Regulating Emotionality to Manage Adversity: A Systematic Review of the Relation Between Emotion Regulation and Psychological Resilience

A meta-analysis of cognitive reappraisal and personal resilience

Cognitive reappraisal, an adaptive emotion regulation strategy that involves subjectively reinterpreting stressful and adverse experiences in a more positive manner, can enhance personal resilience. Personal resilience is a constellation of attributes that facilitate successful coping and an expeditious return to adaptive functioning after exposure to stress or adversity. This meta-analysis evaluated the association between cognitive reappraisal and personal resilience. A systematic and exhaustive search identified 64 independent samples from 55 studies (N = 29,824) that examined the correlation between cognitive reappraisal and personal resilience. A random-effects model revealed a positive summary effect (r = 0.47, p < .001), indicating that higher cognitive reappraisal was associated with higher personal resilience. Six potential meta-moderators were tested: culture, age, name of the cognitive reappraisal measure, name of the personal resilience measure, study design, and publication period. After two extreme effect size outliers were omitted, tests of publication bias did not reveal any publication bias in this line of research. This quantitative synthesis offers compelling evidence showing that cognitive reappraisal skills operate as a protective strategy against stress and adversity and, therefore, enhance personal resilience. The protective benefits of cognitive reappraisal in relation to personal resilience are relatively robust, as the correlations were statistically significant for all subgroups in the meta-moderation analyses.

Structure of resilience: A Machiavellian contribution or 'paddle your own canoe'

According to biobehavioral synchronicity model, empathy-a fundamental requirement for reciprocal and prosocial behavior-is at the core of rebound from stress, an essential feature of resilience. However, there are also reports on antagonistic traits-characterized by empathic deficit-bolstering immunity to stress. In the literature there is also inconclusive evidence regarding gender-related differences in resilience. In separate female and male subsamples we analyzed the network constellation entailing resilience (assessed as rebound from stress), empathic (cognitive empathy, affective resonance, and affective dissonance) and antagonistic personality traits (Machiavellianism, grandiose- and vulnerable narcissism). For both genders, Machiavellian agency instigated by narcissistic admiration occupied the central position in the network indicating that personality's resources for proactivity and control are essential for successful rebound. Empathy, and in particular its affective component, occupied only a peripheral position in the network. Machiavellian antagonism in men and grandiose narcissism in females bridged prosocial mechanism of resilience with antagonistic nodes of the network. In the female subsample both types of malign narcissism (rivalry and vulnerable narcissism) directly thwarted rebound. This process was not detected in the male subsample network dominated by antagonism. That is, gender-related differences were associated with the avoidance strategies rather than with the proactive strategies. Thus, resilience assessed as rebounding from stress primarily involves personality resources which modulate proactive- and prosocial- but not necessarily reciprocal behavior.

Effects of metacognitions, self-compassion, and difficulties in emotion regulation on psychological resilience in oncology nurses

PURPOSE

Providing care to individuals with cancer requires oncology nurses to have superior skills related to physical care and adaptation to the changing healthcare system, as well as witnessing and supporting the psychosocial difficulties experienced by patients and families in this process. It requires oncology nurses to be psychologically resilient. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the factors affecting the psychological resilience of oncology nurses. This study aimed to determine the effect of self-compassion, metacognitions, and difficulties in emotion regulation on psychological resilience in oncology nurses.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional correlational study. The study was conducted with 121 oncology nurses providing active oncologic care and who volunteered to participate. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Short Form, the Self-Compassion Scale, and the Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression analysis.

RESULTS

The regression model established to determine the effect of self-compassion, metacognitions, and difficulties in emotion regulation on psychological resilience was statistically significant (F(3,117) = 24.086 p < 0.001) and explained 36.6% of the change in resilience. Among the independent variables, only self-compassion had a significant contribution to the model (p = 0.001). According to the model, 1-unit change in self-compassion caused 0.571-unit change in psychological resilience.

CONCLUSION

Self-compassion, metacognitions, and difficulties in emotion regulation were significantly related to psychological resilience, but only self-compassion significantly affected psychological resilience.

Emotion Regulation Deficits in Adolescent Girls with Major Depression, Anorexia Nervosa and Comorbid Major Depression and Anorexia Nervosa

In adolescence, both major depression (MD) and anorexia nervosa (AN) are associated with deficits in emotion regulation (ER). However, studies have yet to compare ER profiles within the disorders and the effect of comorbid MD+AN is unclear. This study examined the habitual use of ER in 229 girls, aged 12-18 years, with MD (n = 84), AN (n = 37), comorbid MD+AN (n = 25), and healthy girls (n = 83). Girls with MD, AN and MD+AN reported more maladaptive and less adaptive ER strategies than healthy girls. MD and MD+AN groups showed more frequent use of maladaptive ER compared to only AN, with no differences between only MD and MD+AN. This suggests that MD+AN is not necessarily associated with higher ER deficits, rather, an additional diagnosis of MD exacerbates impairments in AN. Identifying specific ER profiles can provide important targets in prevention and treatment for AN, MD and AN+MD.

Female youth and mental health service providers' perspectives on the JoyPop™ app: a qualitative study

Introduction

Mobile health (mHealth) apps are a promising adjunct to traditional mental health services, especially in underserviced areas. Developed to foster resilience in youth, the JoyPop™ app has a growing evidence base showing improvement in emotion regulation and mental health symptoms among youth. However, whether this novel technology will be accepted among those using or providing mental health services remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the JoyPop™ app's acceptance among (a) a clinical sample of youth and (b) mental health service providers.

Method

A qualitative descriptive approach involving one-on-one semi-structured interviews was conducted. Interviews were guided by the Technology Acceptance Model and were analyzed using a deductive-inductive content analysis approach.

Results

All youth (n = 6 females; Mage = 14.60, range 12-17) found the app easy to learn and use and expressed positive feelings towards using the app. Youth found the app useful because it facilitated accessibility to helpful coping skills (e.g., journaling to express their emotions; breathing exercises to increase calmness) and positive mental health outcomes (e.g., increased relaxation and reduced stress). All service providers (n = 7 females; Mage = 43.75, range 32-60) perceived the app to be useful and easy to use by youth within their services and expressed positive feelings about integrating the app into usual care. Service providers also highlighted various organizational factors affecting the app's acceptance. Youth and service providers raised some concerns about apps in general and provided recommendations to improve the JoyPop™ app.

Discussion

Results support youth and service providers' acceptance of the JoyPop™ app and lend support for it as an adjunctive resource to traditional mental health services for youth with emotion regulation difficulties.

Conceptualizing psychological resilience through resting-state functional MRI in a mentally healthy population: a systematic review

Conceptualizations and operational definitions of psychological resilience vary across resilience neuroimaging studies. Data on the neural features of resilience among healthy individuals has been scarce. Furthermore, findings from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies were inconsistent across studies. This systematic review summarized resting-state fMRI findings in different modalities from various operationally defined resilience in a mentally healthy population. The PubMed and MEDLINE databases were searched. Articles that focused on resting-state fMRI in relation to resilience, and published before 2022, were targeted. Orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula and amygdala, were reported the most from the 19 included studies. Regions in emotional network was reported the most from the included studies. The involvement of regions like amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex indicated the relationships between emotional processing and resilience. No common brain regions or neural pathways were identified across studies. The emotional network appears to be studied the most in association with resilience. Matching fMRI modalities and operational definitions of resilience across studies are essential for meta-analysis.

Mechanisms of Physical Exercise Effects on Anxiety in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Lockdown: An Analysis of the Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience and the Moderating Role of Media Exposure

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of physical exercise on anxiety in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, as well as the mediating role of psychological resilience and the moderating role of media exposure. An online questionnaire was used to survey older adults in Chengdu, Southwest China. A total of 451 older adults aged 60 years and older participated in the study (209 males and 242 females). The results suggest that physical exercise negatively influenced anxiety symptoms in older adults; psychological resilience mediated the effect of physical exercise on anxiety in older adults and negatively predicted it; furthermore, media exposure moderated the effects of physical exercise and psychological resilience on anxiety, and low levels of media exposure strengthened these effects. This study suggests that participation in physical exercise and reduced media exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown may have reduced anxiety in older adults.

Psychological Processes Associated With Resilience in UK-Based Unpaid Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background

Unpaid caregivers have faced and dealt with additional challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the psychological processes associated with their resilience is warranted. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between resilience with mental distress, emotion regulation strategies (i.e., reappraisal and suppression) and interpretation bias in adult caregivers.

Method

Participants were living in the UK, aged 18+, and consisted of 182 unpaid caregivers of an adult aged 18+ living with a long-term health condition, and 120 non-caregivers. Data were collected in an online study during the first national UK COVID-19 lockdown (May and September 2020). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses explored whether emotion regulation strategies and interpretation bias explained unique variance in levels of resilience in caregivers whilst controlling for anxiety and depression.

Results

Compared to non-caregivers, caregivers reported higher levels of anxiety, depression, negative interpretation bias and lower levels of resilience. Emotion regulation strategies did not differ between groups. Within caregivers, greater resilience was associated with lower mood disturbance, a positive interpretation bias, and greater use of cognitive reappraisal and lower use of suppression strategies to regulate emotions. Emotion regulation and interpretation bias together predicted an additional 15% of variance in current levels of resilience.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that psychological mechanisms such as emotion regulation strategies, particularly reappraisal, and interpretation bias are associated with resilience in caregivers. Although preliminary, our findings speak to exciting clinical possibilities that could form the target of interventions to improve resilience and lower mental distress in unpaid caregivers.

The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Domain-Specific Creativity: The Mediating Role of Resilience and the Moderating Effects of Gratitude

Creativity incorporates both domain-general and domain-specific ideas. While previous studies have explored the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) on creativity in both domains, a consensus has not been reached, and the mechanism is currently unclear. In the present study, we examined which aspect of creativity EI was most strongly associated with in a group of undergraduates. Moreover, we explored the moderated mediation effect between EI and domain-specific creativity. In Study 1, 532 undergraduates completed questionnaires measuring EI, convergent and divergent creative thinking, and creative achievement. The results revealed that the most reliable positive correlations were between EI and domain-specific creativity. In Study 2, 926 undergraduates completed measurements of EI, resilience, gratitude, and creative achievement. The results revealed that resilience mediates the relationship between EI and creative achievement. Furthermore, gratitude moderated the indirect effect of EI on creative achievement through resilience. The indirect effect of EI on creative achievement was stronger for high-gratitude individuals than for low-gratitude individuals. This orientation and other results are discussed. Overall, our findings add further nuance to the relationship between EI and creativity in different domains. This study serves as a basis for other contributions aligned with these concepts.

Development of College Students’ Resilience Scale

In order to explore the dimensions of college students' resilience and compile a measuring tool for contemporary Chinese college students' resilience, semistructured interviews are conducted with 20 college students who have experienced adversity, and the initial dimension of college students' resilience is obtained. Based on the initial dimensions, the project is compiled to form the “College Students' Resilience Scale,” which is tested for 1374 college students, and four dimensions of the scale are obtained through exploratory factor analysis. The college students' resilience scale consists of 26 items with 4 dimensions, namely, “self-efficacy and adaptability,” “positive cognition,” “negative emotion adjustment ability,” and “perceived use of social support.” The self-made college students' resilience scale has good reliability and validity and is an effective measuring tool for college students' resilience.

Black Women Living with HIV: A Latent Profile Analysis of Intersectional Adversities, Resilience, and Mental Health

Black women living with HIV (BWLWH) face adversities, including discrimination (race, HIV, and gender related) and trauma. This study examines which latent profiles of resilience (R) and adversity (A) are most prevalent and their relationships to mental health among 119 BWLWH [age = 44.1 (standard deviation = 10.9)]. Questionnaires measured resilience (post-traumatic growth, trait/coping resilience, religious coping, social support), adversity (discrimination, trauma, microaggressions), and mental health [post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, post-traumatic cognitions (PTC), and depressive symptoms]. Four salient profiles emerged through latent profile analysis and mental health differences were evaluated. Profile 1 (19.8%) reported lowest scores on 4 resilience measures, lowest traumas, and second lowest on discrimination (low resilience/low adversity-LR/LA). Profile 2 (13.8%) had second lowest on 3 resilience measures but second highest social support, highest/second highest on traumas and discrimination and microaggressions (low resilience/high adversity-LR/HA). Profile 3 (59.5%) exhibited higher scores on resilience and lowest scores on 3 of 4 adversity measures (high resilience/low adversity-HR/LA). Profile 4 (6.9%) reported high on 3 resilience measures, but third lowest on social support, and second highest/highest traumas, discrimination, and microaggressions (high resilience/high adversity-HR/HA). For PTC, the HR/LA group had significantly lower scores compared with the LR/LA and LR/HA groups; and LR/HA had higher PTC scores than the HR/HA group. PTSD scores were significantly lower for HR/LA than all profiles. Depression scores were significantly higher for LR/LA and LR/HA groups than HR/LA. Findings indicate that lower adversity alongside higher resilience leads to better mental health. Policies must address intersectional discrimination and prevent trauma impacting BWLWH; interventions are needed to improve social support and healing. Clinical Trial Registration number NCT02764853.

The impact of emotion management ability on learning engagement of college students during COVID-19

During the COVID-19, the wanton spread of novel coronavirus had a huge negative effect on the emotions of college students, resulting in a serious impact on the daily learning behavior of many college students. In this context, college students' emotion management ability is particularly important. Therefore, based on the results of a questionnaire survey of 580 college students, the present study conducts an in-depth analysis of the relationship between current college students' emotion management ability and learning engagement, and explores the mediating role of psychological safety and self-efficacy in the relationship between emotion management ability and learning engagement. The results show that college students' emotion management ability is significantly positive related to learning engagement, psychological safety and self-efficacy; Psychological safety and self-efficacy can play a partial mediating role between emotion management ability and college students' learning engagement. The results reveal the importance of good emotion management ability of college students during the COVID-19, and enlighten colleges and universities to actively pacify students' emotions to promote their normal learning.

Individual, family, and social correlates of flourishing outcomes among youth: Findings from the 2016-2017 National Survey of Children's Health

BACKGROUND

Flourishing is considered an optimal state of well-being and is associated with positive psychological outcomes. Although, individual, family, and social factors may either facilitate or impede flourishing, their unique influence on flourishing outcomes is not well-understood among youth.

OBJECTIVE

Using data from the 2016-2017 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), this study investigated cross-sectional associations among adverse family experiences (AFE), community safety, family resilience, parental aggravation, and flourishing among youth.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Data from the 2016-2017 NSCH (N = 51,156) were analyzed. Participants included males (n = 26,124) and females (n = 25,032) whose ages ranged from 6 to 17 years old (M = 12.14, SD = 3.45).

METHODS

After controlling for relevant demographics, adjusted odds ratios (AORs) using a single-block logistic regression determined the relative likelihood of flourishing.

RESULTS

Youth who experienced zero to one AFE (AOR = 2.10; 95% CI [1.95, 2.26]) and two to three AFEs (1.32 [1.20, 1.45]) were more likely to flourish than youth with four or more AFEs. Youth whose parents endorsed low parental aggravation (6.80 [6.41, 7.22]) and moderate parental aggravation (3.70 [3.51, 3.89]) were more likely to be flourishing than youth whose parents endorsed high parental aggravation.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that high parental aggravation is related to poorer flourishing outcomes, after considering community safety, family adversity, family resilience, and demographic characteristics. Providers should consider interventions to support the emotional regulation of parental systems as a means of maximizing developmental outcomes among youth.

Emotion Regulation as a Pathway Connecting Early Life Adversity and Inflammation in Adulthood: a Conceptual Framework

Chronic inflammation is implicated in a variety of diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease and cancer). Much evidence suggests that early life adversity (ELA), such as maltreatment or neglect, can increase risk for inflammation in adulthood. ELA may program proinflammatory activity via its effects on brain areas involved in emotion regulation. Of multiple emotion regulation strategies, some are considered maladaptive (e.g., expressive suppression), while others are generally adaptive (e.g., cognitive reappraisal). We propose a conceptual framework for how emotion regulation tendencies may affect vulnerability or resilience to inflammation in adults who experienced adversity in childhood and/or adolescence. In support of this framework, we summarize evidence for the relationships between emotion dysregulation and higher inflammation (i.e., vulnerability), as well as between cognitive reappraisal and lower inflammation (i.e., resilience), in healthy adults with a history of ELA. Plausible neurobiological, physiological, psychosocial, and ELA-specific factors, as well as interventions, contributing to these associations are discussed. Strengths and limitations of the extant research, in addition to ideas for future directions, are presented.