Intraindividual relations between the intensity and disclosure of daily emotional events: The moderating role of depressive symptoms.

Individuals with high levels of depressive symptoms tend to engage in lower levels of emotional disclosure than individuals who are lower in depressive symptoms. However, little is known about how depressive symptoms relate to the intraindividual relation between daily disclosure and the intensity of the daily events. The authors addressed these relations using a daily diary methodology. College students (N = 239) completed a measure of depression symptoms. They then completed measures of the intensity of the day’s most unpleasant event and their disclosure of that event each day for 7 days. Results indicated that depression moderated the intensity–disclosure relation such that depression symptoms were associated with diminished emotional disclosure for high-intensity events but not for low-intensity events. Individuals with relatively higher levels of depressive symptoms also experienced unpleasant daily events at a higher intensity level than did individuals with relatively fewer symptoms. Sex differences emerged such that men were less likely than women to disclose high-intensity negative events. These findings extend the use of the diary methodology to the study of emotional disclosure and also suggest possible interventions for counseling psychology practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time course of processing emotional stimuli as a function of perceived emotional intelligence, anxiety, and depression.

An individual's self-reported abilities to attend to, understand, and reinterpret emotional situations or events have been associated with anxiety and depression, but it is unclear how these abilities affect the processing of emotional stimuli, especially in individuals with these symptoms. The present study recorded event-related brain potentials while individuals reporting features of anxiety and depression completed an emotion-word Stroop task. Results indicated that anxious apprehension, anxious arousal, and depression were associated with self-reported emotion abilities, consistent with prior literature. In addition, lower anxious apprehension and greater reported emotional clarity were related to slower processing of negative stimuli indexed by event-related potentials (ERPs). Higher anxious arousal and reported attention to emotion were associated with ERP evidence of early attention to all stimuli regardless of emotional content. Reduced later engagement with stimuli was also associated with anxious arousal and with clarity of emotions. Depression was not differentially associated with any emotion processing stage indexed by ERPs. Research in this area may lead to the development of therapies that focus on minimization of anxiety to foster successful emotion regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Written Emotional Disclosure Buffers the Effects of Social Constraints on Distress Among Cancer Patients.

The aims of the present study were to examine whether written emotional disclosure would reduce distress among cancer patients and whether it would buffer the effects of high levels of social constraint (negative social responses to patients' expressions of emotion regarding their cancer) on distress. Cancer patients (N=104) were randomly assigned to write about their emotions regarding their cancer 20 min a day for 3 days or to write about a nonemotional topic. They completed questionnaires at baseline and 6 months postintervention. Results showed that written disclosure buffered the effects of social constraints on stress at the 6-month follow-up and that avoidance partly mediated these effects. The present data reinforce the notion that interventions should be tailored to patients' needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autobiographical memory phenomenology and content mediate attachment style and psychological distress.

In 2 studies, the present research tested the phenomenology and content of autobiographical memory as distinct mediators between attachment avoidance and anxiety and depressive symptoms. In Study 1, participants (N = 454) completed measures of attachment and depressive symptoms in 1 session and retrieved and rated 2 self-defining memories of romantic relationships in a separate session. In Study 2, participants (N = 534) were primed with attachment security, attachment insecurity, or a control prime and then retrieved and rated a self-defining relationship memory. Memory phenomenology, specifically memory coherence and emotional intensity, mediated the association between attachment avoidance and depressive symptoms, whereas the negative affective content of the memory mediated the association between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms. Priming attachment security led to retrieval of a more coherent relationship memory, whereas insecurity led to the retrieval of a more incoherent relationship memory. Discussion focuses on the construction and recollection of memories as underlying mechanisms of adult attachment and psychological distress, the importance of memory coherence, and the implications for counseling research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an established program shown to reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. MBSR is believed to alter emotional responding by modifying cognitive–affective processes. Given that social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by emotional and attentional biases as well as distorted negative self-beliefs, we examined MBSR-related changes in the brain–behavior indices of emotional reactivity and regulation of negative self-beliefs in patients with SAD. Sixteen patients underwent functional MRI while reacting to negative self-beliefs and while regulating negative emotions using 2 types of attention deployment emotion regulation—breath-focused attention and distraction-focused attention. Post-MBSR, 14 patients completed neuroimaging assessments. Compared with baseline, MBSR completers showed improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms and self-esteem. During the breath-focused attention task (but not the distraction-focused attention task), they also showed (a) decreased negative emotion experience, (b) reduced amygdala activity, and (c) increased activity in brain regions implicated in attentional deployment. MBSR training in patients with SAD may reduce emotional reactivity while enhancing emotion regulation. These changes might facilitate reduction in SAD-related avoidance behaviors, clinical symptoms, and automatic emotional reactivity to negative self-beliefs in adults with SAD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult Attachment, Social Self-Efficacy, Self-Disclosure, Loneliness, and Subsequent Depression for Freshman College Students: A Longitudinal Study.

This longitudinal study examined whether social self-efficacy and self-disclosure serve as mediators between attachment and feelings of loneliness and subsequent depression. Participants were 308 freshmen at a large Midwestern university. Results indicated that social self-efficacy mediated the association between attachment anxiety and feelings of loneliness and subsequent depression, whereas self-disclosure mediated the association between attachment avoidance and feelings of loneliness and subsequent depression. These relationships were found after controlling for the initial level of depression. A total of 55% of the variance in loneliness was explained by attachment anxiety, social self-efficacy, and self-disclosure, whereas 42% of the variance in subsequent depression was explained by the initial level of loneliness and depression. Implications of the findings for enhancing freshman adjustment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Context matters: The benefits and costs of expressing positive emotion among survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Positive emotions promote adjustment to aversive life events. However, evolutionary theory and empirical research on trauma disclosure suggest that in the context of stigmatized events, expressing positive emotions might incur social costs. To test this thesis, the authors coded genuine (Duchenne) smiling and laughter and also non-Duchenne smiling from videotapes of late-adolescent and young adult women, approximately half with documented histories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), as they described the most distressing event of their lives. Consistent with previous studies, genuine positive emotional expression was generally associated with better social adjustment two years later. However, as anticipated, CSA survivors who expressed positive emotion in the context of describing a past CSA experience had poorer long-term social adjustment, whereas CSA survivors who expressed positive emotion while describing a nonabuse experience had improved social adjustment. These findings suggest that the benefits of positive emotional expression may often be context specific. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working memory capacity and the self-regulation of emotional expression and experience.

This research examined the relationship between individual differences in working memory capacity and the self-regulation of emotional expression and emotional experience. Four studies revealed that people higher in working memory capacity suppressed expressions of negative emotion (Study 1) and positive emotion (Study 2) better than did people lower in working memory capacity. Furthermore, compared to people lower in working memory capacity, people higher in capacity more capably appraised emotional stimuli in an unemotional manner and thereby experienced (Studies 3 and 4) and expressed (Study 4) less emotion in response to those stimuli. These findings indicate that cognitive ability contributes to the control of emotional responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of written emotional expression: The role of positive expectancies.

Objective: Writing in an emotional way about stressful or traumatic experiences has beneficial effects on emotional well-being and physical health. Yet the mechanisms that underlie these effects still need to be explored. Integrating research on the effects of positive expectancies, the authors suggest that positive effects of written emotional expression may, in part, depend on expectancies induced by writing about emotional experiences. Design: Two studies were conducted to test this hypothesis. In both studies, participants wrote about either an upsetting event or trivial issues. After the writing period, participants rated their expectancies that the writing intervention would improve (or impair) their emotional well-being over time. Main Outcome Measures: Study 1 assessed the emotional impact of an upsetting event, whereas Study 2 assessed subjective reports of physical symptoms. In both studies, outcome variables were collected both before and 6 weeks after the writing intervention. Results: The results showed that (a) writing about upsetting experiences induced higher positive expectancies than writing about trivial issues and (b) expectancies associated with written emotional expression were related to a reduction in the emotional impact of an upsetting event (Study 1) and to a reduction in physical symptoms (Study 2). Conclusions: There may be 2 alternative ways to render written emotional expression effective in reducing negative emotions: (a) by rendering an emotional experience more meaningful and (b) by inducing positive affect regulation expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping with perceived peer stress: Gender-specific and common pathways to symptoms of psychopathology.

This study investigated gender differences in the moderating and mediating effects of responses to stress on the association between perceived peer stress and symptoms of psychopathology. A sample of 295 middle school students (63.7% female; Mage = 12.39 years, SD = 0.99) completed self-report surveys on stress, coping, and behavioral problems. Involuntary responses to stress (e.g., physiological arousal, intrusive thoughts, impulsive action) mediated the association between perceived stress and anxiety/depression and aggression for girls and for boys. Disengagement coping (e.g., denial, avoidance) partially mediated the association between peer stress and anxiety/depression for boys and for girls. In contrast, disengagement coping mediated the association between peer stress and overt aggression for boys only. Finally, engagement coping (e.g., problem solving, emotion regulation, cognitive restructuring) buffered the indirect effect of peer stress on symptoms of psychopathology for girls only. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intimacy as an interpersonal process: The importance of self-disclosure, partner disclosure, and perceived partner responsiveness in interpersonal exchanges.

H. T. Reis and P. Shaver's (1988) interpersonal process model of intimacy suggests that both self-disclosure and partner responsiveness contribute to the experience of intimacy in interactions. Two studies tested this model using an event-contingent diary methodology in which participants provided information immediately after their social interactions over 1 (Study 1) or 2 (Study 2) weeks. For each interaction, participants reported on their self-disclosures, partner disclosures, perceived partner responsiveness, and degree of intimacy experienced in the interaction. Overall, the findings strongly supported the conceptualization of intimacy as a combination of self-disclosure and partner disclosure at the level of individual interactions with partner responsiveness as a partial mediator in this process. Additionally, in Study 2, self-disclosure of emotion emerged as a more important predictor of intimacy than did self-disclosure of facts and information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New paradigms for assessing emotional intelligence: Theory and data.

This article describes the development and validation of 2 measures of emotional intelligence (EI): the Situational Test of Emotional Understanding (STEU) and the Situational Test of Emotion Management (STEM). Study 1 (N = 207 psychology students) examines multiple sources of validity evidence: relationships with EI, vocabulary, personality, and emotion-related criteria. Study 2 (N = 149 white-collar volunteers) relates STEU and STEM scores to clinical symptoms, finding relationships to anxiety and stress for both tests, and to depression for the STEM. It is concluded that new performance-based approaches to test development, such as the present ones, might be useful in distinguishing between test and construct effects. Implications for expanding theory and for developing EI interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult Attachment, Affect Regulation, Negative Mood, and Interpersonal Problems: The Mediating Roles of Emotional Reactivity and Emotional Cutoff.

This study examined the mediating role of affect regulation among attachment, negative mood, and interpersonal problems. Participants were 229 college students at a large midwest university. Structural equation modeling indicated attachment anxiety and avoidance contributed to negative mood and interpersonal problems through different and distinct affect regulation strategies (i.e., emotional reactivity or emotional cutoff). The association between attachment anxiety, negative mood, and interpersonal problems was mediated only by emotional reactivity (not emotional cutoff). Conversely, the association between attachment avoidance, negative mood, and interpersonal problems was mediated only by emotional cutoff (not emotional reactivity). Furthermore, emotional reactivity and emotional cutoff explained 36% of the variance in negative mood; attachment, emotional reactivity, and emotional cutoff explained 75% of the variance in interpersonal problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disclosure of emotional events in groups at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder.

The disclosure of emotional events to various social intimates (disclosure targets) was measured in 2 samples (soldiers and first responders) at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as a comparison sample of college students. These 3 groups completed survey measures of disclosure, and at risk groups also completed measures of PTSD symptoms and social support. Groups at risk for PTSD were less likely to disclose emotions related to potentially traumatic events than were college students reporting general emotional disclosure. Overall, disclosure of positive emotions was more likely than disclosure of negative emotions. Furthermore, amount of disclosure depended on the person to whom the individual disclosed. Within groups at risk for PTSD, social support was associated with lower levels of PTSD. However, this relationship was mediated by emotional disclosure to each target. Disclosure of positive emotions generally was associated with lower levels of PTSD, and disclosure of negative emotions to those with similar at-risk status was associated with greater levels of PTSD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reducing explicit and implicit outgroup prejudice via direct and extended contact: The mediating role of self-disclosure and intergroup anxiety.

In 4 studies, the authors investigated mediators of the effect of cross-group friendship. In Study 1, cross-group friendship among White elementary school children predicted more positive explicit outgroup attitude toward South Asians, mediated by self-disclosure and intergroup anxiety. In Study 2, cross-group friendship and extended contact among White and South Asian high school students positively predicted explicit outgroup attitude, mediated by self-disclosure and intergroup anxiety. Study 3 replicated these findings in a larger independent sample. In all 3 studies, exposure to the outgroup positively predicted implicit outgroup attitude. Study 4 further showed that self-disclosure improved explicit outgroup attitude via empathy, importance of contact, and intergroup trust. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, which argue for the inclusion of self-disclosure as a key component of social interventions to reduce prejudice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of situational factors, sex, and attitude on affective self-disclosure and anxiety.

Examined the effects of sex of S and the situational factors of S role, type of feeling, and sex of best friend in relation to affective self-disclosure and self-reported anxiety of 20 male and 20 female undergraduates in simulated dyadic interactions. The relationship between attitude toward expressing feelings and affective self-disclosure behavior was also explored. The 2–4 repeated measures ANOVA for affective self-disclosure revealed significant main effects for all factors except S role. Significant interactions revealed that affective self-disclosure is sex-linked and situation specific, with females initiating positive feelings to their same-sex best friend being the most facilitative context for disclosure. Self-report anxiety results indicated that more anxiety was experienced when negative feelings were expressed. A significant correlation between Ss' attitude and performance scores was obtained, indicating that favorable attitudes toward expressing feelings are positively related to the expression of feelings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Latent variable analysis of coping, anxiety/depression, and somatic symptoms in adolescents with chronic pain.

Reports of adolescents' coping with recurrent pain, symptoms of anxiety/depression, and somatic complaints were obtained from a sample of 164 adolescents with recurrent abdominal pain and their parents. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that coping consisted of 3 nonorthogonal factors: Primary Control Engagement Coping (problem solving, emotional expression, and emotional regulation), Secondary Control Engagement Coping (positive thinking, cognitive restructuring, acceptance, and distraction), and Disengagement Coping (denial, avoidance, and wishful thinking). Structural equation modeling using latent variables revealed that secondary control engagement coping predicted lower levels of anxiety/depression symptoms and somatic complaints, and disengagement coping was related to higher levels of anxiety/depression and somatic complaints. Implications for understanding child and adolescent coping with pain are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is! Explaining Collective Action Tendencies Through Group-Based Anger and Group Efficacy.

Insights from appraisal theories of emotion are used to integrate elements of theories on collective action. Three experiments with disadvantaged groups systematically manipulated procedural fairness (Study 1), emotional social support (Study 2), and instrumental social support (Study 3) to examine their effects on collective action tendencies through group-based anger and group efficacy. Results of structural equation modeling showed that procedural fairness and emotional social support affected the group-based anger pathway (reflecting emotion-focused coping), whereas instrumental social support affected the group efficacy pathway (reflecting problem-focused coping), constituting 2 distinct pathways to collective action tendencies. Analyses of the means suggest that collective action tendencies become stronger the more fellow group members "put their money where their mouth is." The authors discuss how their dual pathway model integrates and extends elements of current approaches to collective action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The out-group must not be so bad after all: The effects of disclosure, typicality, and salience on intergroup bias.

Two contact studies integrated the personalization (M. B. Brewer & N. Miller, 1994) and category-based models (M. Hewstone & R. J. Brown, 1986), proposing that greater reduction of intergroup bias can be achieved by the interactive effects of disclosure and typicality (Study 1) or disclosure and salience (Study 2). In Study 1 the impact of self-disclosure and typicality combined interactively to augment intergroup acceptance. Study 2 extended these findings by examining the combined effects of disclosure and category salience. It also explored the mediational roles of group-relevant and person-relevant information on the effects of typicality and disclosure, respectively. Results showed that during cooperative dyadic out-group contact, self-disclosure, typicality, and salience were key factors for reducing bias toward new members of that out-group category. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Topics and signs: Defensive control of emotional expression.

This single-case study examined frank disclosure of important topics in a brief exploratory psychotherapy, including topics closely related to a recent, unintegrated stressor life event. Quantitative measures of emotion and control variables showed heightened levels of both emotionality and defensive control during discourse on the topic of the stressor event. In future studies, such measures of verbal and nonverbal signs of emotional expression and defensive control might be used to identify topics in an unresolved state. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)