Search

Anger rumination is an unconstructive cognitive-emotion regulation strategy that bears negative adjustment outcomes in youth. Anger rumination is mostly examined as an outcome of prior peer victimization. Unidirectional links between maladaptive anger regulation and later peer difficulties have also been reported. Surprisingly, whether anger rumination and peer victimization are mutually related and reinforcing is poorly explored. The present study tested reciprocal associations between anger rumination and peer victimization in 367 5th graders (M.sub.age = 10.53, SE = 0.16; 54.2% girls). To increase precision of findings sadness rumination was treated as a confounder. Self-reported data were obtained at two times, spaced 1 year. Cross-lagged analyses showed that peer victimization predicted increases in anger rumination but not vice versa, after controlling for sadness rumination. Victimized boys were found to be more at risk for endorsing anger rumination over time as compared to victimized girls. Directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed., Author(s): Elli Spyropoulou [sup.1] , Theodoros Giovazolias [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) https://ror.org/00dr28g20, grid.8127.c, 0000 0004 0576 3437, Department of Psychology, University of Crete, , Gallos Campus, 74100, Rethymno, Crete, Greece [...]

The prevailing view emphasizes the up-regulation of positive emotions, as they are essential for individuals to expand flexibility of thought, maintain healthy mental state, and nurture harmonious interpersonal relationships. However, an increasing number of studies have found that excessive positive emotions can be maladaptive, both clinically and non-clinically, especially when the intensity and duration do not match the context and personal expectations. Traditional Chinese medicine advocates the appropriate expression of positive emotions, and it has introduced the emotion regulation strategy of sadness-counteracts-joy (SCJ) to down-regulate excessive positive emotions. The present study examined the efficacy of distraction, reappraisal, and sadness-counteracts-joy (SCJ) in the down-regulation of high-intensity positive emotions. Twenty-one participants (18-30 years old) were sampled, self-reported data were collected, and late positive potentials (LPP) in the regulation task were analyzed. The results showed that (1) the three strategies were effective in the self-reported rating, and the participants perceived SCJ and distraction as more effective than reappraisal; (2) the three strategies all reduced the self-reported positive emotion valence and arousal, but SCJ led to negative valence deflection; (3) both distraction and reappraisal significantly reduced the LPP amplitudes during the early LPP window, and the attenuation of reappraisal lasted for almost the whole implementation; and (4) the LPP for SCJ was consistently the same as that for the free view and did not differ significantly throughout the whole-time window. These results provide preliminary neurophysiological evidence for SCJ and suggest that SCJ is a strategy that differs from distraction and reappraisal., Author(s): Shao-zhen Feng [sup.1] , Chang Liu [sup.1] , Jun-yi Hao [sup.1] , Rong Shi [sup.1] [sup.2] , Ming-ming Zhang [sup.1] , Mai-er-yan Chen [sup.1] , Jing Luo [sup.3] Author [...]

This study aimed to explore the events which are sources of sadness for children, and their coping strategies for overcoming their sadness according to their attachment security. We expected that distinct clusters would emerge, with securely attached children more likely showing constructive and successful coping strategies than insecurely attached children. Middle-class children (N = 191) aged 7-11 years old from four private elementary schools were asked to talk about a sad event they experienced using open-ended questions from the Sadness Interview. The answers were coded into different categories of sad events and associated coping strategies. Finally, children were assessed on their security attachment using the Security Scale. Cluster analyses identified a four-cluster solution. Children in the Clusters 1 and 2 were characterized by a perceived successful constructive coping strategy while describing minor events (in the first Cluster), and very painful events (in the second). Furthermore, in the third Cluster children overcame sad events using a perceived successful disengagement coping strategy, whereas children in the fourth Cluster are characterized by perceived unresolved sadness. ANCOVA testing showed that children in the first cluster had significantly higher attachment security compared to Clusters 3 and 4, which did not significantly differ from each other. The study of sadness in children may be particularly informative for clinicians and educators for understanding and supporting children's strategies of sadness management while considering the influence of their attachment relationships on their ability to cope with sadness., Author(s): Edoardo Saija [sup.1] , Salvatore Ioverno [sup.2] , Roberto Baiocco [sup.3] , Susanna Pallini [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.8509.4, 0000000121622106, Department of Education, Roma Tre University, , Via di [...]

The purpose of this study was to examine how parents' emotional health relates to childhood mood and anxiety disorder among Florida children in the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health. Analyses were restricted to 1,241 Florida children 6-17 years of age. Childhood mood and anxiety disorder was defined as a parent-reported diagnosis of current depression or anxiety. Parents' emotional health status was a composite measure of the lowest reported emotional health of any parent in the household. To assess the association between parents' emotional health and childhood mood and anxiety disorder, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Nearly 5 % of Florida children had a mood or anxiety disorder in 2011-2012. Children living with a parent in poor emotional health were significantly more likely to have a mood or anxiety disorder compared to children living with a parent in good emotional health (OR 5.01; 95 % CI 1.89, 13.29). After adjusting for covariates, this association remained substantial and significant (aOR 4.33; 95 % CI 1.49, 12.57). Findings presented here are consistent with national findings and emphasize the strong link between parents' emotional health status and childhood mood and anxiety disorders. To address the mental health of children in the state of Florida, Florida public health initiatives should consider family processes and child level characteristics., Author(s): Keshia M. Reid[sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) Community Health Practice and Analysis, Division of Community Health Promotion, Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, FL, USA Introduction Mental illness in childhood is [...]

Byline: Yasuharu Tokuda (1), Takashi Inoguchi (2) Keywords: Happiness; Trust; Health; Life satisfaction; Social capital Abstract: Our main objective in this paper is to evaluate the possible association between interpersonal mistrust and unhappiness among Japanese people. Based on cross-sectional data for the Japanese general population from the Asia Barometer Survey (2003--2006), we analyzed the relationship between interpersonal mistrust and unhappiness using a logistic regression, adjusted for age, gender, marital status, income, education, occupation, religious belief, and self-rated health. In a total of 2685 participants (mean age, 42.7 years 47.5% men), 204 (7.6%) were classified as unhappy. For the questionnaire items involving mistrust, 1490 (55.5%) participants reported that they 'can't be too careful in dealing with people', and 1642 (61.2%) participants reported that 'people mostly look out for themselves'. In a multivariable-adjusted model using the average score based on these 2 questions, interpersonal mistrust was associated significantly with unhappiness, with an odds-ratio of 2.06 (95% CI, 1.25 to 3.38). Other features associated with unhappiness included: age 50--59 years, marital status of single, divorced, separated, or widowed, low income, mid-education, and poor self-rated health. Gender, occupation, and religious belief were not associated with unhappiness. In conclusion, interpersonal mistrust is associated significantly with unhappiness among Japanese people. Public policies restoring interpersonal trust are needed to promote happiness among the Japanese. Author Affiliation: (1) St. Luke's Life Science Institute, St. Luke's International Hospital, 9-1 Akashi-cho, Chuo City, Tokyo, 104-8560, Japan (2) Graduate School of Political Science, Chuo University, Hachioji City, Tokyo, Japan Article History: Registration Date: 27/12/2007 Received Date: 21/09/2007 Accepted Date: 24/12/2007 Online Date: 09/01/2008 Article note: Source of financial support: Asahi Breweries, Ltd. Ajinomoto Co., Inc Ebara Corporation Millea Holdings, Inc. Toray Industries, Inc. Toppan Printing Co., Ltd and, Unicharm Corporation, the Regional Policy Division Asia-Pacific Bureau The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the scientific research grant of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ( 15203005). Contributors: Y. Tokuda led the data analysis and wrote the manuscript. T. Inoguchi conceived the idea, organized the survey and assisted with interpretation and drafting of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

The authors examined regulation of the discrete emotions anger and sadness in adolescents through older adults in the context of describing everyday problem situations. The results support previous work; in comparison to younger age groups, older adults reported that they experienced less anger and reported that they used more passive and fewer proactive emotion-regulation strategies in interpersonal situations. The experience of anger partially mediated age differences in the use of proactive emotion regulation. This suggests that at least part of the reason why older adults use fewer proactive emotion-regulation strategies is their decreased experience of anger. Results are discussed in the context of lifespan theories of emotional development. Keywords: emotion regulation, everyday problem solving, emotions, lifespan development

Two studies examined determinants of self-infiltration (i.e., false self-attribution of externally controlled goals or activities). According to Personality Systems Interactions (PSI) theory, a sad mood was expected to reduce access to integrated self-representations and to lead to self-infiltration for participants who have an impaired ability to cope with negative affect (i.e., state-oriented participants). Consistent with expectations, state-oriented participants had a tendency toward self-infiltration (as indexed by higher rates of false self-ascription of assigned activities) when reporting higher levels of sadness (Study 1) and after the experimental induction of a sad mood (Study 2). Participants who are able to downregulate negative affect (i. e., action-oriented participants) did not show this tendency. Theoretical and practical implications of the process of self-infiltration are discussed. Keywords: implicit self; self-access; internalization; PSI theory; state and action orientation

Mood-induction procedures have been useful to investigate the role of dysfunctional cognitions in depression. In general, studies have shown that individuals with a history of depression endorse more dysfunctional attitudes following the induction of sad mood than never-depressed individuals. However, a recent study failed to find the expected differences between previously depressed and never-depressed participants. In the present study, two widely used mood-induction procedures were compared to investigate the possibility that different mood inductions lead to different outcomes. Forty-eight participants underwent two types of sad mood induction: focusing on a sad memory while listening to music and watching a movie fragment. Consistent with modern cognitive theory, mood-state dependency of dysfunctional cognitions (cognitive reactivity) was much higher in vulnerable individuals. This effect occurred during both mood inductions. However, the effects of the music induction were somewhat larger, and the correlation between change of mood and cognitive reactivity was significant in this condition only. Some other subtle differences between both procedures were found. In conclusion, although the effects of both inductions were largely similar, the musical induction is more sensitive, and is preferable for research into cognitive dysfunction in depression.

This study examined the influence of emotion type (i.e., anger, sadness), audience type (i.e., mother, father, best friend), gender, and age on 140 5th-, 8th-, and 11th-grade adolescents' emotion management decisions, emotional self-efficacy, and outcome expectancies. Participants were read 8 vignettes and responded to 8 questions per vignette. Results indicated that 8th-grade adolescents reported regulating emotion most and expected the least interpersonal support from mothers. Children expressed greater self-efficacy and regulation of sadness than of anger. Boys reported dissembling emotion and expecting a negative interpersonal response to emotional behavior more than did girls. Children were more concerned with protecting feelings of friends than with protecting feelings of fathers.

Four studies with college student participants examined the consistency, specificity, and correlates of sadness, fear, and anger. Study 1 measured emotions with daily diaries, and Study 2 examined the relationship between trait emotions and state emotions. Studies 1 and 2 indicated that specific negative emotions are temporally stable, are positively correlated, and provide information above and beyond that provided by other negative emotions. Study 3 found that negative emotions are differentially associated with different facets of cognitive style, as measured by questionnaires that examined dysfunctional attitudes and attributions concerning negative events. Study 4 indicated that negative emotions are differentially associated with different facets of response style, as measured by the degree to which individuals described their thoughts, feelings, and actions in response to hypothetical events.

Nolen-Hoeksema's (1987) response style theory states that women ruminate on sadness more than men, and that men distract themselves from sadness more than women. These response styles are assumed to develop through the socialization of sex-appropriate behavior. The present study extended this argument by examining the relation of sex-role orientation to response styles in an adult sample. It was hypothesized that greater femininity is associated with more rumination and less distraction in response to sadness, and that greater masculinity is associated with less rumination and more distraction in response to sadness. Male and female undergraduates completed the short form of the BSRI and a coping measure. Consistent with expectations, subjects' sex-role scores were significant predictors of coping responses. Higher femininity was associated with more rumination, whereas higher masculinity was associated with more distraction. As in previous research, sex differences emerged. Female subjects relative to male subjects reported more rumination and less distraction in response to sadness. The sex-role findings are discussed in relation to current conceptualizations of femininity and masculinity measures, and in relation to sex-role differences in depression.

Undergraduates, 61 men and 52 women, participated in pairs in an examination of whether simulated tearing of the eyes would cause sadness. In order to simulate the experience of tearing up, about 0.2 ml of water was dropped on the cheek near the lacrimal duct of both eyes of each participant, who then rated subjective feeling on a 7-point scale. 53.8% of participants reported sadness along with the simulated tearing, which was statistically larger than the 28.6% who reported cheerfulness.

In the cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS) theory of Mischel and Shoda (1995, 1998), personality is conceived as a system of cognitions and affects that mediates between active situational features and behavior. Two major tasks for this approach to personality are the search for active situational features and for mediating psychological processes within a behavioral domain of interest. We report two studies to address these tasks for the domain of anger and sadness. To design these studies and to analyze the obtained data, novel extensions of our previous developed Triple Typology Model (TTM; Vansteelandt & Van Mechelen, 1998) are proposed. These extensions allow the researcher to test hypotheses concerning potentially relevant active situational features in a systematic and confirmatory way and to examine psychological processes as they occur in concrete situations.

Cliff Arnall, health psychologist affiliated to Cardiff University, has named 23 January as the unhappiest day in 2006 based on factors such as weather, broken New Year resolutions and seasonal debts. However, this has been dismissed as pseudoscientific nonsense by Petra Boynton, psychologist and health services research lecturer at University College London, who said such surveys devalue serious academic work.