How I feel: a self-report measure of emotional arousal and regulation for children

Comparing Transdiagnostic Risk Factors: Predicting Emergence of Significant Depressive, Anxiety, and Substance Abuse Symptoms Among Juvenile Delinquents

In a 7-year 11-wave study of low-SES adolescents (N = 856, age = 15.98), we compared multiple well-established transdiagnostic risk factors as predictors of first incidence of significant depressive, anxiety, and substance abuse symptoms across the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Risk factors included negative emotionality, emotion regulation ability, social support, gender, history of trauma, parental histories of substance abuse, parental mental health, and socioeconomic status. Machine learning models revealed that negative emotionality was the most important predictor of both depression and anxiety, and emotion regulation ability was the most important predictor of future significant substance abuse. These findings highlight the critical role that dysregulated emotion may play in the development of some of the most prevalent forms of mental illness.

Systematic Review: Questionnaire-Based Measurement of Emotion Dysregulation in Children and Adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Emotion dysregulation, understood as a critical transdiagnostic factor in the etiology and maintenance of psychopathology, is among the most common reasons youth are referred for psychiatric care. The present systematic review examined 2 decades of questionnaires used to assess emotion (dys)regulation in youth.

METHOD

Using "emotion (dys)regulation," PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched for empirical, peer-reviewed journal studies published before May 2021 in clinical and/or nonclinical youth. A total of 510 studies met selection criteria and were included.

RESULTS

Across the literature, 115 distinct self-, parent-, or other informant-reported measures of emotion (dys)regulation were used in cross-sectional (67.1%), longitudinal (22.4%), intervention (9.0%), and mixed design (1.6%) studies. Out of 115 different questionnaires, a subset of 5 measures of emotion (dys)regulation were used in most of the literature (ie, 59.6% of studies). Moreover, reviewed studies examined emotion (dys)regulation in more than 20 distinct clinical groups, further supporting emotion dysregulation as a transdiagnostic construct.

CONCLUSION

Numerous themes emerged. Broadly, measures differed in their ability to capture internal vs external components of emotion dysregulation, the use of adaptive vs maladaptive responses, and subjective experiences more broadly vs particular affective states. These findings serve to guide researchers and clinicians in selecting appropriate measurement tools for assessing specific domains of child and adolescent emotion dysregulation.

Internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic mixed studies review

Introduction

Given the vulnerability of children during the COVID-19 pandemic, paying close attention to their wellbeing at the time is warranted. The present protocol-based systematic mixed-studies review examines papers published during 2020-2022, focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's internalizing/externalizing symptoms and the determinants thereof.

Method

PROSPERO: CRD42022385284. Five databases were searched and the PRISMA diagram was applied. The inclusion criteria were: papers published in English in peer-reviewed journals; papers published between January 2020 and October 2022 involving children aged 5-13 years; qualitative, quantitative, and mixed studies. The standardized Mixed Method Appraisal Tool protocol was used to appraise the quality of the studies.

Results

Thirty-four studies involving 40,976 participants in total were analyzed. Their principal characteristics were tabulated. The results showed that children's internalizing/externalizing symptoms increased during the pandemic, largely as a result of disengagement from play activities and excessive use of the internet. Girls showed more internalizing symptoms and boys more externalizing symptoms. Distress was the strongest parental factor mediating children's internalizing/externalizing symptoms. The quality of the studies was appraised as low (n = 12), medium (n = 12), and high (n = 10).

Conclusion

Gender-based interventions should be designed for children and parents. The studies reviewed were cross-sectional, so long-term patterns and outcomes could not be predicted. Future researchers might consider a longitudinal approach to determine the long-term effects of the pandemic on children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022385284, identifier: CRD42022385284.

Review: Defining Positive Emotion Dysregulation: Integrating Temperamental and Clinical Perspectives

OBJECTIVE

Although emotion dysregulation has been defined as a maladaptive process of emotional experiences, there is no specific reference to the emotional valence of the dysregulation. To date, child psychiatry has focused primarily on dysregulation of negative affect. Here, we suggest that positive emotion dysregulation requires additional clinical and research attention.

METHOD

First, we present a developmental approach to the study of positive emotion regulation within a temperament framework. Second, we describe emerging research findings regarding dysregulation of positive emotion in early childhood. Third, we integrate neuroscientific approaches to positive emotion regulation and introduce a framework for future investigations and clinical applications.

RESULTS

Dysregulation in positive affect can be examined from temperamental, developmental, clinical, and neuroscientific perspectives. Both temperamental surgency, which includes positive affect, and the proposed clinical extension, excitability, are associated with increased risk of externalizing symptoms and clinical impairment in youth.

CONCLUSION

Studying the role of both temperamental surgency and clinically impairing positive affect, or excitability, in developmental psychopathology will help to elucidate the full spectrum of emotion dysregulation and to clarify the neural basis of dysregulation. A more comprehensive conceptualization of positively valanced emotion dysregulation will provide a more nuanced understanding of developmental risk and potential targets for intervention.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION STATEMENT

One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science.

The hot and the cold in destructive leadership: Modeling the role of arousal in explaining leader antecedents and follower consequences of abusive supervision versus exploitative leadership

Due to its devastating consequences, research needs to theoretically and empirically disentangle different sub-types of destructive leadership. Based on concepts derived from aggression research distinguishing re- and proactive aggression, we provide a process model differentiating abusive supervision and exploitative leadership. High versus low arousal negative affect is installed as the central mediating factor determining (1) whether perceived goal-blockage (leadership antecedents) leads to abusive supervision versus exploitative leadership and (2) whether a specific leadership behavior leads to active versus passive follower behavior (leadership consequence). Further, theoretical anchoring of individual and contextual moderators onto the model's process paths is provided and exemplary hypotheses for concrete moderation effects are deduced. Based on the provided process model, we highlight four recommendations to facilitate process-based construct differentiation in future research on destructive leadership. To precisely understand the differences and commonalities in different forms of destructive leadership will ultimately enable custom-tailored inter- and prevention.

Plain Language Summary

Negative leadership—also named “destructive” leadership—has very bad effects on followers and organizations. There are not just one, but many forms of destructive leadership and it is important to understand where different sub-types come from (i.e., to understand their antecedents) and which specific effect they have (i.e., to understand their consequences). In this paper, we focus on better understanding two forms of destructive leadership, namely abusive supervision and exploitative leadership. These two forms are similar to the two main forms of aggression. Abusive supervision is similar to reactive aggression, an impulsive “hot blooded” form of aggression. Exploitative leadership is similar to proactive aggression, a premeditated “cold blooded” form of aggression. We explain the parallels between the two forms of aggression and the two forms of leadership and provide a model which allows to predict when one versus the other form of leadership occurs and to which follower behavior they lead. An important factor in this model is the physiological characteristic of the emotional reaction to an event (i.e., arousal). An emotional reaction can be high in arousal; for instance, anger is a high arousal negative emotional reaction. On the contrary, boredom, for instance, is a low arousal negative emotional reaction. Dependent on whether both a leader and a follower react to a negative event (e.g., not getting what they want, being treated badly by others) with high or low arousal, their behavior will be different. We explain how this mechanism works and how it can help us to better predict leaders' and followers' behavior. We also outline how individual characteristics of the leader and follower and characteristics of their environment and context interact with arousal and their behavior.

Adolescent Emotion Regulation and Future Psychopathology: A Prospective Transdiagnostic Analysis

Transdiagnostic frameworks posit a causal link between emotion regulation (ER) ability and psychopathology. However, there is little supporting longitudinal evidence for such frameworks. Among N = 1,262 adolescents, we examined the prospective bidirectional relationship between ER and future pathological anxiety, depression, and substance dependence symptoms in 10 assessment waves over 7 years. In Random-intercept cross-lagged panel models, within-person results do not reveal prospective lag-1 effects of either ER or symptoms. However, between-person analyses showed that dispositional ER ability at baseline predicted greater risk for developing clinically significant depression, anxiety, and substance dependence over the 7-year follow-up period. These findings provide some of the first direct evidence of prospective effects of ER on future symptom risk across affect-related disorders, and should strengthen existing claims that ER ability represents a key transdiagnostic risk factor.

Identifying self-report measures of emotion regulation and evaluating their psychometric properties: a protocol for a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Successful emotion regulation (ER) is critical for psychological health. Disturbances in this ability are associated with several psychiatric disorders. There are several self-report questionnaires to assess ER. However, there are no studies synthesising the evidence on their psychometric properties. We aim to identify all available instruments addressing ER in adolescents or adults and to critically appraise, compare and summarise the quality of their psychometric properties. For this, we will use COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) criteria.

METHOD AND ANALYSIS

The search process to identify eligible studies will be conducted in April 2021 including the ProQuest, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases with no restriction in terms of publication date. Eligibility criteria include peer-reviewed research articles written in English or Spanish by means of patient-reported outcome measures focused on ER among participants of 13 years or older. We will assess the quality of measures according to the COSMIN Risk of Bias Checklist. The psychometric properties will be assessed by the COSMIN updated criteria for good measurement. The available evidence will be addressed by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations approach. Our findings will be synthesised independently for each measure, including information on their sample, theoretical model and psychometric properties when possible.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required, as this study does not involve any participants or collection of primary data. Results are expected to be published in a peer-reviewed journal in the field of youth mental health and presented at relevant meetings and conferences.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021249498.

Brain Melody Interaction: Understanding Effects of Music on Cerebral Hemodynamic Responses

Music elicits strong emotional reactions in people, regardless of their gender, age or cultural background. Understanding the effects of music on brain activity can enhance existing music therapy techniques and lead to improvements in various medical and affective computing research. We explore the effects of three different music genres on people’s cerebral hemodynamic responses. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals were collected from 27 participants while they listened to 12 different pieces of music. The signals were pre-processed to reflect oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) and deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) concentrations in the brain. K-nearest neighbor (KNN), random forest (RF) and a one-dimensional (1D) convolutional neural network (CNN) were used to classify the signals using music genre and subjective responses provided by the participants as labels. Results from this study show that the highest accuracy in distinguishing three music genres was achieved by deep learning models (73.4% accuracy in music genre classification and 80.5% accuracy when predicting participants’ subjective rating of emotional content of music). This study validates a strong motivation for using fNIRS signals to detect people’s emotional state while listening to music. It could also be beneficial in giving personalised music recommendations based on people’s brain activity to improve their emotional well-being.

Contributions of universal school-based mental health promotion to the wellbeing of adolescents and preadolescents: a systematic review of educational interventions

Purpose

The study aims to determine the contributions of universal school-based educational programs to the current and future worldwide youth mental health condition.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic search was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Academic education and health databases including ERIC, Education Database, APA PsycInfo, APA PsycArticles, Psychology Database, and PubMed were used. Characteristics and outcomes of educational interventions developed in school settings and education potential for mental health promotion were examined.

Findings

Universal school-based mental health educational programs positively affect preadolescents and adolescents. The study review provided further insight into educational programs' characteristics and identified two primary curricula foci: mental health education and development of resiliency traits and skills.

Originality/value

Research on mental health promotion using a pedagogical approach is rare as most studies focus on mental health symptomatology and psychotherapy techniques training.

The dual mediating roles of impulsivity and emotion regulation of the borderline personality disorder-violence relationship: A structural equation modeling approach

Although the past research has indicated that features of borderline personality disorder (BPD) increase the risk for violence, much less research has examined the mediators of this relationship. This study examined the mediating roles that impulsivity and emotion dysregulation may play in explaining the relationship between BPD and violence. The Pathways to Desistance data were used in analyses. Generalized structural equation modeling was used to estimate the direct effect of BPD features on violent offending risk and to examine the mediating roles of emotion dysregulation and impulsivity. Results indicated that the direct effect of BPD symptoms on violence was mediated to non-significance by key constructs, and the magnitude of the effect was reduced by around 40%. The total indirect effect was significant, and the mediation was attributed mainly to impulsivity. This indicates the importance of structuring treatment programming for BPD patients around impulsivity for reducing violence. Programming focused on improving impulsivity among individuals suffering from BPD may aid in reducing violent offending among this population, particularly those prior histories of involvement with the criminal justice system.

A School-Based Mobile App Intervention for Enhancing Emotion Regulation in Children: Exploratory Trial

BACKGROUND

Most mental health disorders are first experienced in childhood. The rising rates of mental health difficulties in children highlight the need for innovative approaches to supporting children and preventing these difficulties. School-based digital interventions that address shared risk factors and symptoms, such as emotion dysregulation, present exciting opportunities to enhance mental health support for children on a larger scale.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates the use of a new app-based intervention designed to support children's emotion regulation in schools. The aim is to optimize the usability, acceptability, and utility of the app and explore its scope for implementation with the target user in the school context.

METHODS

As part of an interdisciplinary development framework, the app is being evaluated in a 3-month trial across 4 primary schools. In total, 144 children (aged 10-12 years) took part and accessed the intervention app in the classroom or at home. Outcomes regarding usability, acceptability, and implementation opportunities were assessed through digital user data, self-report questionnaires (132/144, 91.6%), and semistructured interviews with children (19/144, 13.2%) and teachers (6/8, 75%).

RESULTS

The app usage data showed that 30% (128/426) of the users were returning users. Self-report data indicated that 40.1% (53/132) of the children had not used the app, whereas 57.5% (76/132) had used it once or more. Of the children who had used the app, 67% (51/76) reported that the app was helpful. Interviews with children and teachers suggested positive experiences with the app and that it helped them to calm down and relax. Children reported that they perceived the app as acceptable, usable, and helpful. In terms of the intervention's usability, most features functioned well; however, certain technical issues were reported, which may have led to reduced engagement levels. Teachers not only reported overall positive experiences but also discussed access difficulties and reported a lack of content as one of the main barriers to implementing the app. Having a web-based app significantly enhanced accessibility across devices and settings and provided teachers with more opportunities to use it. We identified the need for new, activating app features in addition to the existing, primarily relaxing ones. The findings indicated that it is possible to use and evaluate an app intervention in the school context and that the app could help enhance children's emotion regulation. We discuss areas for improvement regarding the app, study design, and future implementation strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

We share important insights with regard to the development, implementation, and evaluation of a new app for supporting children's emotion regulation in schools. Our results demonstrate that mental health apps represent a promising means to facilitate effective mental health service provision in and outside of the school context. Important lessons learned are shared to support other researchers and clinicians on similar journeys.

Influence of non-immersive avatar-based gamification on the Hawthorne Effect in pediatric gait

BACKGROUND

The Hawthorne Effect occurs when participants alter their behavior when they are aware that they are being examined. The effect has been reported in many experiments, including gait analysis, and is considered an important source of bias that might impact both clinical and research results. Cognitive distraction is one potential solution to reducing the Hawthorne effect during gait analysis, but it is challenging in children, and can, in itself, alter gait. This study investigated the carryover effect of an alternative low-immersion avatar-based intervention on gait and subjective feelings in typically developing children.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Will a low-immersion avatar-based intervention change feelings and indicators of temporospatial and kinematic outcomes in children in a laboratory setting, potentially reducing the Hawthorne Effect?

METHODS

Typically developing children aged 5-13 participated in a standard laboratory gait analysis before experiencing a game in which they viewed their motion on monitors around the lab as that of a cartoon avatar in a 3D virtual environment. Following this intervention, standard walking trials were repeated. In addition, participants completed a survey of their feelings about the study both before onset and after completion.

RESULTS

Thirty-one children participated in the study, 16 females and 15 males, mean aged 9.1 years. Arm swing, proposed as a measure of how relaxed and natural gait was, increased significantly following the intervention, while temporospatial parameters did not. The effect was more pronounced in females and younger children. Participants felt significantly happier, more excited, less scared, and less sad after the intervention. Changes in feelings were not closely associated with changes in gait.

SIGNIFICANCE

This study suggests that gamification may reduce the Hawthorne effect and potentially produce more natural gait in children. The game intervention had a carryover effect, producing changes in gait even after the intervention was removed.

Psychological interventions for depression in children and young people with an intellectual disability and/or autism: systematic review

BACKGROUND

Children and young people with intellectual disability and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (autism) experience higher rates of mental health problems, including depression, than their typically developing peers. Although international guidelines suggest psychological therapies as first-line intervention for children and young people, there is limited evidence for psychological therapy for depression in children and young people with intellectual disability and/or autism.

AIMS

To evaluate the current evidence base for psychological interventions for depression in children and young people with intellectual disability and/or autism, and examine the experiences of children and young people with intellectual disability and/or autism, their families and therapists, in receiving and delivering psychological treatment for depression.

METHOD

Databases were searched up to 30 April 2020 using pre-defined search terms and criteria. Articles were independently screened and assessed for risk of bias. Data were synthesised and reported in a narrative review format.

RESULTS

A total of 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. Four identified studies were clinical case reports and six were quasi-experimental or experimental studies. All studies were assessed as being of moderate or high risk of bias. Participants with intellectual disability were included in four studies. There was limited data on the experiences of young people, their families or therapists in receiving or delivering psychological treatment for depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Well-designed, randomised controlled trials are critical to develop an evidence base for psychological treatment for young people with intellectual disability and/or autism with depression. Future research should evaluate the treatment experiences of young people, their families and therapists.

Social-Emotional Attention in School-Age Children: A Call for School-Based Intervention during COVID-19 and Distance Learning

Early research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent regulations put children at increased risk of negative mood, anxiety, attention difficulties, and social challenges. Concordantly, these difficulties also are associated with deficits in social-emotional attention in children. On a daily basis, students are required to process and respond to a large amount of complex social-emotional information, including attending to teachers and interacting with peers. These attentional demands and associated stressors have increased as students are required to stare at computer screens during online learning as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. However, there is a dearth of research that investigates the role of social and emotional information on attention in children. The present study assessed the effects of social relevance and emotional valence on attentional demands in children and how functioning is related to individual differences in symptoms and deficits that may be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that social and emotional information affect attention in children. Task performance also was associated with negative mood, social stress, and attention focus. This study highlights the need for school-based distance learning interventions to help ameliorate negative social-emotional risks of the COVID-19 pandemic in children. Potential effective avenues include mindfulness-based interventions and attention bias modification training.

Testing the Role of Emotion Dysregulation as a Predictor of Juvenile Recidivism

The current study proposed to determine whether adolescent emotion regulation is predictive of the amount and type of crime committed by adolescent juvenile offenders. Despite evidence in the literature linking emotion regulation to behaviour problems and aggression across the lifespan, there is no prior longitudinal research examining the predictive role of emotion regulation on adolescent recidivism, nor data regarding how emotion regulation relates to the occurrence of specific types of crimes. Our primary hypothesis was that poor emotion regulation would positively and significantly predict re-offending among adolescents. We tested our hypothesis within a binary logistic framework utilizing the Pathways to Desistance longitudinal data. Exploratory bivariate analyses were conducted regarding emotion regulation and type of crime in the service of future hypothesis generation. Though the findings did not indicate a statistically significant relation between emotion regulation and reoffending, exploratory findings suggest that some types of crime may be more linked to emotion regulation than others. In sum, the present study aimed to examine a hypothesized relation between emotion regulation and juvenile delinquency by identifying how the individual factor of dysregulated emotion regulation may have played a role. This study’s findings did not provide evidence that emotion regulation was a significant predictor of recidivism over time but did suggest that emotion regulation is related to participation in certain types of crime one year later. Directions for future research that build upon the current study were described. Indeed, identifying emotion regulation as a predictor of adolescent crime has the potential to enhance current crime prevention efforts and clinical treatments for juvenile offenders; this is based on the large amount of treatment literature, which documents that emotion regulation is malleable through treatment and prevention programming.

Examining the Relationship Between Parental Symptomatology and Treatment Outcomes in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This report examines the relationship between treatment response in children with ASD and parents' affective symptomatology. This study examined 29 children with ASD in a manualized group psychotherapy program, Resilience Builder Program^® (RBP), where emotional and social functioning of parent and child were measured through pre- and post-treatment questionnaires. Greater parental symptomatology was associated with children's reduced response to RBP in resilience-based emotion regulation skills. Greater parental interpersonal sensitivity (β = - .27, p = .024) predicted worse post-treatment scores in child communication skills, greater parental anxious symptoms (β = - .45, p = .005) predicted worse post-treatment scores in child emotional control, and greater parental depressive (β = .27, p = .041) and anxious symptoms (β = .36, p = .004) predicted worse post-treatment scores in child internalizing problems.

Mentalization-based treatment and its evidence-base status: A systematic literature review

PURPOSE

This study reviewed the evidence-base status of mentalization-based treatment (MBT), its quality, strengths, and limitations. The aim was to pave the way for further MBT research.

METHOD

An electronic database and reference lists search identified MBT outcome papers, and these were systematically reviewed. The quality of the studies and the risk of bias were determined using two validated checklist tools.

RESULTS

Twenty-three studies were included in the review. This included nine randomized controlled trials, seven uncontrolled pre- and post-effectiveness studies, three retrospective cohort studies, two uncontrolled randomized trials, and two case studies. The methodological quality of almost half of the papers was assessed as fair (43%), followed by good (34%), poor (17%), and excellent (4%) ratings. Nevertheless, the review identified risk of confounding bias across the majority of studies (60%) and fidelity to treatment was poorly reported in almost half of the studies (47%). Most of the studies focused on borderline personality disorder (BPD), showing positive clinical outcomes for this population but the evidence-base for other presentations was still developing. The treatment of adolescents who self-harm and at-risk mothers in substance abuse treatment showed particularly promising results, as these are client groups that have previously shown limited positive response to psychological interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

Mentalization-based treatment is a potentially effective method across a wide range of clinical presentations but further research should focus on increasing the quality and the quantity of the MBT evidence outside the treatment of BPD.

PRACTITIONER POINTS

MBT can be a particularly effective intervention for the treatment of adults with a diagnosis of BPD and of adolescents who self-harm and mothers enrolled in substance abuse treatments. MBT can be an effective intervention for depression and eating disorders but the evidence is currently limited. Professionals supporting mothers of children at risk may benefit from receiving training in the principles of MBT.

The Relationship between Maternal Overprotection, Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Problems, and Psychological Need Frustration: A Multi-Informant Study Using Response Surface Analysis

Parents and adolescents may hold discrepant views about parents' behaviors, which may be related to adolescent maladjustment. The goal of the present investigation was to examine associations between overprotective parenting and adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems and the frustration of their psychological needs (for autonomy, relatedness and competence), thereby considering both congruence and incongruence in adolescents' and mothers' reports of overprotective parenting. Our sample consisted of 402 mother-adolescent dyads (M adolescent age = 16.8 years, 63% female), who reported upon the mothers' overprotective parenting. In addition, adolescents filled out questionnaires assessing their internalizing and externalizing problems and psychological need frustration. Data were analyzed using polynomial regressions with response surface analysis. Results showed evidence for a linear, additive relationship between adolescents' and mothers' reports of overprotective parenting, and adolescents' internalizing and externalizing symptoms and relatedness and competence frustration. That is, higher scores in adolescents' and mothers' ratings of overprotective parenting were associated with more maladjustment and more need frustration. Moreover, results indicated that incongruence between adolescents' and mothers' reports related to more externalizing problems and more autonomy and relatedness frustration, and this was especially the case when adolescents perceived higher levels of overprotection than what was reported by mothers. These results underscore the importance of considering multiple perspectives when studying the dynamics involved in overprotective parenting.

Resilience-Based Intervention with Underserved Children: Impact on Self-Regulation in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Schools

Resilience and emotion regulation are crucial for optimal psychosocial functioning in children. This study assessed whether a group-based intervention, the Resilience Builder Program (RBP), improved student report of emotion regulation when administered in elementary schools. Sixty-seven students aged 9-12 years (M = 10.50, SD =.74; 82.1% male, 98.5% ethnic/racial minority) were randomly assigned to receive the RBP intervention immediately or following a semester delay. Participants reported their emotional control using the How I Feel scale. Students who received the RBP reported a significant increase in their emotional control and a significant decrease in negative emotion compared to those students in the delayed treatment sample who had not yet received the intervention. Further, students indicated a strongly positive perception of the therapy.

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Parent Report: A Psychometric Investigation Examining Adolescents With and Without ADHD

Emotion dysregulation is associated with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and confers risk for behavior problems and functional impairment; however, there is little guidance on best practices for measurement in adolescents. We developed a parent-report version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-P). Evidence of reliability and validity was evaluated in a large community online sample (Study 1: n = 978; M_age = 13.52 years; SD = 1.93) and in two samples of adolescents with ADHD (Study 2, Sample 1: n = 78; M_age = 12.12 years, SD = 0.91; Sample 2: n = 206; M_age = 15.35 years; SD = 0.85). A four-factor solution of the DERS-P was obtained in Study 1 and confirmed in Study 2, with factors demonstrating acceptable internal consistency. The community sample was generally rated as less dysregulated than the ADHD samples. Support was obtained for convergent, concurrent, and incremental validity evidence. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the DERS-P as a psychometrically sound parent-report measure of emotion dysregulation in 11- to 17-year-old adolescents.

Emotion Dysregulation Is Associated With Social Impairment Among Young Adolescents With ADHD

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate aspects of emotion dysregulation (ED) that characterize young adolescents with ADHD, examine the effects of subtype and comorbidity, and determine the extent to which ED is related to aggression and rule-breaking and social impairment.

METHOD

We examined which aspects of ED are most relevant to ADHD in 180 young adolescents (75% boys), as well as whether ED differs across ADHD subtypes or comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) status. We also examined the association between ED and aggression, rule-breaking, and social impairment.

RESULTS

Young adolescent females and males with ADHD exhibited various manifestations of ED, including behavioral dyscontrol in the presence of strong emotions and inflexibility/slow return to emotional baseline. ED did not differ as a function of ADHD subtype or comorbid ODD. Three aspects of ED, namely, low threshold for emotional excitability/impatience, behavioral dyscontrol in the face of strong emotions, and inflexibility/slow return to baseline, predicted three of six measured indices of parent- and self-reported social impairment, above and beyond comorbid ODD.

CONCLUSIONS

ED is associated with ADHD among young adolescents, does not differ based on ADHD subtype or ODD status, and is associated with social impairment.

ADHD and Emotion Dysregulation Among Children and Adolescents

Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience impairments in a number of functional domains. Although current evidence-based treatments for ADHD reduce symptoms and improve academic and behavioral functioning, they have minimal impact on social functioning or on risky behaviors (see Evans et al. in J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol, 43:527-551, 2014 for review). Preliminary evidence indicates that emotion dysregulation (ED) is associated with impairments across the developmental spectrum, such as social impairment and risky behaviors, and that its relative absence/presence is differentially associated with treatment response. It thus stands to reason that by incorporating a focus on ED in interventions targeting social impairment and risky behaviors, we may be able to increase the number of youth who respond to such interventions and decrease the prevalence or degree of these impairments and behaviors among youth and adults with ADHD. However, a number of questions remain unaddressed about the association between ADHD and ED, such as the portion of individuals with ADHD who experience ED, the extent to which ED is associated with the above impairments and behaviors, and whether or not ED is malleable. To begin addressing these questions, we summarize and critically evaluate the literature on the association between ADHD and ED and make recommendations for future basic, translational, and treatment outcome research.

Understanding the structure of children’s emotion-regulation strategies

Emotion regulation is a central feature in human emotional development. However, measures based on children’s observable emotion regulation behaviors are largely absent. An inventory of children’s emotion regulation strategies was developed from current measures and four focus group discussions with experts in child behavior and emotion. From there, a 103-item inventory of observable emotion regulation strategies was developed. Multidimensional scaling was used to elicit and analyze similarity data, generated by participants with lay and expert knowledge in children’s emotion regulation engaging in a series of objective sorting tasks. This created a type of “collective working model” which reflects the internal structure of the item collection. The resulting framework provides a model that overlays current theoretical models, allows these models to be discussed and expanded, and the resultant Children’s Emotion Regulation Inventory (ChERI) carries potential usefulness for research or clinical applications.

The interplay between sleep behavior and affect in elementary school children's daily life

Recent reviews raised the idea of a bidirectional relation between sleep behavior and affect in adults, but little is known about this interplay in general and especially regarding children. In this micro-longitudinal study, the interplay of sleep and affect was captured directly in children's daily life context in and out of school through ambulatory assessment. For 31 consecutive days, 110 elementary school children (8-11 years old) provided information about their last night's sleep and reported their current affect at four daily occasions in school and at home on smartphones. A multilevel approach was used to analyze the relation between sleep and affect the next day (morning, noon, and afternoon) and the relation between evening affect and subsequent sleep. At the within-person level, sleep quality was related to all observed facets of affect the next day and the strongest effects were found in the morning. The effect of sleep quality on positive affect was particularly pronounced for children who on average went to bed early and slept long. There were, however, no direct within-person effects of sleep quantity on affect. Furthermore, evening affect was related to subsequent sleep. The findings support the idea of a bidirectional relation between affect and sleep in children's daily life (including school). They suggest that good sleep provides a basis and resource for children's affective well-being the next day and demonstrate the importance of analyzing within-person variations of children's sleep. Micro-longitudinal findings can contribute to explain how macro-longitudinal relations between sleep and affect develop over time.

Emotional Arousal and Regulation: Further Evidence of the Validity of the "How I Feel" Questionnaire for Use With School-Age Children

BACKGROUND

The ability to understand and manage emotional experience is critical to children's health. This study confirmed the validity of the How I Feel (HIF) Questionnaire, a measure of children's emotional arousal and regulation, exploring its associations with measures of emotional and social functioning.

METHODS

The sample was comprised of 1379 Italian students (aged 8 to 12 years) who attended schools interested in the study aims. Participants completed the 30-item HIF scale, and measures of emotional self-efficacy and social desirability (SD). Factor structures were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Invariance by age and gender, internal consistency, temporal stability, and concurrent validity were also tested.

RESULTS

A 3-factor model was identified: frequency and intensity of (1) positive emotion--PE (8 items, α = .82), (2) negative emotion--NE (12 items, α = .86), and (3) positive and negative emotion control--EC (10 items, α = .77). This factor structure was invariant across age and gender groups. The HIF displayed moderate longitudinal stability over a 15-month period and a low social desirability effect. Positive emotion was positively associated with social acceptance and visibility, and negatively with social withdrawal.

CONCLUSIONS

The HIF is a reliable and valid measure for research and school intervention promoting students' emotional and mental health.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and social skills in youth: a moderated mediation model of emotion dysregulation and depression

Although studies document an association between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and social problems, little is known about mediating or moderating mechanisms underlying this association. We examined whether, among youth, emotion dysregulation (ED) mediates the negative association between ADHD and social skills, and whether this mediational process is moderated by symptoms of depression. A total of 171 youth with ADHD (76 % male; Mage = 12.15, SD = 0.95) and their parents completed measures of ED, depression, and social skills. Results indicated that, after controlling for oppositional defiant disorder, the negative association between ADHD and social skills was mediated by ED. Further, this indirect effect was relevant for youth with non-clinical and subclinical levels of depression but not for those with clinical levels of depression. These findings underscore the importance of ED in the association between ADHD and social functioning among youth and suggest a need for additional research to understand how and when ED impacts such functioning.

Focusing on the positive: a review of the role of child positive affect in developmental psychopathology

This review proposes a transactional model of child positive affect (PA) to reflect the ways that PA, in various contexts, may confer both risk and protection for psychosocial adjustment. Though research has largely explored the ways that low PA relates to maladjustment in youth, much less research has focused on the ways that PA can facilitate adjustment, particularly under conditions of risk. Yet, theory suggests that a greater emphasis on PA as a protective factor is an important endeavor in developmental psychopathology research; such conceptual issues are explored in this review. This review also seeks to spur a more nuanced approach to the study of child PA through the use of increased multi-method, longitudinal assessments as well as the consideration of contextual factors. Building upon this research base is important for aiding in the development of intervention and prevention efforts that attempt to promote positive psychosocial development and mitigate the course of psychopathology in youth at risk for PA difficulties.

Assessment of stress and self-efficacy for the NIH Toolbox for Neurological and Behavioral Function

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The NIH Toolbox for Neurological and Behavioral Function assessment battery contains measures in the domains of cognitive function, motor function, sensory function, and emotional health. It was designed for use in epidemiological and clinical trials health-related research.

DESIGN

This paper describes the first phase of instrument development for the stress and self-efficacy subdomain of emotional health. Based on an extensive literature review and expert consultation, 127 measures were initially considered for inclusion in this subdomain, including measures of stress, self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and coping.

RESULTS

Several measures, including emotion regulation and measures of coping strategies, did not meet criteria that were a priori established for inclusion. Psychometric properties of the remaining candidate measures were evaluated using data from five independent samples (combined N = 3175). Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses indicated the Perceived Stress Scale and the General Self-Efficacy Scale each assessed single dimensions.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on their psychometric performance, these two instruments were selected for inclusion and subsequent national norming for the NIH Toolbox.

Emotion regulation strategies in preschool children

This study investigated the development of emotion regulation strategies as reflected in the narratives of children between the ages of 3 and 6 years. An experimental procedure based on story completion tasks was devised to elicit the emotion-related narratives of 69 preschool children. Coding of the narratives led to the observation of different emotion regulation strategies: Behavioural strategies, social support, and cognitive reappraisal. Several significant gender and age differences were identified in the use of these strategies. In addition, verbal skills, non-verbal intelligence, and emotion comprehension were found to be associated with use of the observed emotion regulation strategies, although only at specific ages.

Temperament, speech and language: an overview

The purpose of this article is to discuss definitional and measurement issues as well as empirical evidence regarding temperament, especially with regard to children's (a)typical speech and language development. Although all ages are considered, there is a predominant focus on children. Evidence from considerable empirical research lends support to the association between temperament, childhood development and social competence. With regard to communication disorders, extant literature suggests that at least certain elements of temperament (e.g., attention regulation, inhibitory control) are associated with the presence of certain communication disorders. However, the precise nature of this association remains unclear. Three possible accounts of the association between temperament and speech-language disorder are presented. One, the disability model (i.e., certain disorders impact psychological processes leading to changes in these processes, personality, etc., Roy & Bless, 2000a) suggests speech-language disorders may lead to or cause changes in psychological or temperamental characteristics. The disability account cannot be categorically refuted based on currently available research findings. The (pre)dispositional or vulnerability model (i.e., certain psychological processes directly cause the disorder or indirectly modify the course or expression of the disorder, Roy & Bless, 2000a) suggests that psychological or temperamental characteristics may lead to or cause changes in speech-language disorders. The vulnerability account has received some empirical support with regard to stuttering and voice disorders but has not received widespread empirical testing for most speech-language disorders. A third, interaction account, suggests that "disability" and "vulnerability" may both impact communication disorders in a complex, dynamically changing manner, a possibility that must await further empirical study. Suggestions for future research directions are provided.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After reading this article, the reader will be able to (1) define the concept of temperament as well as theories of and means to measure/study temperament, (2) describe the possible association of temperament to children's speech-language, in general, and children's speech-language disorders, in specific, and (3) be able to describe the disability, dispositional and interaction accounts of the association of temperament to speech-language disorders.

Age and the explanation of crime, revisited

Age is one of the most robust correlates of criminal behavior. Yet, explanations for this relationship are varied and conflicting. Developmental theories point to a multitude of sociological, psychological, and biological changes that occur during adolescence and adulthood. One prominent criminological perspective outlined by Gottfredson and Hirschi claims that age has a direct effect on crime, inexplicable from sociological and psychological variables. Despite the attention this claim has received, few direct empirical tests of it have been conducted. We use data from Pathways to Desistance, a longitudinal study of over 1,300 serious youthful offenders (85.8% male, 40.1% African-American, 34.3% Hispanic, 21.0% White), to test this claim. On average, youths were 16.5 years old at the initial interview and were followed for 7 years. We use multilevel longitudinal models to assess the extent to which the direct effects of age are reduced to statistical and substantive non-significance when constructs from a wide range of developmental and criminological theories are controlled. Unlike previous studies, we are able to control for changes across numerous realms emphasized within differing theoretical perspectives including social control (e.g., employment and marriage), procedural justice (e.g., perceptions of the legitimacy and fairness of the legal system), learning (e.g., gang membership and exposure to antisocial peers), strain (e.g., victimization and relationship breakup), psychosocial maturity (e.g., impulse control, self-regulation and moral disengagement), and rational choice (e.g., costs and rewards of crime). Assessed separately, these perspectives explain anywhere from 3% (procedural justice) to 49% (social learning) of the age-crime relationship. Together, changes in these constructs explain 69% of the drop in crime from ages 15 to 25. We conclude that the relationship between age and crime in adolescence and early adulthood is largely explainable, though not entirely, attributable to multiple co-occurring developmental changes.

Peer Nominations of Emotional Expressivity among Urban Children: Social and Psychological Correlates

The current study examined associations between peer nominations of children's expression of negative emotions and psychological, social, and behavioral correlates in a sample of 523 first graders. Children (85% African American) completed a peer nomination measure for expressing negative emotions. In addition, three other domains of functioning were assessed using multiple raters: internalizing symptoms (self, parent), externalizing behavior (parent, teacher), and social competence (parent, teacher). Regression analyses indicated that peer nominations of negative emotions predicted higher levels of teacher-rated externalizing behavior and lower levels of teacher-rated social competence. Peer nominations of emotions were significantly associated with teacher ratings but unrelated to self- and parent-report measures. Adding to a small but growing literature, our findings underscore the importance of assessing peer perceptions of children's emotional expressivity and their associations to social and psychological functioning in an urban, predominantly African American sample.

The normative development of emotion regulation strategy use in children and adolescents: a 2-year follow-up study

BACKGROUND

Emotion regulation involves intrinsic and extrinsic processes responsible for managing one's emotions toward goal accomplishment. Research on emotion regulation has predominantly focused on early developmental periods and the majority of emotion regulation research examining the pre-adult years has lacked a comprehensive theoretical framework. The current study examined the use of two strategies of emotion regulation during childhood and adolescents, as conceptualised within Gross's (1998) process-oriented model.

METHODS

To determine the use, norms and development of the Expressive Suppression and Cognitive Reappraisal strategies, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA) was administered to 1,128 participants aged between 9 and 15 years. Three data collection phases, each one year apart, enabled investigation of developmental patterns in the use of the two strategies.

RESULTS

As predicted, Suppression use was found to be lower for older participants compared to their younger peers, and over time participants reported less use of this strategy. Older participants also scored lower on Reappraisal but stability over time was found. Also as expected, males reported more Suppression use compared to females.

CONCLUSIONS

By documenting the development and norms for Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression in a community sample of children and adolescents, the current study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of these two ER strategies during these developmental periods.

Positive emotion, negative emotion, and emotion control in the externalizing problems of school-aged children

The present study examined the role of emotion and emotion control in children's externalizing problems. Third- to sixth-grade children were administered a self-report measure of positive emotion, negative emotion, and emotion control. Peer- and teacher-reported adjustment problems were assessed. Structural equations modeling revealed that negative emotion, especially anger, was important in externalizing problems. Less positive emotion was associated with more externalizing problems. However, when negative emotion was examined in a more differentiated manner (anger, sadness and fear), the effect of positive emotion was diminished. Anger consistently emerged as a significant predictor of behavior problems. No interaction between either positive emotion and emotion control or negative emotion and emotion control was significant. Results showed main effects of each emotion component, with small interaction effects. Methodological and conceptual implications of the findings from the present study are discussed.

Relation of emotional reactivity and regulation to childhood stuttering

The purpose of the present study was to examine relations between children's emotional reactivity, emotion regulation and stuttering. Participants were 65 preschool children who stutter (CWS) and 56 preschool children who do not stutter (CWNS). Parents completed the Behavior Style Questionnaire (BSQ) [McDevitt S. C., & Carey, W. B. (1978). A measure of temperament in 3-7 year old children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 19, 245-253]. Three groups of BSQ items measuring emotional reactivity, emotion regulation, and attention regulation were identified by experts in children's emotions. Findings indicated that when compared to their normally fluent peers, CWS were significantly more reactive, significantly less able to regulate their emotions, and had significantly poorer attention regulation, even after controlling for gender, age, and language abilities. Findings suggest that the relatively greater emotional reactivity experienced by preschool children who stutter, together with their relative inability to flexibly control their attention and regulate the emotions they experience, may contribute to the difficulties these children have establishing reasonably fluent speech and language.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The reader should be able to (1) define emotional reactivity and emotion regulation, (2) explain how emotional reactivity and emotion regulation relate to preschool stuttering, and (3) understand recent empirical evidence linking reactivity and regulation to preschool stuttering.

Emotion regulation in children and adolescents

Within the past two decades, an "affect revolution" [Fischer and Tangney, Self-conscious Emotions: The Psychology of Shame, Guilt, Embarrassment, and Pride 1995:3-22] in research has revolutionized the ways in which emotion processes have been conceptualized and subsequently studied. This review discusses the literature on emotion regulation (ER) in childhood and adolescence by first summarizing the trajectory of emotional development from infancy through adolescence, followed by a discussion of the biological and environmental influences on ER, and then a review of the literature linking ER to psychosocial functioning. The penultimate section offers practical suggestions for identifying ER difficulties in children and strategies for intervention efforts. Potential areas for future research conclude the review.