Reciprocal relationships between positive expectancies and positive emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-lagged panel study.

INTRODUCTION: Previous research highlighted the importance of investigating distinct protective factors that predict the experience of positive emotions during stressful situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In this longitudinal study, we specifically focused on positive expectancies towards the future (optimism, response expectancy, and response hope) in relation to the experience of positive emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our primary objectives were to identify the best predictors for experiencing short-term and long-term positive emotions and investigate their interrelationships. METHODS: Data from 271 participants (average age = 29.2 years, 84.7% female) were analyzed using four cross-lagged models. RESULTS: Results showed that response expectancy was the best predictor for experiencing positive emotions in the short term, while optimism was the best predictor for experiencing positive emotions in the long term. Additionally, through further exploratory analysis, multiple bidirectional relationships were identified between positive expectancies and positive emotions. DISCUSSION: Our results highlight the significant role played by positive expectancies in predicting the experience of positive emotions. Specifically, dispositional optimism emerged as a stronger predictor of longer-term positive emotions, whereas response expectancy proved to be a better predictor of shorter-term positive emotions. Thus, interventions targeting positive expectancies have the potential to enhance emotional functioning in individuals during challenging situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Response expectancy positively predicts positive emotions in the short term.Optimism positively predicts positive emotions in the long term.Response expectancy positively predicts optimism in the short and long term.Response expectancy positively predicts response hope in the short term.Response hope negatively predicts optimism in the short and long term.Positive emotions positively predict positive expectancies (response expectancy, response hope, and optimism) on short term.The discrepancy score negatively predicts positive emotions in the short term.The discrepancy score negatively predicts optimism in the short and long term.

Emotion regulation difficulties in the relation between stress-related insomnia symptoms and brain response to emotional faces: An fMRI study.

The aim of the current study was to investigate whether the experience of insomnia symptoms per se and symptoms of insomnia due to stress are associated with an increased brain response to the presentation of emotional faces. In addition, we also examined whether the effect of these sleep difficulties on emotional reactivity at the brain level depends on the experience of emotion regulation (ER) difficulties. The current sample consisted of 37 individuals (20 females, 17 males) selected from a larger group of 120 respondents who completed a survey about sleep problems and ER difficulties. Our results indicate that the tendency to experience stress-related insomnia symptoms but not insomnia symptoms per se modulates brain responses to emotional facial expressions, especially in areas of the parietal cortex, insula, and surrounding opercular voxels. Furthermore, difficulties in ER might play an important role, as the effect of stress-related insomnia symptoms on most of these brain regions disappears when controlling for difficulties in ER. However, an effect in the insula was maintained during the presentation of angry faces, suggesting that stress-related insomnia symptoms may increase the brain response to anger in the insula relatively independent from difficulties in ER. These findings suggest that individuals affected by stress-related insomnia symptoms show an enhanced brain response when presented with emotional stimuli (either positive or negative) in brain areas associated with hyperarousal, which could represent a possible ER deficit in these individuals. Thus, interventions that focus on targeting ER difficulties might be effective in reducing the hyperarousal state in individuals affected by stress-related insomnia symptoms.

Effectiveness of the REThink therapeutic online video game in promoting mental health in children and adolescents.

Although evidence-based interventions exist, estimates suggest that about 60% percent of children and adolescents with mental health disorders do not receive the treatment they need. In this context, one expanding strategy for increasing access to mental health care for children and adolescents is the use therapeutic, or serious, games. REThink is one such therapeutic game, developed to offer a CBT-based prevention that was documented in a controlled trial to develop psychological resilience in children and adolescents, aged between 10 and 16, helping them learn healthy strategies for coping with dysfunctional negative emotions such as anxiety, anger and depression. This study aims to test the effectiveness of the REThink therapeutic online video game in promoting emotional health in children and adolescents in a pilot study. Participants (N = 31), aged between 10 and 16 years, were recruited on a volunteer basis from a school. Emotional problems, irrational beliefs, negative automatic thoughts, rational beliefs, and problem solving abilities were assessed pre- and post-using the therapeutic game. We also measured participants' satisfaction with the game. Results obtained show improvements in terms of emotional problems of the youths, their irrational beliefs, negative automatic thoughts and high levels of intervention satisfaction. of this study are in support of the previous findings suggesting that the REThink online game can be a valuable tool for large-scale mental health efforts aimed at the prevention of emotional disorders in children and adolescents, in accordance with evidence-based prevention protocols.

Emotion regulation abilities as a predictor of anxiety, positive emotions, heart rate, and alpha asymmetry during an impromptu speech task.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recent approaches suggest that emotion regulation (ER) abilities represent potential predictors of emotional response among youths navigating stressful situations. To test this, we investigated whether ER abilities predicted the subjective and physiological emotional response experienced by youths during a stressful situation. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was employed. METHOD: One hundred and thirty-four youths completed measures of ER abilities (emotional awareness, anxiety sensitivity, emotional control) and were asked to deliver a speech while their anxiety, positive emotions, heart rate, and alpha asymmetry were collected at four time points: baseline, anticipation, speech, and post-recovery. RESULTS: Pearson r correlations showed that poor emotional control and awareness, as well as high anxiety sensitivity were related to greater anxiety and lower positive emotions experienced during the speech. Hierarchical multiple regressions also revealed that emotional control and emotional awareness predicted greater speech anxiety and lower positive emotions. Moreover, anxiety sensitivity was related to and predicted an increased heart rate experienced during speech. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that difficulties in emotional awareness, anxiety sensitivity, and emotional control predict the emotional response experienced by youths during a stressful situation. Interventions delivered by clinicians/teachers that target ER difficulties may be effective in improving emotional functioning when navigating stressful situations.

Thought Suppression in Primary Psychotic Disorders and Substance/Medication Induced Psychotic Disorder.

INTRODUCTION: First episode-psychosis (FEP) represents a stressful/traumatic event for patients. To our knowledge, no study to date has investigated thought suppression involved in FEP in a Romanian population. Our objective was to investigate thought suppression occurring during FEP within primary psychotic disorders (PPD) and substance/medication induced psychotic disorders (SMIPD). Further, we examined the relationship between thought suppression and negative automatic thoughts within PPD and SMIPD. METHODS: The study included 30 participants (17 females) with PPD and 25 participants (10 females) with SMIPD. Psychological scales were administered to assess psychotic symptoms and negative automatic thoughts, along a psychiatric clinical interview and a biochemical drug test. RESULTS: Participants in the PPD group reported higher thought suppression compared to SMIPD group. For the PPD group, results showed a positive correlation between thought suppression and automatic thoughts. For the SMIPD group, results also showed a positive correlation between thought suppression and automatic thoughts. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PPD rely more on thought suppression, as opposed to SMIPD patients. Thought suppression may be viewed as an unhealthy reaction to FEP, which is associated with the experience of negative automatic thoughts and might be especially problematic in patients with PPD. Cognitive behavioral therapy is recommended to decrease thought suppression and improve patients' functioning.

The Role of Emotion Regulation Difficulties in the Relation Between Insomnia and Depressive Symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Emotion regulation (ER) difficulties have been reported to be more severe in individuals with insomnia symptoms compared with controls, which in turn might explain the experience of depressive symptoms in these individuals. To our knowledge, no study has directly tested this hypothesis; therefore, we aimed to examine the indirect association between possible insomnia disorder and depressive symptoms through ER difficulties. METHOD: One hundred and seven individuals with possible insomnia disorder and 268 controls (based on a cutoff score on the Sleep Condition Indicator) completed measures of ER difficulties and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: As expected, individuals with possible insomnia disorder showed more severe depressive symptoms and ER difficulties compared with controls. Moreover, there was a significant indirect association between possible insomnia disorder and depressive symptoms through overall ER difficulties. CONCLUSION: ER difficulties were more severe in individuals with possible insomnia disorder and were further associated with more severe depressive symptoms. We speculate that by adding interventions aimed to develop ER abilities, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) could become a more effective intervention for individuals with insomnia symptoms and associated emotional difficulties. LIMITATIONS: We used cross-sectional measures in our models of indirect associations.