The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation Choice and Posttraumatic Growth

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Orejuela Davila, A. (2015). The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation Choice and Posttraumatic Growth. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is the experience of positive psychological change that may occur in the aftermath of a traumatic event. Previous research has extensively examined the cognitive underpinnings of PTG, yet the role of emotion regulation (ER) in PTG has yet to be fully elucidated. The present study sought to investigate how emotion regulation choice (ERC) contributes to PTG. One hundred and sixty six participants completed an ERC task in which they chose to either distract or reappraise in response to negative pictures of varying intensities (low, medium, and high) with the goal of diminishing their negative emotional responses to the photos. Proportion of reappraisal choice was recorded for each intensity level and emotion flexibility scores were calculated across intensities. Analyses were conducted to determine if reappraisal choice proportion and emotion flexibility on the ERC task predicted PTG. Results revealed that overall higher reappraisal use predicts PTG. In addition, it was found that emotion flexibility and reappraisal choice proportion during high intensity trials also predict PTG. Findings suggest that reappraisal is a useful ER strategy for navigating the aftermath of a traumatic event and promoting PTG.

Details
Author

Orejuela Davila, Ana

Title

The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation Choice and Posttraumatic Growth

Physical Description

1 online resource (57 pages) : PDF

Date

2015

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is the experience of positive psychological change that may occur in the aftermath of a traumatic event. Previous research has extensively examined the cognitive underpinnings of PTG, yet the role of emotion regulation (ER) in PTG has yet to be fully elucidated. The present study sought to investigate how emotion regulation choice (ERC) contributes to PTG. One hundred and sixty six participants completed an ERC task in which they chose to either distract or reappraise in response to negative pictures of varying intensities (low, medium, and high) with the goal of diminishing their negative emotional responses to the photos. Proportion of reappraisal choice was recorded for each intensity level and emotion flexibility scores were calculated across intensities. Analyses were conducted to determine if reappraisal choice proportion and emotion flexibility on the ERC task predicted PTG. Results revealed that overall higher reappraisal use predicts PTG. In addition, it was found that emotion flexibility and reappraisal choice proportion during high intensity trials also predict PTG. Findings suggest that reappraisal is a useful ER strategy for navigating the aftermath of a traumatic event and promoting PTG.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Psychology

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

Emotion Regulation
Posttraumatic Growth
Reappraisal
Trauma

Subject Area

Psychology

Advisor(s)

Levens, Sara

Committee Members

Tedeschi, Richard
Boyd, Suzanne

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2015.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

OrejuelaDavila_uncc_0694N_11011

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:957