Effectiveness of DBT skills training in outpatient men: A naturalistic study.

A plethora of research highlights the effectiveness of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) in improving emotion regulation and psychological functioning transdiagnostically. However, the majority of this research has focused on women, and the limited existing research on men has concentrated on high acuity patients in forensic and inpatient settings. The present study examined the effectiveness of DBT skills groups in reducing emotion regulation difficulties in a transdiagnostic sample of adult men in a university-based clinical outpatient setting using a naturalistic design. Sixteen adult male patients completed self-report measures examining emotion regulation difficulties (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) at intake and following one 12-week module of DBT skills group. Men showed a significant reduction in overall difficulty regulating emotions with a moderate effect size (d = 0.63, p < .05) following one module of DBT skills group, which were accounted for primarily by improvements on the impulse control difficulties subscale (d = 1.06, p < .01). In comparison, women (N = 82) showed significant improvements in global emotion regulation difficulties (d = 0.71, p < .01), with marked improvement across all six subscales. Implications of findings for the application of DBT for men in outpatient settings is discussed, limitations reviewed, and areas for future research suggested. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

All in the Family: How Parental Criticism Impacts Depressive Symptoms in Youth.

Despite a strong connection between family environment and mood symptoms in youth, little research to date has examined potential underlying mechanisms. We propose an etiological model investigating how parenting (i.e., expressed emotion, or EE) affects youth depression by shaping their emotion regulation abilities. Forty-six youth and caregivers participated in this cross-sectional study. Family environment was assessed using the Five-Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) and the Levels of Expressed Emotion Scale (LEE). The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R) were used to assess youth emotion regulation and depressive symptoms, respectively. Analyses demonstrated no significant relationships between type of reporter (i.e., independent rater, parent, youth) of parental EE and criticism. Mediation analyses suggested that youth-reported parental EE predicted greater levels of youth depressive symptoms, and that this association was mediated by emotion regulation. This study has direct clinical implications, elucidating the importance of strengthening positive parent-child communication to support the development of emotion regulation skills and psychological well-being for youth.

Personality and pediatric bipolar disorder: Toward personalizing psychosocial intervention.

BACKGROUND: Previous research suggests that challenging temperament characteristics (i.e., low mood, irritability and rigidity) are associated with risk for the development of Pediatric Bipolar Disorder (PBD). This study aimed to investigate the connection between PBD and discrete dimensions of the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality. METHODS: Youth diagnosed with PBD I, II, or NOS, at high risk for the disorder (BD-HR) and healthy controls were recruited from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. Researchers administered a personality inventory and evaluated current mood state. RESULTS: BD and BD-HR youth scored lower in Emotional Regulation than did HC youth (F (3, 70) = 10.75, p < .001). Within the BD and BD-HR groups, youth with high depression scores scored lower on Extraversion (F (3, 70) = 8.62, p < .001) and Conscientiousness (F (3, 70) = 4.53, p < .01). LIMITATIONS: A major limitation of this study is its cross-sectional design, precluding analysis of whether certain traits or clusters of traits predict PBD or other mood disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Low Emotional Regulation, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness were associated with PBD; this personality profile clinically corresponds with youth diagnosed with PBD who present with difficulty regulating their emotions, vulnerability to stress, and emotional reactivity. Future research examining personality characteristics in PBD may elucidate further a specific profile to aid clinicians in developing psychosocial interventions for youth with and at high risk of developing PBD.