Marie-Lotte Van Beveren

The mediating effect of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies on executive functioning impairment and depressive symptoms among adolescents.

ABSTRACT Past research results suggest that executive functioning (EF) impairment represents an important vulnerability factor in depression. Little research, however, has examined mechanisms underlying this association. The current study investigates the associations between EF impairment, emotion regulation (ER) strategies, and depressive symptoms in a sample of 579 adolescents (320 females, mean age = 12.06 years). Parents reported on adolescents’ EF and general psychopathology, and adolescents self-reported ER strategies and depressive symptoms. The results indicate that greater EF impairment is associated with more depressive symptoms. Youth with greater EF impairment reported more maladaptive ER and less adaptive ER, and maladaptive and adaptive ER strategies jointly mediated the association between EF impairment and depressive symptoms. The results highlight an important role of both maladaptive and adaptive ER in explaining the relationship between EF and depressive symptoms and suggest that clinical interventions targeting ER skills may provide one strategy for the prevention and treatment of depression. Further longitudinal research is needed to replicate these results and evaluate the causality of the relations.

Joint Contributions of Negative Emotionality, Positive Emotionality, and Effortful Control on Depressive Symptoms in Youth

From a clinical developmental perspective, temperament has been shown to confer vulnerability to depression among youth. High negative emotionality (NE), low positive emotionality (PE), and low effortful control (EC) have repeatedly been independently associated with youth depressive symptoms. However, far less research has examined the joint contributions of NE, PE, and EC on such symptoms. The present study builds upon previous research by examining how NE, PE, and EC jointly predict change in depressive symptoms over time among 211 youngsters (7–14 years, M = 10.7, SD = 1.81) who participated in an 8-month prospective study. Self-reported temperament and symptoms were assessed at baseline; self-reported symptoms were measured again at follow-up. Results suggest that all 3 temperamental traits need to be considered jointly in predicting change in depressive symptoms. Furthermore, results provide further support for the “best two out of three” principle. Surprisingly, results reveal that high EC might be maladaptive in the context of high emotional reactivity. Last, results show that the combination of high NE and low EC could be a possible pathway to the development of symptoms. The current study clarified how NE, PE, and EC may jointly confer risk—or protection for developing depressive symptoms during adolescence. The results highlight the need of taking into account all three temperamental traits in order to provide a more nuanced understanding of the risk for developing depressive symptoms at an early stage, as well as to provide customized care targeting temperamental vulnerability in depressed youth.

The effects of emotion regulation strategies on positive and negative affect in early adolescents

ABSTRACT Recent research suggests that impaired emotion regulation (ER) may play an important role in the development of youth psychopathology. However, little research has explored the effects of ER strategies on affect in early adolescents. In Study 1 (n = 76), we examined if early adolescents are able to use distraction and whether the effects of this strategy are similar to talking to one’s mother. In Study 2 (n = 184), we compared the effects of distraction, cognitive reappraisal, acceptance, and rumination. In both studies, participants received instructions on how to regulate their emotions after a standardised negative mood induction. In general, the results indicated that distraction, but also cognitive reappraisal and acceptance, had promising short-term effects on positive and negative affect in early adolescents. These findings suggest that targeting adaptive ER skills, such as distraction, acceptance, and cognitive reappraisal, may be an important strategy to prevent or treat psychological problems in early adolescents.

How do I feel right now? Emotional awareness, emotion regulation, and depressive symptoms in youth

Decreased emotional awareness contributes to the risk of internalizing disorders, such as depression. Although emotional awareness may be especially important during adolescence, a developmental period in which emotional arousal is high and the risk of depression rises dramatically, little research has examined the mechanisms linking emotional awareness to depression. Starting from affect regulation models, the current study proposes emotion regulation (ER) as a key underlying mechanism in the emotional awareness—depression relationship. The current study investigated whether maladaptive and adaptive ER strategies mediate the relationship between emotional awareness and depressive symptoms among youth using a cross-sectional design. Participants were 220 youth (65% girls;

Do changes in affect moderate the association between attachment anxiety and body dissatisfaction in children? An experimental study by means of the Trier Social Stress Test

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Associations between temperament, emotion regulation, and depression in youth: the role of positive temperament

Mage = 11.87, SD = 1.94) who filled out a set of questionnaires assessing emotional awareness, ER strategies, and depressive symptoms. Results revealed no direct relationship between emotional awareness and depressive symptoms. However, emotional awareness yielded a significant mediation effect through total adaptive ER strategies on higher depressive symptoms. No evidence was found for the mediating role of maladaptive ER strategies in this relationship. The current study provides further support for affect regulation models positing that emotional awareness may be a basic skill that is required for learning adaptive ER skills, and thus call for greater attention to adaptive ER strategies.

Is the cognitive triad a clear marker of depressive symptoms in youngsters

This study examined whether early maladaptive schemas (EMS) moderate the predictive association between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in adolescents. For this purpose, a sample of 572 adolescents (314 males; Mage = 15.78, SDage = 0.94) completed measures of bullying victimization and EMS (Disconnection and Rejection, Impaired Autonomy and Other-Directedness domains) at the beginning of the study, and measures of depression in four consecutive waves every 4 months. Latent growth curve modelling was used to test the study hypothesis. The results indicated that both bullying victimization and EMS significantly predict a higher level of depressive symptoms. All schema domains moderated the association between bullying victimization and level of depressive symptoms. In addition, Disconnection and Rejection and Other-Directedness moderated the predictive association between bullying victimization and the trajectory of symptoms. Namely, in adolescents who scored high in theses schema domains, the level of depressive symptoms at T1 and T2 was higher when bullying victimization was high than when it was low. These findings suggest that EMS are relevant and make adolescents vulnerable when faced with bullying victimization.

Don't worry, be happy: The role of positive emotionality and adaptive emotion regulation strategies for youth depressive symptoms

OBJECTIVE Previous studies have already found a positive association between attachment and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in children and adolescents. However, to our knowledge, no experimental studies have examined whether changes in negative and/or positive affect moderate the association between attachment anxiety and body dissatisfaction in children. METHOD A controlled laboratory setting was used to investigate whether changes in state negative and/or positive affect moderate the association between attachment anxiety and body satisfaction in a sample of 81 children (Mage=11.74). The changes in state affect were caused by the exposure to a performance-related stressor using the Trier Social Stress Test for Children. RESULTS Children with high levels of attachment anxiety reported a decrease in body satisfaction, but only if the TSST-C led to a decrease in their positive affect. DISCUSSION Early detection and intervention programs may benefit from addressing insecure attachment and maladaptive emotion regulation in children.