Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Behavioral Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (BERQ).

The Behavioral Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (BERQ) is a self-report measure of the behavioral strategies individuals use to regulate emotions in response to stressful or negative events. The purpose of the present study was to report on the psychometric properties of the Turkish version. The sample was recruited through courses at a semi-private university in Turkey and through social-media announcements. A sample of 320 adults (81.9% females, 18.1% males) with a mean age of 22.03 (SD = 2.73) completed the Turkish translation of the BERQ, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the Turkish version replicated the 5-factor structure of the original version; yet, a confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the original model showed an inadequate fit to the present data. Internal consistency coefficients of the subscales ranged between 0.72 and 0.88, and the test-retest reliability of subscales over a 3-week interval ranged from 0.51 to 0.70. As in the original version, we found that actively approaching and seeking social support were more adaptive strategies, whereas withdrawal and ignoring were less adaptive strategies. Results were mixed for the seeking distraction subscale. Additionally, withdrawal significantly predicted future depressive and anxiety symptoms. Overall, our results provide support for the Turkish version of the BERQ as a reliable and valid measure of behavioral emotion regulation strategies.

Predictors of stress generation in Turkish young adults: The role of rumination and excessive reassurance seeking.

The stress generation model posits that not only stressful life-events predict depressive symptoms, but also depressive-prone individuals think and behave in ways that make them more vulnerable to experience life-stress. Evidence has supported the bi-directional relationship between stress and depressive symptoms, and there has been an attempt in identifying vulnerability factors for stress generation. Yet, there is a need for studies focusing on multiple risk factors and a replication of findings in non-Western samples. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of rumination and excessive reassurance seeking (ERS) in stress generation in a sample of Turkish young adults. A sample of 318 Turkish college students reported on their rumination, ERS, intensity of stressful life-events and depressive symptoms. A subsample of 162 participants also completed a measure of life-events 5 months later. Cross-sectional results showed that rumination and ERS contribute to life-stress over and above depressive symptoms and gender. Mediational analyses indicated that ERS does not mediate the relationship between rumination and life-stress at 5 months. Rather, rumination fully mediated the relationship between ERS and future life-stress. Results provide evidence for stress generation, and highlight the interconnection between rumination and ERS.

Turkish Muslim Healers: A Qualitative Investigation of Hocas and Their Methods.

A vast majority of Turkish individuals are Muslim, and several Turkish individuals refer to traditional healers to get help for medical and psychological problems. The purpose of the present study was to investigate Turkish traditional healing methods and to delineate the kinds of presenting problems that the clients bring to healers, methods used by the healers, the healing process, and the effect of healing on the clients. For this purpose, 11 participants were interviewed. The data were analyzed using the consensual qualitative research method. Nine domains emerged from the interviews: symptoms, diagnosis, etiology, treatment, response to treatment, characteristics of healers, clients' beliefs and desire to be healed, all healing coming from Allah (God), and characteristics of jinns. The findings were discussed in light of Kleinman's (Patients and healers in the context of culture: an exploration of the borderland between anthropology, medicine, and psychiatry, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1980) illness explanatory model and characteristics of Turkish culture.

Associated Factors of Psychological Symptoms Among Unemployed Turkish Adults: The Role of Personality Factors and Rumination.

Unemployment has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes including depression and suicide. In the last decades, unemployment rates have increased substantially in Turkey; yet, factors and mechanisms that play a role in experiencing psychological symptoms among unemployed individuals are not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of personality characteristics on psychological symptoms among unemployed Turkish adults and to test the mediating role of rumination as a dysfunctional cognitive strategy. The sample consisted of 217 unemployed Turkish adults who completed self-report measures on neuroticism, external locus of control, rumination, and psychological symptoms. The results of the structural equation modeling indicated that rumination partially mediated the relationship between personality variables (i.e., neuroticism and external locus of control) and psychological symptoms, thus verifying the hypothesis of the study. The direct paths from trait neuroticism and external locus of control to psychological symptoms were also significant. Results revealed that a tendency to attribute future outcomes to external factors and an increased tendency to experience negative emotions are associated with engaging passively in rumination, which in turn predicts psychological symptoms. Interventions are suggested to focus on effective coping strategies along with increasing individuals' perceived control over life and future.

Exploring the link between emotional and behavioral dysregulation: a test of the emotional cascade model.

The emotional cascade model (Selby, Anestis, & Joiner, 2008) posits that the link between emotional and behavioral dysregulation may be through emotional cascades, which are repetitive cycles of rumination and negative affect that result in an intensification of emotional distress. Dysregulated behaviors, such as non-suicidal self-injury, are used to reduce aversive emotions and distract the person from ruminative processes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the emotional cascade model in a non-Western sample of Turkish university students. Accordingly, a structural equation model was tested, and the results demonstrated that the emotional cascades were indeed associated to dysregulated behaviors, even when the effect of current symptoms of depression and anxiety on behavioral dysregulation was statistically controlled. Furthermore, thought suppression had a stronger relationship with all symptom patterns as compared to rumination, which may point to a cultural difference. Possible implications of the findings are discussed.