Do Emotion Regulation Difficulties in Depression Extend to Social Context? Everyday Interpersonal Emotion Regulation in Current and Remitted Major Depressive Disorder

• Published in: Journal of psychopathology and clinical science 2024-01, Vol.133 (1), p.61-75
• Main Authors: Liu, Daphne Y., Strube, Michael J, Thompson, Renee J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Depressive personality disorders; Ecological Momentary Assessment; Emotional Regulation; Female; Human; Interpersonal Interaction; Major Depression; Male; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Remission (Disorders); Social environment; Social resources
• ISSN: 2769-7541; 2769-755X
• DOI: 10.1037/abn0000877

Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) have difficulties regulating emotion on their own. As people also use social resources to regulate emotion (i.e., interpersonal emotion regulation [IER]), we examined whether these difficulties extend to IER in current and remitted MDD compared to those with no psychiatric disorders (i.e., controls). Adults with current MDD (n = 48), remitted MDD (n = 80), and controls (n = 87) assessed via diagnostic interviewing completed 2-week experience sampling, reporting on how frequently (IER frequency), from whom (sharing partners), and why (IER goals) they sought IER; how the sharing partners responded (sharing partner's extrinsic IER strategies and warmth); and how their feelings about the problem and the sharing partner changed following IER (IER outcomes). Using multilevel modeling, the current-MDD group did not differ from controls in IER frequency and sharing partners, but the current-MDD group demonstrated a more mixed (albeit generally adaptive) profile of received IER strategies and benefited similarly or more from certain IER strategies than the other two groups, suggesting that IER may be a promising avenue for effective emotion regulation in current MDD. The remitted-MDD group sought IER most frequently and demonstrated the most adaptive profile of received IER strategies, and they and the current-MDD group reported seeking more types of IER goals than controls. People with remitted MDD seem highly motivated to pursue IER support and their pursuit takes place in particularly supportive social contexts. Research is needed to examine mechanisms driving these group differences and how IER predicts the course of MDD. General Scientific Summary In efforts to investigate whether emotion regulation (ER) difficulties in major depressive disorder (MDD) extend to social context, this study examined everyday interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) among adults with current MDD, those whose MDD was in remission, and a healthy control group using the experience sampling method. Although groups showed many similarities in IER processes, they differed in several aspects of IER, including intrinsic IER frequency and goals, extrinsic IER strategies received from others, and IER outcomes following certain IER strategies. This research represents initial efforts to elucidate the characteristics and utility of everyday IER at different stages of MDD and provides preliminary evidence that IER may be a promising avenue for eff