective Disorders. The research article is written up for publication in Aging and Mental Health. Their respective style guidelines were followed. Purpose The aim of the thesis was to explore the relationship between emotion regulation and psychological distress in older adults. The aim of the systematic review was to explore the relationship between self-reported emotion regulation, anxiety and depression in older adults. The empirical study aimed to look at the relationship between fear of falling, a common type of psychological distress in older adults, and emotion regulation. It also aimed to look at the relationship between fear of falling related avoidance behaviour and emotion regulation. Methods The literature was systematically searched for research which has explored the relationship between emotion regulation, anxiety and depression in older adults. The papers which met the inclusion criteria were rated according to predetermined quality criteria. An overview of the results and implications were discussed. The empirical research used a cross-sectional design to examine the research hypothesis. Older adults completed self-report measures of emotion regulation, fear of falling, fear-related avoidance behaviour, anxiety and depression. Correlational analysis explored the relationship between the study variables. A linear regression model examined the unique contribution of emotion regulation to fear of falling after controlling for age, falls history, anxiety and depression. Results 12 studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review. The most prevalent relationship explored was that between rumination and depression with consistent evidence that higher levels of rumination were related to higher levels of depressive symptoms. Common methodological limitations were the lack of valid and reliable emotion regulation measures for older adults, non-random sampling, and failure to control for important confounding factors. Within the empirical research, a significant relationship between emotion regulation and fear of falling was found. There was also a significant relationship between emotion regulation and fear of falling avoidance behaviour. After controlling for age, number of falls, depression and anxiety, emotion regulation was no longer significantly associated with fear of falling. Depression was the only modifiable variable that retained a significant association to fear of falling.

Recent epidemiological data from the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) estimate significant lifetime prevalence rates for anxiety and mood disorders, suggesting nearly one in three people would meet diagnostic criteria for an anxiety and/or mood disorder at some point during their lifetime (NCS, 2007). Comorbidity research has also revealed that people often suffer from these disorders concurrently (Rodriguez et al., 2004). Many have argued that anxiety and mood disorders frequently co-occur because they share similar etiological factors (Barlow, 1991; Clark & Watson, 1991; Watson, 2005). Additional empirical research has suggested that depressive and anxiety disorders share similar genetic diatheses and merely present differently because of variation in environmental stressors (Hettema, Neale, & Kendler, 2001; Rutter Moffit, & Caspi, 2006). As a result, an investigation of shared emotion regulation and affective processes across anxiety and mood disorders may reveal parallel etiological factors and areas for intervention. Research examining emotion and affective dysregulation indicates that mood and anxiety pathology may be characterized by similar emotional control and understanding deficits (Amstadter, 2008; Bradley, 2000; Sandin et al., 1996). Models of emotion dysregulation suggest that individuals suffering from anxiety pathology report decreased understanding of emotions, higher reactivity and sensitivity to emotions, and poor emotional management and mood repair skills (Mennin et al., 2005). Similarly, studies have observed parallel difficulties in those with depression (Liverant, Brown, Barlow, & Roemer, 2008; Rude and McCarthy, 2003). Additionally, research has indicated that efforts to reappraise or suppress emotions may affect the intensity and valence of emotional experiences (Gross & John, 2004). The current study builds off this research by incorporating elements of previous models of emotion dysregulation and anxiety and mood pathology in an effort to develop a comprehensive model of affective process that may underlie both anxious and depressive symptomatology. A total of 526 undergraduate students participated in the present investigation by completing a series of self-report instruments measuring affect and psychopathology. Response patterns were analyzed using AMOS 4.0 in order to examine the structural relationships between negative affectivity, positive affectivity, emotion reappraisal, emotion suppression, negative emotional reactivity, and poor understanding of emotions. Initial tests of a single model of emotion dysregulation suggested that the development of two separate models best represented subject responses. As a result, distinct models for suppression and reappraisal were tested concurrently. Tests of model invariance revealed similar structural qualities across gender, ethnicity, and levels of general distress for both models. Following modification, final fit indices suggested good fit for the reappraisal model (CFI = .99, TLI = .99, RMSEA = .057); however, the suppression model did not appear similarly representative of subject response behavior (CFI = .89, TLI = .85, RMSEA = .073). Findings of the current study suggest that the use of emotional reappraisal may be associated with increased positive affective and decreased negative affective states. Further, attempts to reappraise emotional experiences may influence the relationships poor understanding of emotions and fear of strong affect demonstrated with negative and positive affect. Data support previously articulated psychotherapy treatment strategies (Beck, 1979; Barlow & Cerny, 1988; Linehan, 1993; Hayes, 2004), but also indicate that current cognitive behavioral therapies may benefit from heightened attention to emotions and the incorporation of affective regulation skill building strategies. Future research directions, study strengths and limitations, and additional implications of present results are included.