Recent models of adolescent development and psychopathology emphasize the importance of the social regulation of emotion during adolescence (Allen & Manning, 2007; Allen & Miga, 2010), and emotion regulation as a mediating factor between multiple aspects of adolescent development and adolescent adjustment (Morris, Silk, Steinberg, Myers, & Robinson, 2007). The present dissertation investigated these two phenomena in two separate studies of adolescent development, emotion regulation, and psychological adjustment. In study one, a new measure of adolescent social regulation of emotion – the Managing Distress Interpersonally Scale, or MANDI – showed good internal consistency, test-retest reliability and factor structure across two samples (217 college students in sample one and 63 community adolescents in sample two). The MANDI also showed good convergent and discriminant validity in its relations with independent assessments of adolescent emotion regulation, relationship functioning, psychological functioning, and physiological regulation of emotion. In study two, 64 community adolescents completed self-report, interview, and physiological procedures (salivary cortisol and respiratory sinus arrhythmia), while one of their parents also completed survey measures. Emotion regulation was found to mediate the developmental context and adolescent depressive symptoms, alcohol problems, and peer aggression. Findings are discussed in terms of the utility of intervening at the level of emotion regulation for adolescents displaying difficulty with internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Parents remain to be effective in adolescents&rsquo / emotional development. However, emotion socialization research is fundamentally based on studies conducted in infancy through middle childhood, but late childhood and adolescence have been largely ignored. Therefore, the current study aimed to make contribution to the current literature investigating factors associated with adolescents&rsquo / emotion regulation difficulties. As the first part of the study psychometric properties of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) were examined among Turkish adolescent sample. A total of 312 high school students (161 females and 141 males) whose ages ranged between 14 and 17 years participated in the study and findings indicated strong evidence for the utility of the DERS as a measure of emotion regulation difficulties in adolescents. The main study consists of three different purposes. First, discrepancies between mothers&rsquo / and adolescents&rsquo / reports on adolescents&rsquo / emotion regulation difficulties were examined. Second, factors associated with adolescents&rsquo / emotion regulation difficulties such as mothers&rsquo / emotion regulation, psychopathology, and personality traits, maternal rearing behaviors, and adolescents&rsquo / personality traits were explored. Lastly, mediating roles of emotion regulation difficulties on the relationship between adolescents&rsquo / perception of their mothers&rsquo / maternal rearing behaviors and their psychological problems were examined. Participants of this research were 595 first-grade high school students aged between 14 and 16 years, and 365 mothers from eight different high schools in Ankara. Data was collected from both adolescents and their mothers through questionnaire packets. Adolescents&rsquo / questionnaire set consisted of scales measuring emotion regulation difficulties (DERS), positive and negative affect scale (PANAS), maternal rearing behaviors (EMBU), basic personality traits (Big Five), and adolescents&rsquo / externalizing (SDQ) and internalizing symptoms (CDI). Similarly, mothers&rsquo / questionnaire set consisted of scales measuring emotion regulation difficulties (DERS), children&rsquo / s emotion regulation (DERS), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), maternal rearing behaviors (EMBU), and basic personality traits (Big-Five). The results indicated that adolescents, both boys and girls, reported higher levels of difficulties in emotion regulation for themselves as compared to reports of mothers for their children. As expected, adolescents&rsquo / basic personality traits were significantly associated with their emotion regulation difficulties even after controlling the effects of socio-demographic variables, mothers&rsquo / emotion regulation, psychological symptoms and their maternal rearing behaviors. Finally, mediation analyses indicated that the link between perceived maternal rearing behaviors and adolescents&rsquo / psychological problems occurs through emotion regulation difficulties of adolescents. Findings were discussed within the relevant literature.

Il progetto di ricerca indaga la regolazione emotiva analizzando le interazioni complesse tra strategie di regolazione dell'individuo e variabili proprie dello stimolo elicitante. A tale scopo, il progetto si struttura in tre studi. Nello Studio 1, una batteria di questionari per la valutazione di strategie stabili di regolazione e coping è stata somministrata ad un campione di 198 studenti infermieri che partecipavano allo Studio 3 e ad un gruppo di controllo di 416 studenti universitari. Lo studio presenta inoltre una validazione preliminare dell'Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in lingua italiana. Lo Studio 2 riguarda la misurazione dell'impatto emotivo di stimoli elicitanti: una batteria di filmati emotivi è stata costruita attraverso la manipolazione di due dimensioni di appraisal emotivo e somministrata a 420 studenti universitari a cui era chiesto di valutare la propria esperienza emotiva. Infine, nello Studio 3, uno stesso filmato di chirurgia ma incorporato all'interno di contesti diversi (costituiti dai filmati testati nello studio 2) è stato sottoposto a 163 studenti infermieri allo scopo di analizzare gli effetti a breve termine di due strategie di rivalutazione cognitiva quando l'individuo affronta un evento ad alto impatto emotivo contestualizzato. Ai partecipanti era chiesto di osservare gli eventi cercando di immedesimarsi o di distanziarsi. Lo studio analizza le risposte emotive in tre sistemi di risposta emotiva: fisiologico, comportamentale ed esperienziale. / The present research program investigated emotion regulation analyzing the complex interaction between variables concerning individual regulatory strategies and variables concerning the eliciting stimulus. To this purpose, the research program was structured into three studies. In Study 1, a set of questionnaires assessing individual stable emotion regulation and coping strategies was administered to a sample of 198 nursing students who participated to Study 3 and to a control sample of 416 undergraduate students. A preliminary Italian validation of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) was conducted. Study 2 aimed at measuring the emotional impact of eliciting stimuli: a set of emotion-generating films were constructed according to the manipulation of appraisal criteria and administered to 420 undergraduate students who were asked to rate their emotional experience. In Study 3, 163 nursing students watched the same surgery clip included within different contextual scenarios provided by the film stimuli tested in Study 2. The main goal was the investigation of the short-terms outcomes of two types of reappraisal when the individual is confronted with a contextualized high-impact emotional event: to this purpose, participants were asked to adopt a detached vs. immersed point of view. Three systems of emotional response were analyzed as indicated by emotion literature: behavioural, physiological and experiential.

The current study examined relations between temperamental reactivity at 6 months and social competence in first grade, including if emotion regulation at 54 months played a role as mediator and/or moderator between temperamental reactivity and social competence in first grade. Previous studies have shown that children who are high on temperamental reactivity early on will have poorer social competence in the future (Houck, 1999). This study explored how emotion regulation might mediate this relationship as well as how emotion regulation may serve as a protective factor (e.g., moderator) for those with higher temperamental reactivity. Important background characteristics of child gender and ethnicity, mother's education, and income-to-needs ratio were controlled for. Results indicated that temperamental reactivity at 6 months did not play a significant role in social competence in first grade, nor on emotion regulation at 54 months. Emotion regulation at 54 months was also found to be neither a mediator nor a moderator between this relationship between temperamental reactivity and social competence. The only significant relationship that was found was that between emotion regulation at 54 months and social competence in first grade, which aligns with previous research. / Graduation date: 2013

The daughters of women with a history of depression are at heightened risk for a range of mental health problems. The present study investigated emotion regulation, cortisol reactivity to stress, and interpersonal competence as potential indicators of risk in adolescent girls at high versus low risk for depression. Participants were a community sample of 47 girls and their mothers (27 high risk and 20 low risk). Mothers and daughters had been interviewed to assess diagnostic history as part of a previous longitudinal study. In the current study, daughters completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) and cortisol samples were collected before and after exposure to this psychosocial stressor. Both mothers and daughters completed self-report questionnaires and daughters were re-assessed using the Depressive Disorders module of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. High risk mothers were also interviewed to assess the timing and chronicity of their depressive episodes during their daughters’ lifetime. High and low risk girls had equivalent ratings of self-reported stress following the TSST-C, but different physiological responses. Girls at high risk for depression showed a blunted cortisol response to the TSST-C whereas low risk girls showed a normal cortisol response. High risk status for depression predicted a blunted cortisol response to stress, which predicted difficulties with emotion regulation; difficulties with emotion regulation in turn predicted a greater number of self-reported depressive symptoms. These results suggest that maternal depression may act as a stressor that compromises stress-response system functioning in daughters and produces related difficulties with emotion regulation.

Syftet var att undersöka om exponering inför emotionella röster påverkar muskelanspänning och hjärtats slagfrekvens samt om det finns en samvariation mellan storlek eller längd på muskelanspänning vid aversiv emotionell input och grad av alexitymi. 24 studenter lyssnade på arga, glada och neutrala röster samtidigt som muskelanspänning mättes med EMG och hjärtats slagfrekvens med EKG. Grad av alexitymi mättes med Toronto Alexithymia Scale 20. Resultaten visade att arg eller glad röststimuli gav större muskelanspänningen än neutralröststimuli. Ingen skillnad i muskelanspänning fanns mellan arg eller glad röst. Det fanns inget samband mellan storlek eller längd på muskelanspänning och grad av alexitymi. / The object was to investigate whether exposure to emotionally valid voices, affect muscle tension and heart rate, and if there is a correlation between size or length of muscle tension during aversive emotional input and degree of Alexithymia. 24 students listened to angry, happy and neutral voices while muscle tension was measured by EMG and heart rate by EKG. Degree of Alexithymia was measured by Toronto Alexithymia Scale 20. The results showed that angry or happy voice stimuli caused higher muscle tension than neutral voice stimuli. No difference in muscle tension was shown between angry and happy voice. There was no correlation between size or length of muscle tension and degree of Alexithymia.

A growing body of literature is focusing on the influence of personality and emotion regulation on psychological health. Using archival data from an expressive writing project, the current study investigated the relationship between perfectionistic self-presentation and emotion regulation, and the influence of the interaction of these variables on psychological health among trauma survivors. The results indicate that both perfectionistic self-presentation and more difficulties in emotion regulation contribute to symptoms of distress. As well, higher levels of perfectionistic self-presentation were associated with more difficulties in emotion regulation. Further, emotion regulation mediated the relationship between perfectionistic self-presentation and psychological distress but not common physical complaints. More specifically, the non-acceptance subscale of emotion regulation was found to be significant in a test of multiple mediator model.

Expressive Writing (EW) involves asking participants to write emotionally about stressful life events and has been associated with improvements in psychological and physical health. The purpose of the current study was to extend previous work by examining the moderating and mediating role of emotion regulation within the EW intervention. Sixty participants who had experienced a traumatic event were recruited from the community and were assigned to an EW or control writing condition. Measures assessing emotion regulation and indices of psychological and physical health were administered at baseline and one month follow-up to determine changes in symptomatology. In comparison to control writing, EW led to significant improvements in depression, emotional clarity, and to a lesser degree emotional awareness. Although no other group differences were found, all participants demonstrated significant improvements in their symptoms of posttraumatic stress, reported physical health, overall emotion regulation abilities, their ability to accept their emotions, engage in goal directed behaviour when distressed, and access emotion regulation strategies they perceive as effective. No support was found for our moderation hypothesis. However, a significant moderation was discovered revealing that difficulties engaging in goal directed behaviour when distressed moderated improvements in posttraumatic stress symptoms. Specifically, control participants with this emotion regulation deficit demonstrated significantly poorer outcomes than control participants without this deficit; in comparison to the EW group participants who improved similarly on posttraumatic stress symptoms regardless of their level of difficulties at baseline engaging in goal directed behavour when distressed. Additionally, baseline emotion regulation abilities predicted improvements on psychological health (but not physical health) outcome measures for both groups. No support was found for our mediation hypothesis. Exploratory analyses revealed that the EW group demonstrated greater emotional arousal in response to their writing in sessions 1 and 2, but that by session 3 their arousal had significantly decreased and was equivalent to that of the control group, which showed no changes in arousal across sessions. No support was found for the moderating or mediating influence of arousal on outcome. Results will be discussed within a model of emotional expression and emotion regulation and compared to the existing EW literature.

Expressive Writing (EW) involves asking participants to write emotionally about stressful life events and has been associated with improvements in psychological and physical health. The purpose of the current study was to extend previous work by examining the moderating and mediating role of emotion regulation within the EW intervention. Sixty participants who had experienced a traumatic event were recruited from the community and were assigned to an EW or control writing condition. Measures assessing emotion regulation and indices of psychological and physical health were administered at baseline and one month follow-up to determine changes in symptomatology. In comparison to control writing, EW led to significant improvements in depression, emotional clarity, and to a lesser degree emotional awareness. Although no other group differences were found, all participants demonstrated significant improvements in their symptoms of posttraumatic stress, reported physical health, overall emotion regulation abilities, their ability to accept their emotions, engage in goal directed behaviour when distressed, and access emotion regulation strategies they perceive as effective. No support was found for our moderation hypothesis. However, a significant moderation was discovered revealing that difficulties engaging in goal directed behaviour when distressed moderated improvements in posttraumatic stress symptoms. Specifically, control participants with this emotion regulation deficit demonstrated significantly poorer outcomes than control participants without this deficit; in comparison to the EW group participants who improved similarly on posttraumatic stress symptoms regardless of their level of difficulties at baseline engaging in goal directed behavour when distressed. Additionally, baseline emotion regulation abilities predicted improvements on psychological health (but not physical health) outcome measures for both groups. No support was found for our mediation hypothesis. Exploratory analyses revealed that the EW group demonstrated greater emotional arousal in response to their writing in sessions 1 and 2, but that by session 3 their arousal had significantly decreased and was equivalent to that of the control group, which showed no changes in arousal across sessions. No support was found for the moderating or mediating influence of arousal on outcome. Results will be discussed within a model of emotional expression and emotion regulation and compared to the existing EW literature.

The daughters of women with a history of depression are at heightened risk for a range of mental health problems. The present study investigated emotion regulation, cortisol reactivity to stress, and interpersonal competence as potential indicators of risk in adolescent girls at high versus low risk for depression. Participants were a community sample of 47 girls and their mothers (27 high risk and 20 low risk). Mothers and daughters had been interviewed to assess diagnostic history as part of a previous longitudinal study. In the current study, daughters completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) and cortisol samples were collected before and after exposure to this psychosocial stressor. Both mothers and daughters completed self-report questionnaires and daughters were re-assessed using the Depressive Disorders module of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. High risk mothers were also interviewed to assess the timing and chronicity of their depressive episodes during their daughters’ lifetime. High and low risk girls had equivalent ratings of self-reported stress following the TSST-C, but different physiological responses. Girls at high risk for depression showed a blunted cortisol response to the TSST-C whereas low risk girls showed a normal cortisol response. High risk status for depression predicted a blunted cortisol response to stress, which predicted difficulties with emotion regulation; difficulties with emotion regulation in turn predicted a greater number of self-reported depressive symptoms. These results suggest that maternal depression may act as a stressor that compromises stress-response system functioning in daughters and produces related difficulties with emotion regulation.