Disturbances in positive emotion play a unique role in mental health problems, but little is known about how positive emotion regulation (ER) processes unfold in daily life. This study aimed to capture the dynamics of daily positive ER processes by investigating (1) which positive ER strategies individuals use, (2) the association between intensity of positive and negative emotions and the use of specific positive ER strategies, and (3) how positive ER strategy use is associated with changes in emotions. Additionally, the role of anhedonia in explaining inter-individual differences in positive ER processes was examined. A total of 159 emerging adults (M age =21.50, 76% female) completed a baseline questionnaire and enrolled in a 14-day Experience Sampling Method (ESM) study (5x/day), tracking their emotions and positive ER strategies. Pre-registered Dynamic Structural Equation Models showed that greater emotional intensity, regardless of valence, was associated with increased positive ER strategy use. Using upregulation strategies was linked to improvements in emotions, whereas downregulation strategies had the opposite effect. Anhedonia did not consistently explain individual differences in these associations. Our findings highlight the complexity of positive ER processes in daily life and their mental health implications, and underscore the need for further research in this area.
Although early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) are known to affect self-focused emotion regulation and psychological symptoms, little is known about how they are associated with individuals’ emotional behaviors toward others. This study examined the associations between EMSs and other-directed interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). Four hundred Japanese adults (mean age = 40.1 years; 50% female) completed the Young Schema Questionnaire–Short Form and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to examine pathways linking five higher-order EMS domains (i.e., Disconnection and Rejection, Impaired Autonomy and Performance, Other-Directedness, Overvigilance and Inhibition, and Impaired Limits) to three IER strategies (i.e., Positive Reappraisal Support, Emotional Expression Support, and Distraction Support). In the constrained model, Other-Directedness was positively associated with Positive Reappraisal Support and Distraction Support, whereas Overvigilance and Inhibition showed a marginal positive association with Emotional Expression Support. No statistically significant associations were observed for the other EMS domains in this model. However, the full hypothesized model showed a broader pattern of associations across EMS domains, indicating that conclusions regarding domain-specific associations depended in part on model specification. The findings provide evidence linking EMSs to other-directed IER. Interpersonal regulation tendencies appeared to be associated with relational dependency and overcontrol schemas in the constrained model; however, supplementary analyses suggested that the precise pattern of associations depended in part on model specification. These results suggest that EMSs may be relevant beyond self-focused emotion regulation in interpersonal contexts, with potential implications for interventions targeting relational emotion-regulation difficulties.
BACKGROUND A high prevalence of somatisation is associated with a strong impairment of quality of life. Recent research suggests common underlying mechanism of central sensitisation in functional syndromes and chronic pain, with emotion regulation (ER) processes closely linked to somatic symptoms. This study examines the relationship between negative affect (NA) and anger rumination (AR) and its influence on somatisation. METHODS Five hundred seven individuals participated (mean age = 34.60 ± 13.22 years; 380 women). They completed the Patient Health Questionnaire, Negative Affect Scale, and Displaced Aggression Questionnaire. A cross-sectional multivariate factorial relational design was used. Descriptive, multiple linear regression, and mediation analyses were conducted on the total and sex-separated samples. RESULTS Data analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between NA and AR (r = 0.55, p < 0.01), and both were significantly associated with somatisation (rumination: r = 0.37, p < 0.01; NA: r = 0.54, p < 0.01). Simple linear regressions confirmed that higher levels of NA and AR individually predicted increased somatic symptoms in both sexes. However, multiple regression analyses revealed that the effect of AR on somatisation was reduced in women and became non-significant in men when accounting for NA. Mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of AR on somatisation through negative affect (B = 0.005, 95% bootstrap confidence interval [0.004, 0.006]), accounting for 62.5% of the total effect. The mediation pattern was replicated in both women (indirect effect B = 0.005, 95% confidence interval [0.004, 0.007]) and men (indirect effect B = 0.004, 95% confidence interval [0.002, 0.006]). These findings indicated that part of the effect of AR on somatisation occurred under the influence of NA. CONCLUSIONS NA and AR were associated with increased somatic symptoms. These findings suggest the benefit of developing interventions that encourage the use of functional ER strategies. These can help to reduce NA, which in a prolonged form can constitute a vulnerability for organisms, especially in those people with a tendency to somatise.
Difficulties in emotion reactivity, awareness (alexithymia), and regulation are highly correlated and feature in a variety of psychological disorders. However, the nature of their connections remains largely unclear. In this study, we applied network analysis to build a network-based model of these three emotional constructs and examined their roles in psychological disorders (depression and anxiety) using data from 1,105 community adults. Participants have been recruited online in 2022. Both undirected networks and directed networks were constructed. The results indicated that difficulty inhibiting behaviors during positive emotions, difficulties downregulating negative feelings, and difficulties identifying positive feelings were highly influential nodes in undirected networks with and without depression and anxiety. Difficulty inhibiting behaviors during negative emotions was most strongly associated with depression and anxiety. The directed network further identified potential driving and outcome nodes among these constructs. These findings advance understanding of the interrelationship between related emotional constructs and their integration within emotional processing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Despite the importance of close friends for emotional development during adolescence, little is known about how affective experiences within friendships affect physical well-being. Across two studies and samples, the current study examined the extent that behaviors that amplify affect, emotional reactivity, and autonomic physiological reactivity within the context of friendship interactions were associated with adolescents’ somatic symptoms of depression and anxiety cross-sectionally (Study 1) and over a one-year period (Study 2). In Study 1, 196 adolescents (Mage = 14.16, 67% girls) participated with a same-gender friend. They completed Problem Talk and Plan a Party friendship interactions that were coded for dwelling on negative affect and enhancing positive affect. Adolescents reported on positive and negative emotions before and after each task, applied sensors to assess physiological reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA, skin conductance levels; SCL), and reported on somatic symptoms. During Problem Talk, increases in negative emotions and SCL were associated with greater somatic symptoms, and increases in positive emotions were associated with lower somatic symptoms. During Plan a Party, enhancing positive affect related to lower somatic symptoms. In Study 2, 110 adolescents (Mage = 15.80, 75% girls) completed the same procedure as Study 1 and also reported on somatic symptoms again oneyear later. Increases in positive emotions after Problem Talk and increases in RSA during both tasks were associated with lower somatic symptoms over time. The current study provides evidence that emotional experiences within friendships are linked to adolescents’ reported somatic symptoms, particularly when considering positive emotional experiences.
ABSTRACT Background: The loss of a significant other may lead to prolonged grief disorder (PGD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, and loneliness. Comparative thinking about one’s well-being (e.g. social, temporal, counterfactual, or expectation-based comparisons) may act as a cognitive link between bereavement and psychopathology. For example, frequently comparing current well-being to pre-loss levels (i.e. past temporal comparison) and perceiving a gap (comparison discrepancy) can intensify negative emotions (comparison affective impact), which may, in turn, exacerbate psychopathology. We hypothesized that aversive well-being comparison frequency, comparison discrepancy, and negative comparison affective impact would each predict higher psychopathology over time, with comparison discrepancy and affective impact sequentially mediating the association between comparison frequency and psychopathology. Methods: Our two-wave longitudinal study of bereaved individuals (N = 315) assessed well-being comparisons, worry, rumination, avoidance, childhood adversity, and mental health outcomes over six months post-loss. Results: Preregistered hypotheses were partly confirmed. Higher frequency of aversive well-being comparison, comparison discrepancy, and negative comparison affective impact predicted elevated psychopathology (PGD, PTSD, depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, & loneliness) symptoms six months later. Nuanced effects persisted after accounting for autoregressive pathways, worry, rumination, avoidance, and childhood adversity. In mediation pathways, frequent comparison amplified perceived discrepancies, eliciting negative affective impact, which in turn contributed to depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms. Conclusion: Our work suggests that well-being comparison plays a significant role in mental health outcomes following loss.