Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Cognitive Fusion, Self- And Other-Blame, And College Adjustment Outcomes, Olivia Tipton, Stephanie Weigel

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

A significant portion of college enrollees drop out of college before their degree is awarded, and college persistence is lower in students from challenging backgrounds. The college environment can bring increased academic workload, financial stress, and social stress for first-time enrollees. Several factors may contribute to difficulties in emotion regulation during this time, making it more difficult for college students to respond adaptively to novel stressors. Cognitive fusion is a concept proposed by acceptance and commitment therapy to describe a state in which one believes the literal content of their thoughts, even when those thoughts may be irrational or emotionally …

Maladaptive Perfectionism And Regulation Of Negative Affect After Failure: The Influences Of Self-Esteem And Mindfulness, Gregory Neil Friedman

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

The aim of the present study was to investigate the use of emotion regulation strategies among adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists and determine if there are differences. It proposed a model that maladaptive perfectionists experience heightened negative affect in response to their perceived deficiencies, and that both self-esteem and mindfulness contribute to emotion regulation strategy choice. A sample of 336 participants, ages 18 and older, completed online self-report measures related to perfectionism, self-esteem, mindfulness, current affect, and emotion regulation strategy choice, along with a manipulated failure task. Results showed that after a perceived failure, maladaptive perfectionists had lower odds of choosing …

Cognitive Fusion, Self And Other-Blame, And College Adjustment Outcomes, Olivia B. Tipton

Master's Theses

College students from socioeconomically challenging backgrounds are more likely to drop out of college before being awarded a bachelor’s degree. A challenging background predicts difficulties in emotion regulation, which may affect adjustment to college and, subsequently, persistence in college until a bachelor’s degree is awarded. Previous research has identified cognitive fusion, a state in which one unquestioningly believes the literal content of their thoughts, and inflexible usage of self and other-blame as predictors of negative social, psychological, and academic outcomes. The present study used self-report data collected from emerging adult college students at a small midwestern university to assess whether …

Exploring The Relationships Among Adhd, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, And Emotion Regulation, Anna S. Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the relationships among Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms and common comorbid struggles for clients, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) symptoms, and executive functions, especially emotion regulation. ADHD and GAD are prevalent mental health conditions, are commonly comorbid with each other, and are both correlated with relative deficits in executive functions. Executive functions comprise higher-order cognitive processes like planning, inhibition, initiation, and monitoring, as well as emotion regulation. Prior research established connections among ADHD symptoms, GAD symptoms, and emotion regulation but did not examine which specific facets of emotion regulation were most relevant. The current study aimed to …

Connections Between Polyvictimization, Daily Stress, Emotion Regulation, And Mental Health Symptoms: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study., Zoe L. Bridges-Curry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background and Objectives: Individuals who experience polyvictimization, or victimization across multiple life contexts, evidence particularly severe outcomes across a range of mental health diagnoses. Preliminary evidence suggests that emotion regulation difficulties and stress sensitization effects may help explain observed links between trauma exposure and mental health symptoms. However, the use of between-subjects designs to address within-subjects processes – a common approach across this literature – can result in erroneous interpretation of findings. Moreover, widespread reliance on retrospective trait measures of emotion regulation, daily stressors, and mental health symptoms have limited insight into the ways that these processes unfold in daily …

Internalizing Symptoms In Autistic Young Adults: Comparing The Cognitive And Physiological Components Of Emotion Regulation, Sarah Lehman

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Autistic people experience co-occurring mental illness at a substantially greater rate compared to their neurotypical counterparts. Of these comorbid psychopathologies, internalizing disorders (anxiety and depression) are among the most prevalent. Emotion dysregulation has been identified as a contributing factor to this phenomenon and potential treatment target. The current study employed cognitive (e.g., use of suppression and use of cognitive reappraisal) and physiological (e.g., respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and heart period) measures to more holistically capture the multifaceted construct of emotion regulation compared to prior research. In a sample of autistic young adults (N = 63) ages 17-29 (M = 20.14), …

Nightmares And Self-Injury Among High-Risk Adolescents: Examining The Role Of Emotion Regulation, Kinjal K. Patel

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) are a public health concern among youth. SITB rates rise drastically during adolescence -- a critical and sensitive developmental period characterized by dramatic changes in biological and social systems. Prior research has identified distal risk factors which tell us who is at risk for SITBs. Emerging research suggests proximal risk factors may be useful to identify when an individual may be at risk for SITBs. One promising proximal risk factor for SITBs is sleep problems. Although the relation between sleep problems and SITBs has been widely documented, little is known about the short-term, proximal links …

Emotion Regulation Tendencies Moderate Momentary Associations Between Sadness, Binge Urges, And Overeating, Jacoby D. Banet, Julia Nicholas, Taylor Penwell, Rowan Hunt, Cheri Levinson

The Cardinal Edge

Background: Eating disorders (EDs) are notably adverse, and previous research emphasizes that analysis of momentary triggers may be useful in determining the factors that maintain ED psychopathology. Negative affect (NA) is one momentary trigger of special interest in regard to binge eating tendencies. While current literature differs on the precise mechanisms by which NA maintains ED psychopathology, emotional regulation has been nevertheless implicated in encouraging binge eating behaviors. The present study explores correlations among sadness, binge urges, and overeating, and assesses emotional avoidance and emotional awareness as potential moderators of these relationships. Method: Participants (N = 34) with moderate …

Think Again: The Role Of Reappraisal In Reducing Negative Valence Bias, Maital Neta, Nicholas R. Harp, Tien T. Tong, Claudia J. Clinchard, Catherine C. Brown, James J. Gross, Andero Uusberg

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Stimuli such as surprised faces are ambiguous in that they are associated with both positive and negative outcomes. Interestingly, people differ reliably in whether they evaluate these and other ambiguous stimuli as positive or negative, and we have argued that a positive evaluation relies in part on a biasing of the appraisal processes via reappraisal. To further test this idea, we conducted two studies to evaluate whether increasing the cognitive accessibility of reappraisal through a brief emotion regulation task would lead to an increase in positive evaluations of ambiguity. Supporting this prediction, we demonstrated that cuing reappraisal, but not in …

Risky Behavior As Motivated Emotion Regulation: A Mixed-Method Approach, Lyneé A. Herrera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Engaging in risky health behaviors is a ubiquitous human experience that often marks developmental progression from adolescence into adulthood. While much previous research has framed risky behaviors in terms of negative legal, social, and public health consequences, less empirical work has been done on potential benefits of their engagement. A growing body of research has identified emotion regulation deficits as a significant driver of risky behavior engagement, suggesting that these behaviors may offer perceived emotional benefits when other regulation strategies are less accessible. Previous research has shown that emotional outcomes can be influenced by the regulation strategies one chooses to …

The Impact Of Beliefs About Emotions On Emotion Regulation & Psychological Health, Sarah Brock

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examined the effects of different beliefs about emotions (controllability vs. control value) on emotion regulation strategies and psychological health, specifically depression. Little research has examined how different types of beliefs about emotions may interact to impact the emotion regulation strategies they implement, whether that be cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, or acceptance. Online questionnaires measuring beliefs about emotion controllability, emotion control values (i.e., whether emotions should be controlled), emotion regulation, psychological health, and coping strategies were completed by 164 participants (117 females; 42 males; 4 non-binary). The participants ranged from 18 to 33 years old. The study found evidence …

Affect, Mind-Body Factors, And Disordered And Intuitive Eating Behaviors: Examining Naturalistic Associations Among Young Women With Elevated Eating Disorder Symptoms, Kelly A. Romano

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Objective: The present study examined whether three mind-body factors—emotion dysregulation, interoceptive sensibility, and mindfulness—that are theorized to be implicated in the onset and maintenance of eating disorder (ED) pathology mediated (Aim 1) and moderated (Aim 2) within-person associations between affect and women with elevated ED symptoms’ disordered and intuitive eating behavior use. Method: Participants included 150 young women with elevated ED symptoms who completed a 10-day ecological momentary assessment protocol. To address Aim 1, multilevel structural equation models examined whether the mindbody factors (separately) mediated momentary associations between negative and positive affect, and women’s disordered (dietary restriction, loss of control …

Temporal Relevance Of Parent Qualities And Behaviors For Predicting Young Adults’ Emotion Regulation And Romantic Relationships, Saleena Wilson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The present study sought to compare the utility of adolescents’ parental relationship qualities and behaviors for predicting young adult emotion regulation as well as the mediating role of emotion regulation in the intergenerational transmission of relationship qualities and behaviors. Early adolescence is characterized by the emergence of new emotions, responsibilities, and budding romantic relationships. Parental relationships with positive qualities may provide a safe environment for teens to explore these unfamiliar experiences. In late adolescence, teens depend less on this secure base but benefit from the utilization of specific relationship behaviors, modeled to them by their parents, in increasingly important …

College Student Depression Throughout Covid-19: Fall 2019-Spring 2022, Matthew Powless, Zachary Pilot, Valentin Bouvier, Elisabeth Brown, Mikaila Ealum, Lakota Iron Rope

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The current study examined the trends in depression and emotion regulation for students (n = 899) at one university in the Midwest United States from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (Fall 2019) through the Spring 2022 semester. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted, controlling for difficulties in emotion regulation and gender identity. The ANCOVA indicated that depression was significantly lower in Fall 2019 than in the remaining five semesters under investigation. Results of these analyses appear to indicate that depression rose significantly in students after the onset of the pandemic and implementation of social restrictions. This negative effect …

Parents’ Adverse Childhood Experiences In Relation To Parent-Child Emotion Socialization, Emily Thompson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

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 …

The Impact Of Social Participation And Attachment Styles On Mentalizing And Emotion Regulation In Adults Living In The United States, Maria Poston

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

Prior studies have shown that attachment styles interact with social inclusion to impact belonging, self-esteem, control, sense of meaning, and positive mood. No studies have investigated how the interaction of attachment and social participation impacts selfregulatory mechanisms. The main goal of this study was to address this gap and investigate how the interaction of different social participation conditions (ostracism, overinclusion, inclusion) and attachment styles impact two regulatory mechanisms, specifically, mentalizing capacities and emotion regulation. Adult participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. This was the first study to demonstrate that ostracism and inclusion influence the relationship between attachment style and …

The Effects Of Music On Emotion Regulation And Stress In Test Performance, Jorge Eduardo Alvarenga

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of music on stress and emotion regulation and whether the emotional valence of the music attended to would result in differences in the resulting stress and emotion dysregulation experienced by individuals. A sample of 181 college students, ages 18-50 were recruited via posted flyers and a digital portal for students to volunteer in studies in exchange for class credit and were then randomly assigned to one of two music conditions (music with positive or negative emotional valence). The sample completed a number of self-report measures related to positive and …

Parental Affect Profiles Predict Child Emotion Regulation And Classroom Adjustment In Families Experiencing Homelessness, Madelyn H. Labella, Rebecca Distefano, Jillian S. Merrick, Jyothi L. Ramakrishnan, Eric L. Thibodeau, Ann S. Masten

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Parenting shapes the development of emotion regulation skills in early childhood, laying a key foundation for social-emotional adjustment. Unfortunately, high adversity exposure may disrupt parental emotion socialization practices and children's regulatory development. The current study used variable- and person-centered approaches to evaluate links among parental emotion expressiveness, children's observed emotion regulation, and teacher-reported adjustment among 214 4- to 6-year-old children experiencing homelessness, an indicator of high cumulative risk and acute adversity. Structured parent-child interaction tasks were recorded on site in emergency shelters over the summer and micro-socially coded for parent and child expressions of anger, positive affect, and internalizing distress. …

Differences Among Perpetrators Of Intimate Partner Violence Utilizing Proactive Versus Reactive Aggression, Gabriela Ontiveros, Arturo L. Cantos, K. Daniel O'Leary

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research aimed to categorize perpetrator’s aggression as reactive or proactive regarding intimate partner violence and explore the relationship with relevant variables. Victim statements in police reports of 60 predominantly Hispanic male adult perpetrators on probation in South Texas were rated, categorizing statements as reactive or proactive. It was hypothesized that more men would display reactive aggression and it would be associated with severe violence, emotion regulation difficulties, state anger, and impulsivity. The study further suggested that emotion regulation, state anger, and impulsivity would moderate the relationship between severity of violence and reactive/proactive classification, and impulsivity would mediate the relationship …

The Effects Of A Six-Week Mindfulness Intervention Designed For Adolescents On Emotion Regulation And Perceived Stress In College Students, Theodora Malinowski

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

College students are a vulnerable population to developing mental health problems. Without adequate emotion regulation abilities and adaptive coping skills to manage stress, college students are at risk of experiencing negative mental and physical health outcomes. Mindfulness has been shown to improve mental and physical health. Unfortunately, many mindfulness interventions are developed with the needs of adults in mind. Some features of common mindfulness programs, such as cost and required length of daily practice, make the interventions difficult for most college students to access. The present study investigated the effects of a six-week mindfulness intervention (Learning to BREATHE) that was …

Early Adversity, Emotion Regulation, Object Relational Functioning, And The Moderating Effect Of Gender Identity: A Community Sample Study, Victoria Schilder

Dissertations and Theses

Introduction: Clinical and social psychological literature have long demonstrated group status, culture, and social support as equally integral and influential factors which contribute directly both to the quality of one’s lived experience, and to the development and experience of one’s sense of identity or selfness. For example, acceptable norms regarding behavior, dress, and emotional experience – particularly when an individual does not live up to societal standards – have been demonstrated to contribute to deleterious internalizations surrounding self-confidence, self-worth, and self-esteem. More specifically, the social and cultural implications of being identified as “female” versus “male” have been found to be …

The Influence Of Early Childhood Parental Feeding Behaviors On Self-Regulation & Food Decision-Making In Young Adults, Natasha Singareddy

CMC Senior Theses

This study used data from a diverse set of undergraduates from the Claremont Colleges to examine the relationship between cognitive control (impulsivity and response inhibition) and self-regulatory ability as an indicator of sustained early childhood parental feeding behaviors in adulthood. In addition, the current study explored if early childhood parental feeding behaviors predicted food decision-making in adulthood as a result of perceived taste and nutritional value of food items. It was hypothesized that heightened impulsivity and impaired response inhibition as measures of cognitive control would correlate to poorer self-regulation, in turn reflecting a particular mode of early childhood parental feeding …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Pcit-Toddler, Circle Of Security, And Waitlist Controls To Improve Child And Caregiver Emotion Regulation, Robin Choi Han

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Emotion regulation is an important developmental task during toddlerhood that is associated with positive psychosocial outcomes (Zeman et al., 2006). The development of adaptive emotion regulation during early childhood occurs largely within the context of a supportive caregiver-child relationship (Morris et al., 2007). Thus, parent-mediated interventions are a promising medium through which emotion regulation problems in toddlers can be treated. However, few interventions specifically designed to treat behavioral and emotion regulation difficulties are available for children in the toddler age range, and these interventions have yet to establish a solid evidence base supporting their efficacy. To fill this gap in …

Silver Linings Playlist: Exploring The Effectiveness Of Music As An Emotion Regulation Tool, Caitlin Fountain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music not only entertains listeners, but it also evokes emotions and facilitates emotion regulation (Gabrielsson, 2001; Krahe & Bienick, 2012). Specifically, music helps listeners to express their emotions and alter their mood through cognitive reappraisal (Chin & Rickard, 2014; Witvliet & Vrana, 2007). Listening to music also enhances relaxation and reduces physiological arousal after experiencing a stressful event (Yehuda, 2011). Stress often involves an influx of negative emotions, which when left unmitigated, may result in fewer positive emotions, increased depression, and maladaptive coping (Flynn & Rudolph, 2010; Lazenby et al., 2019). While music appears to be an effective stress management …

The Conditional Effects Of Emotion Regulation On The Relationship Between Occupational Stress And Suicidal Behaviors In Veterinary Students, Sara Carroll Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Suicide is an area of increasing concern in the field of veterinary medicine. As veterinary students prepare to enter the profession and take on the unique stressors associated with this line of work, there is a need for models that identify protective factors for suicidal behaviors. Specifically, research is needed to identify factors that offset the relationship between occupational stress and suicidal behaviors. To better inform interventions designed to prevent suicidal behaviors in veterinary students, emotion upregulation and downregulation strategies were evaluated as potential moderators in the relationship between occupational stress and suicidal behaviors in a sample of veterinary students. …

Childhood Bullying Victimization, Emotion Regulation, Rumination, Distress Tolerance, And Depressive Symptoms: A Cross-National Examination Among Young Adults In Seven Countries, Madelyn H. Labella, Neelamberi D. Klein, Georgina Yeboah, Claire Bailey, Ashley N. Doane, Debra Kaminer, Adrian J. Bravo, Cross-Cultural Addictions Study Team

Psychology Faculty Publications

Existing research suggests a robust association between childhood bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in adulthood, but less is known about potential mediators of this link. Furthermore, there is limited cross-national research evaluating similarities and differences in bullying victimization and its associations with mental health. The current study addressed gaps in the literature by evaluating cognitive and affective responses to stress (i.e., emotion regulation, rumination, and distress tolerance) as potential mediators of the link between recalled bullying victimization and current depressive symptoms among 5909 (70.6% female) college students from seven countries. Results revealed specific indirect associations of bullying victimization through distress …

Facial Expression Recognition Deficits In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Zachary Friedman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are an umbrella term for lifelong neurobehavioral disorders characterized by a set of social (verbal and nonverbal) communication challenges and behaviors and restricted, repetitive behaviors. Emotions serve many functions, but primarily they help with the appraisal of stimuli and driving of responses. Emotional processing and facial recognition are integral abilities that influence the acquisition of social skills. For individuals with ASD, it is hypothesized that facial recognition deficits contribute to social communication traits. The bulk of previously conducted research has utilized static images of facial expressions. This study utilized videos of spontaneous expressions. Participants were tasked …

The Influence Of Emotion Regulation And Family Involvement On Diabetes Distress Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Patric J. Leukel, Sophie R. Kollin, Bianca R. Lewis, Aaron A. Lee

Faculty and Student Publications

Adults with diabetes frequently experience diabetes related distress, which is associated with negative health outcomes. Family members are commonly involved in patients’ diabetes self-management. However, family involvement can have helpful and/or harmful effects on patients’ diabetes outcomes. Use of interpersonal strategies to regulate negative emotions may play a role in patients’ interactions with family members and experience of diabetes distress. This study examined the influences of interpersonal emotion regulation and family and friend involvement on diabetes distress among 373 adults with type 2 diabetes. Two separate three-step sequential linear regression models were used to test the main and interactive effects …

The Role Of Facial Emotion Recognition Abilities In Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration, Margot Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

Interpreting facial affects is a key aspect in everyday human interaction and intimate partner relationships. Being unable to accurately recognize facial expressions may prompt an inappropriate reaction from the viewer. Limited literature suggests perpetrators of intimate partner violence are less able to accurately recognize facial expressions. The previous body of literature regarding facial affect recognition (FAR) abilities in intimate partner violence failed to take into account the role empathy and emotion regulation play in the relationship between intimate partner violence and FAR abilities. In addition, prior studies investigated these differences in primarily White Non-Hispanic individuals limiting the generalizability of their …

Self-Regulation In Young School-Aged Children With Williams Syndrome., Holley Arnold

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation included two manuscripts which broadly focused on the self-regulation abilities of young school-aged children with Williams syndrome (WS), a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. Children with WS often exhibit mild to moderate intellectual disability (Kozel et al., 2021), impairments in behavioral and emotional regulation (Greiner de Magalhães et al., 2022), low effortful control (Leyfer et al., 2012), and deficits in adaptive skills (Brawn & Porter, 2018). In the first manuscript, the performance of children with WS on a gift-wrap delay of gratification task was characterized. In the second manuscript, the concurrent effects of the ability to regulate emotions, the ability …