Alternative Treatments for Emotional Experiencing and Processing in People with Migraine or Tension-Type Headache: A Scoping Review.

This narrative review aims to summarize the use of alternative treatments (e.g., relaxation training, meditation, written intervention) for emotional expression, processing, control, or management in patients with migraine and tension-type headaches, which the previous literature has shown to be related to migraine pain perception and headache symptoms. Online databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Medline were searched to identify studies published between 2000 and 2023. A descriptive synthesis of the included studies was conducted. We included seven articles after screening 1.173 records. A total of 610 patients with a diagnosis of migraine or tension-type headache, and an average age of 19-45.5 years (68-90.4% females) were recruited in the selected studies. Overall, the results show that alternative approaches to headache treatment contribute to the management, reduction, or control of negative emotions and at the same time have a positive impact on pain perception and headache symptoms. However, in some cases, the effects are more promising than others, depending on the peculiarities or limitations of each approach considered. This review provides useful insights from a methodological point of view for future studies on the management or control of negative emotions in patients with migraine and tension-type headache.

Playing for keeps or just playing with emotion? Studying tilt and emotion regulation in video games.

Introduction: In video gaming, tilt is thought to relate to poor emotional control and game performance. Despite widespread recognition of tilt in video gaming, there is a lack of research examining tilt empirically. Methods: One thousand and seven gamers took part in our online study examining gamers experience of tilt, the factors which contribute to and protect against tilt, and the emotion regulation strategies gamers employ to deal with tilt. Results: Gamers who reported playing for more competitive reasons, were at higher risk of experiencing tilt. Additional factors associated with an increased risk of experiencing tilt were increased anger and more hours spent playing. Protective factors against experiencing tilt were also identified, inclusive of a greater number of years gaming experience and engagement in adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Discussion: This study provides an important starting point for creating a better understanding of tilt in gaming, equipping us with new knowledge to better support gamers to improve their emotion regulation during game play performance.

The relationship between motivation profiles for health-oriented physical activity, basic psychological needs and emotional regulation.

The study of motivation toward health-oriented physical activity helps to know the reasons that guide people to practice physical activity. Moreover, different types and levels of motivation may coexist. As such, this paper aimed to analyze the combination of motivation for health-oriented physical activity profiles and examine whether profiles differed in emotional regulation and basic psychological needs. A sample of 808 Spanish adults between 18 and 65 years old (Mage = 33.90; Standard Deviation = 12.91; 366 men) participated in a cross-sectional study. Results revealed the existence of three different motivational profiles: (a) Low scores in self-determined motivation and average-high scores in non-self-determined motivation; (b) Average scores in self-determined and non-self-determined motivation; (c) High scores in self-determined motivation and average-high in non-self-determined motivation. Furthermore, participants differed in the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and cognitive-emotional regulation strategies depending on the profiles combination that they perceive. In conclusion, practitioners need to enhance an optimal combination of motivation profiles to satisfy better basic psychological needs and the use of functional cognitive-emotional regulation strategies since this could help improve psychological and emotional health in adults.

Control your emotions: evidence for a shared mechanism of cognitive and emotional control.

The current investigation examined the bidirectional effects of cognitive control and emotional control and the overlap between these two systems in regulating emotions. Based on recent neural and cognitive findings, we hypothesised that two control systems largely overlap as control recruited for one system (either emotional or cognitive) can be used by the other system. In two experiments, participants completed novel versions of either the Stroop task (Experiment 1) or the Flanker task (Experiment 2) in which the emotional and cognitive control systems were actively manipulated into either a high or low emotional-load condition (achieved by varying the proportions of negative-valence emotional cues) and a high and a low cognitive control condition (achieved through varying the proportion of conflict-laden trials). In both experiments, participants' performance was impaired when both emotional and cognitive control were low, but significantly and similarly improved when one of the two control mechanisms were activated - the emotional or the cognitive. In Experiment 2, performance was further improved when both systems were activated. Our results give further support for a more integrative notion of control in which the two systems (emotional and cognitive control) not only influence each other, but rather extensively overlap.

Influence of Mindfulness on Game Addiction-Mediating Role of Emotional Control.

In the past few decades, online games have become immensely popular among the younger generation thus leading to online game addiction. Previous researches acknowledge that mindfulness or present-focused awareness may reduce addiction. Moreover, addiction is found to have an impact on the propensity to respond to the situations in the environment in a way that is acceptable to all the people (emotional control). The present study attempts to study the influence of mindfulness and emotional control on game addiction. For this, 187 college students were selected through the Simple Random Sampling method. Personal Profile Sheet, The Online Game Addiction Scale, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and The Emotional Control Questionnaire, with four dimensions of Rehearsal, Emotional Inhibition, Aggression Control and Benign control were used to collect the data. The study found a significant gender difference in the level of game addiction where boys being more addicted to online games than girls. Mindfulness shows a significant negative influence over Game Addiction. Among the four dimensions of emotional control, the two dimensions viz., rehearsal and benign control show mediation effect between mindfulness and game addiction. However, the mediating role of emotional inhibition and aggression control was not significantly demonstrative.

Developmental shift in testosterone influence on prefrontal emotion control.

A paradox of testosterone effects is seen in adolescents versus adults in social emotional approach-avoidance behavior. During adolescence, high testosterone levels are associated with increased anterior prefrontal (aPFC) involvement in emotion control, whereas during adulthood this neuro-endocrine relation is reversed. Rodent work shows that, during puberty, testosterone transitions from a neuro-developmental to a social-sexual activating hormone. In this study, we explored whether this functional transition is also present in human adolescents and young adults. Using a prospective longitudinal design, we investigated the role of testosterone on neural control of social emotional behavior during the transitions from middle to late adolescence and into young adulthood. Seventy-one individuals (tested at ages 14, 17, and 20 years) performed an fMRI-adapted approach-avoidance (AA) task involving automatic and controlled actions in response to social emotional stimuli. In line with predictions from animal models, the effect of testosterone on aPFC engagement decreased between middle and late adolescence, and shifted into an activational role by young adulthood-impeding neural control of emotions. This change in testosterone function was accompanied by increased testosterone-modulated amygdala reactivity. These findings qualify the testosterone-dependent maturation of the prefrontal-amygdala circuit supporting emotion control during the transition from middle adolescence into young adulthood.

Emotional control in selected somatic and psychiatric diseases.

THE AIM: was to assess the level of subjective control of emotional states among patients treated for dermatological and gastrointestinal somatic diseases compared to those with depressive and anxiety disorders. The results were related to the analyzed dimensions of emotion regulation in healthy subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The reports of the conducted studies were compiled for a total of 310 people, including 120 patients diagnosed with a somatic disease (psoriasis, rosacea, irritable bowel syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux), as well as 96 patients diagnosed with depressive disorders and 30 patients with anxiety disorders. The control group consisted of healthy subjects (64 individuals). To assess the psychological variables analyzed, the subjects completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire developed by J. Brzezinski. RESULTS: The study showed that the patients suffering from a chronic somatic symptom disorder, similarly to those treated for depression and anxiety disorders, differed from the healthy individuals in most aspects of emotional control. The patients with dermatological and gastrointestinal diseases differed statistically significantly from the patients with depression and the patients with anxiety disorders in relation to three dimensions of emotional control. Patients with a somatic disease are characterized by higher emotional and rational motivation, lower emotional resilience and lower emotional arousal. CONCLUSIONS: A chronic disease co-occurs with the emotional sphere of a person's daily functioning. Regardless of the diagnosis in terms of somatic disorders and mental illnesses, the way in which emotional states are controlled can be an important factor in the onset of the disease, coping with it as well as the treatment process.

Effectiveness of Social Virtual Reality Training in Enhancing Social Interaction Skills in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Protocol for a Three-Arm Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders among children. Children with ADHD have challenges in understanding social cues and behavioral problems when entering a social setting. Virtual reality (VR) has been applied to improve cognitive behaviors in children with ADHD. Previous studies have not adopted VR to improve social interaction competence and appropriateness in children with ADHD. VR offers a more effective alternative to therapeutic strategies for children with ADHD. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of social VR training in enhancing social interaction skills compared to traditional social skills training in children with ADHD. We hypothesize that participants in the social VR training group are likely to perform better on social interaction skills than those in the traditional social skills training group. METHODS: In this nonblinded, 3-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT), 90 participants with ADHD recruited from the community will be randomized 1:1:1 to the social VR intervention group, traditional social skills training group, or waitlist control group. The child psychiatrist will conduct assessments for each participant at baseline and after the intervention. The Social Skills Rating Scale-Parent will be used to assess the social interaction skills of the participants before and after the intervention. Participants in the social VR intervention group and traditional social skills training group will receive twelve 20-minute training sessions for 3 weeks. The participants in the waitlist control group will receive no training. The primary outcome measure is training acceptability and compliance. The secondary outcome measures are the child psychiatrist's assessment and the Social Skills Rating Scale-Parent before and after the intervention. Another outcome measure is the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function and Attention. Differences in the scale scores will be examined using a t test and an F test. RESULTS: This study is set to commence in the fourth quarter of 2023. It is anticipated that participants in the social VR intervention group will exhibit superior social interaction skills than those in the traditional social skills training group. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this RCT is the first study examining the feasibility and effectiveness of a social VR-based intervention for enhancing the social interaction skills of children with ADHD in Hong Kong. The VR-based social skills training is expected to provide a safer and more effective environment for children with ADHD to learn than the traditional approach. This study can lead to a full-scale RCT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05778526; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05778526. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/48208.

Emotional control and factors differentiating it in the adult population of Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The public health crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health of both individuals and entire populations. The source of stress was not only the fear of getting sick, but also the restrictions introduced, such as: mass lockdown, the need to maintain social distance, quarantine or the mandatory use of personal protective equipment. Their introduction and maintenance caused various emotional reactions which often resulted in undesirable behavior leading to infections spreading. The aim of the study: The aim of the study was to analyze the level of emotional control depending on selected factors related to the pandemic and the introduced restrictions. Materials and methods: The study covered 594 adult Poles. To evaluate knowledge about COVID-19 and attitudes toward the implemented restrictions, the questionnaire prepared by the authors was used. To determine the level of control of anger, depression and anxiety the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (CECS) was used, and to estimate the level of perceived stress the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) was applied. Results: In the entire analyzed group, the general level of emotional control was 51.82 ± 12.26, with anxiety being the most suppressed emotion (17.95 ± 4.99), whereas the least suppressed emotion was anger (16.35 ± 5.15). The average stress level in the studied group was 20.5 ± 5.3. The level of perceived stress did not differentiate the level of emotional control. It was found that the higher level of the knowledge about the pandemic and methods of prevention, the higher emotional control, especially in the anxiety subscale (high level of knowledge - 18.26 ± 5.36 vs. low level of knowledge - 15.09 ± 3.6; p = 0.02). People reporting difficulties in reconciling remote work with home duties were less able to control anger (14.63 ± 4.98) than people without such problems (16.71 ± 4.12; p = 0.007). Conclusion: Proper education improving knowledge about COVID-19 and methods of prevention may enhance the control of emotions in the population. Possible future preventive measures aimed at limiting the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections or other infectious diseases should also take into account possible excessive mental burden caused by private and professional duties.

Contrast avoidance prospectively mediates effects of fear of emotional responding, negative problem orientation, and sensitivity to low perceived control on generalized anxiety disorder symptoms.

The Contrast Avoidance Model (CAM; Newman & Llera, 2011) has been well established in the literature on the etiology and maintenance of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Research has investigated other factors that may also characterize GAD, such as fear of emotional responding, negative problem orientation (NPO), and negative beliefs about control; however, these have yet to be explored within the context of the CAM regarding maintenance of GAD symptoms. The purpose of this study was to explore the predictive relationship between the above-mentioned factors and GAD symptoms, mediated by contrast avoidance. Participants (N = 99, 49.5% of whom scored in the upper range on GAD symptoms) completed a series of questionnaires across three time points, each one week apart. Results indicated that fear of emotional responding, NPO, and sensitivity to low perceived control predicted CA tendencies a week later. CA tendencies then mediated the relationship between each predictor and GAD symptoms in the following week. Findings suggested that known vulnerabilities for GAD predict coping with distressing internal responses via sustained negative emotionality (such as through chronic worry) as a way to avoid negative emotional contrasts. However, this coping mechanism itself may maintain GAD symptoms over time.

Development of social anxiety cognition scale for college students: Basing on Hofmann's model of social anxiety disorder.

Introduction: To develop the Chinese version of the Social Anxiety Cognition Scale for College Students (SACS-CS) based on Hofmann's model of social anxiety disorder and examine its reliability and validity. Methods: Based on literature analysis and structured interviews, a theoretical model was constructed and behavioral examples were collected. According to the results of participants' and experts' evaluations, the initial SACS-CS was developed. The study data were collected from a total of 500 valid participants, randomly divided into two samples. Sample 1 (n = 200) and sample 2 (n = 300) were considered for exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively. Internal reliability and validity were examined using all 500 participants, and temporal reliability was established using sample 3 (n = 70), who completed the scale again after 4 weeks. Results: The SACS-CS consists of 21 items, grouped under four factors: self-perception, social skills, emotional control, and cost estimation. The four-factor model fits well. The internal consistency coefficient of the scale and the four factors ranged from 0.87 to 0.96, and the test-retest reliability ranged from 0.76 to 0.84. The scores of the scale and the four factors were significantly correlated with the score of the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (r = 0.54-0.64). Discussion: The SACS-CS possesses good reliability and validity and can be applied in the cognitive assessment of college students' social anxiety. The scale could help people with different social anxiety disorder conditions receive more personalized interventions.

Crimes without a body: reflections on a case series of online crimes.

There is a large volume of online crimes. The aim of this work is to reflect on virtual crimes that are apparently different but actually have commonalities. In these cases, the corporeal sphere that mediates interpersonal relationships is absent, and perceptions of the real world and emotional regulation may be altered, which poses the risk of destructive behaviours. From this standpoint, self/hetero-directed aggression is the result of a certain type of transition from the real to the virtual world, where the body either is not involved at all or is experienced in an aberrant manner. In this study, we present three cases that clearly illustrate this concept.

Depressive Symptoms and Control of Emotions among Polish Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder that substantially affects women's health. It is particularly diagnosed in young patients. Women with PCOS are burdened with excessive weight gain, overweight and obesity (74%) compared to a healthy female population. Excessive weight influences psychological state and emotional well-being, whereas in the meantime, psychological and behavioral dysfunction is increasingly being diagnosed among patients with PCOS. AIM: To assess depressive symptoms and emotional control among women with PCOS in relation to BMI. METHODS: The study was conducted among 671 self-reported PCOS women. The standardized Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess depressive disorders. Emotion control was assessed using the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (CECS). RESULTS: Moderate and severe depressive symptoms were more common in PCOS women with abnormal BMI compared to normal BMI subjects (p < 0.01). In total, 27.1% of obese women had moderate depression and 28.8% had severe depression. Among overweight women, 19.9% suffered from moderate and 25% from severe depressive symptoms. Underweight women also reported moderate (25.6%) and severe (33.3%) depressive signs. There were no statistically significant differences between the body weight of the women studied and the CECS scores. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms are more common in women with PCOS and abnormal BMI than in women with PCOS and proper BMI. The severity of depressive symptoms increases with BMI, but underweight women with PCOS are also at risk of depressive disorders. The level of suppression of negative emotions is independent of BMI in women with PCOS.

Can Physical Exercise Promote the Development of Teenagers' Non-Cognitive Ability?-Evidence from China Education Panel Survey (2014-2015).

Background: With the development of educational philosophy, physical exercise is considered to be an important factor in the development of individual cognitive abilities in adolescents. However, the effects of physical exercise on non-cognitive abilities in adolescents remain inadequate. Objective: This study examined the effect of physical exercise on non-cognitive ability and further examined the differences in this effect in different groups. Methods: Survey data on non-cognitive ability, physical exercise and covariates were collected in the China Education Panel Survey (2014−2015) from a nationally representative sample of adolescents (n = 7904) in the eighth (follow-up) grade. Results: The results show that, after controlling for the influence of other factors, physical exercise has a promoting effect on six non-cognitive abilities­social behavior (p < 0.001), communication ability (p < 0.01), perseverance (p < 0.05), school adaptation (p < 0.001), educational expectation (p < 0.01) and creative thinking (p < 0.01)­and there is no significant effect on emotional control (p > 0.05). Furthermore, the development of non-cognitive ability in physical exercise shows certain group differences. Conclusions: There are gender differences in the performance of non-cognitive ability. Girls perform better than boys in non-cognitive ability. Physical exercise is an important means to develop non-cognitive ability, which indicates that non-cognitive ability has plasticity in adolescence. Future intervention may improve the non-cognitive ability of Chinese adolescents by increasing physical exercise.

Mental Toughness Characteristics of Male University Athletes in Relation To Contextual Factors.

Mental toughness is a psychological construct related to successful performance in academics, management, and sports among other sectors. However, studies on the determinants of mental toughness with respect to different human endeavours have remained inconclusive. This study explored mental toughness characteristics of male university athletes in selected sports in relation to contextual factors of athletes' age, playing experience, year of study, and the type of sport. The Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ48) was used to collect data from male university athletes (n = 140). Results of this study showed significant difference in the following components of MT: lower scores in challenge (p = .015), emotional control (p = .005), and life control (p = .002) among athletes with shorter playing experience, and higher scores in life control (p < .001), emotional control (p = .021), and confidence in abilities (p = .009) in handball as compared to soccer players. Soccer players had significantly higher scores in the challenge component (p = .038) of mental toughness as compared to handball players. It was concluded that playing experience and the type of sport influenced characteristics of mental toughness among university athletes. Coaches, trainers, and sports psychologists need to consider these contextual factors to optimize mental toughness of athletes. Future studies should explore how specific contextual factors influence training environments and outcomes, as well as how stakeholders can leverage on the relationships between playing experience, the type of sport and mental toughness to augment athletes' mental toughness and sports performance.

Orthorexia nervosa and executive dysfunction: symptomatology is related to difficulties with behavioral regulation.

PURPOSE: This research explored whether orthorexia nervosa is associated with deficits in executive function. METHODS: A non-clinical sample of participants (n = 405; 80% women, 53% white, mean age = 24, mean body mass index = 25) completed the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (ONI) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version (BRIEF-A). RESULTS: ONI scores were weakly to moderately correlated with all BRIEF-A scales (p < 0.001 for eight scales, p < 0.05 for one scale), exhibiting the greatest correlations with the scales assessing behavioral regulation: Emotional Control (r = 0.34), Inhibition (r = 0.30), Set Shifting (r = 0.25), and Self-Monitoring (r = 0.28). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that eight of these nine relationships remained significant (p < 0.001 for five scales including all behavioral regulation scales, p < 0.01 for two scales, p < 0.05 for one scale) after controlling for demographic variables (e.g., gender, body mass index, age, education level) and diagnoses of an eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, and learning disability. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that, despite unique manifestations, orthorexia and anorexia may possess an overlapping neuropsychological profile marked by deficits in executive function, which may negatively impact daily life. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, descriptive cross-sectional study.

Role of resilience and emotional control in relation to mental health in people with cancer.

This study explored the relationship between emotional control, resilience, and mental health in cancer. Patients with cancer were recruited (n = 170). Courtauld Scale of Emotional Control, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire were selected. Assuming the absence of interaction among the variables, they were analyzed separately. Four groups resulted, finding statistically significant differences (F(4, 165) = 18.03; p < 0.001). High resilience and low emotional control seem to be protective attributes, and high emotional control has demonstrated to be a risk factor for mental health. Considering differences in cancer-related psychological variables could derive in personalized psychotherapeutic interventions.

Individual differences in amygdala volumes predict changes in functional connectivity between subcortical and cognitive control networks throughout adolescence.

Adolescence is a critical period of structural and functional neural maturation among regions serving the cognitive control of emotion. Evidence suggests that this process is guided by developmental changes in amygdala and striatum structure and shifts in functional connectivity between subcortical (SC) and cognitive control (CC) networks. Herein, we investigate the extent to which such developmental shifts in structure and function reciprocally predict one another over time. 179 youth (9-15 years-old) completed annual MRI scans for three years. Amygdala and striatum volumes and connectivity within and between SC and CC resting state networks were measured for each year. We tested for reciprocal predictability of within-person and between-person changes in structure and function using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models. Within-person shifts in amygdala volumes in a given year significantly and specifically predicted deviations in SC-CC connectivity in the following year, such that an increase in volume was associated with decreased SC-CC connectivity the following year. Deviations in connectivity did not predict changes in amygdala volumes over time. Conversely, broader group-level shifts in SC-CC connectivity were predictive of subsequent deviations in striatal volumes. We did not see any cross-predictability among amygdala or striatum volumes and within-network connectivity measures. Within-person shifts in amygdala structure year-to-year robustly predicted weaker SC-CC connectivity in subsequent years, whereas broader increases in SC-CC connectivity predicted smaller striatal volumes over time. These specific structure function relationships may contribute to the development of emotional control across adolescence.

Ayudar y recibir ayuda de otros: precisiones sobre la regulación emocional interpersonal / Helping and Receiving Help from Others: Elucidating Interpersonal Emotional Regulation

Resumen La literatura en el campo de la regulación emocional nos ha presentado un amplio panorama frente a cómo es el proceso por medio del cual influenciamos en nuestras propias emociones. Sin embargo, pocos estudios, se han centrado en resaltar la importancia de ayudar a otros en su gestión de estados emocionales. El objetivo de este artículo es sintetizar, discutir y organizar algunos elementos teóricos y empíricos sobre la regulación emocional interpersonal. Se presenta cómo se ha analizado la regulación emocional desde el surgimiento de estos estudios en los años noventa, describiendo características, procesos, clases, motivos, elementos y consecuencias de la regulación emocional interpersonal que han sido reportados en la literatura. Se concluye que existe una falta de consenso teórico entre los investigadores, una escasa investigación en diversas áreas del conocimiento, tales como en la educación. Existe también una incipiente exploración en el contexto latinoamericano y una carencia de estudios con niños, niñas y adolescentes. Estas limitaciones sirven para señalar los vacíos teóricos y motivar a futuros investigadores a colaborar en estos campos.

Abstract Literature available in the field of emotional regulation has presented a broad overview of the process through which we influence our own emotions. Nonetheless, few studies have focused on highlighting the importance of helping others in the management of their emotional states. This paper aims to synthesize, discuss, and organize some theoretical and empirical contributions to interpersonal emotional regulation. The paper presents how emotional regulation has been analyzed since the emergence of these studies in the 1990s, including the characteristics, processes, classes, motives, elements, and consequences of interpersonal emotional regulation reported in the literature. It is concluded that there is a lack of theoretical consensus among researchers and a lack of research in different fields of knowledge, such as education. There is also an incipient exploration in the Latin American context and a lack of studies with children and adolescents. These limitations can help to point out theoretical gaps and motivate future researchers to collaborate in research production in these fields.