ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Little is known about the influence of multiple sclerosis (MS) on the regulation of emotion. The current study tested whether people with MS report more emotion regulation difficulties than healthy controls. The relationship between emotion regulation and other important variables (mood, quality of life, and executive function) was explored. Mediation models were used to further understand the links between emotion regulation, depressed mood, and executive function in MS. METHOD: A total of 31 people with MS and 31 controls completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scales and measures of executive function (fluency and a go/no-go task), mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales), and a multidimensional assessment of quality of life (World Health Organization Quality of Life, brief version). RESULTS: People with MS reported experiencing more difficulties in emotion regulation than controls. Mediation analyses indicated that depression mediated the emotion regulation difficulties in MS, while executive dysfunction did not. Difficulties in emotion regulation predicted poorer psychological and social quality of life in MS, independent of problems with executive function. CONCLUSIONS: People with MS experience difficulties in emotion regulation, which predict poorer quality of life. These results indicate that emotional control skills should be investigated in further detail when considering interventions to enhance well-being in MS.
Subject(s)
Cognition Disorders/etiology , Executive Function/physiology , Mood Disorders/etiology , Multiple Sclerosis/complications , Multiple Sclerosis/psychology , Quality of Life/psychology , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Models, Statistical , Neuropsychological Tests , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Self ReportABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Stroke can cause impairment in emotion perception, but the social consequences of these problems have not been explored to date. In a group of patients with stroke, this study investigated whether difficulties in emotion perception related to social participation and quality-of-life. It also assessed whether these relationships remained significant when controlling for activity limitations. METHOD: Individuals 1 year post-stroke (n = 28) and control participants (n = 40) were assessed on emotion perception across different modalities. Activity limitations, social participation, and multiple domains of quality-of-life were assessed in patients. RESULTS: Participants with stroke were impaired on emotion perception compared to controls. Emotion perception problems in stroke were significantly correlated with social participation and psychological aspects of QoL, but not with activity limitations. CONCLUSIONS: The strong relationships of emotion perception with social participation and psychological aspects of QoL following stroke may have implications for post-stroke outcomes.
