Delineating Components of Emotion and its Dysregulation in Anxiety and Mood Psychopathology

• Published in: Behavior therapy 2007-09, Vol.38 (3), p.284-302
• Main Authors: Mennin, Douglas S, Holaway, Robert M, Fresco, David M, Moore, Michael T, Heimberg, Richard G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Anxiety-Depression; Arousal; Biological and medical sciences; Character; Depression; Depression (Psychology); Depressive Disorder, Major - psychology; Emotional Disturbances; Emotional regulation; Emotional Response; Emotions; Female; Generalized anxiety disorders; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Disorders; Mental health; Miscellaneous; Mood disorders; Negative Attitudes; Negative reactivity; Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data; Phobia; Phobic Disorders - psychology; Psychiatry; Psychological aspects; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics - statistics & numerical data; Psychopathology; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reproducibility of Results; Self Control; Social Influences; Somatoform Disorders - psychology; Students - psychology; Symptoms; Symptoms (Individual Disorders)
• ISSN: 0005-7894; 1878-1888
• DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2006.09.001

Abstract Two studies sought to elucidate the components of emotion and its dysregulation and examine their role in both the overlap and distinctness of the symptoms of 3 highly comorbid anxiety and mood disorders (i.e., generalized anxiety disorder, major depression, and social anxiety disorder). In Study 1, exploratory factor analyses demonstrated that 4 factors—heightened intensity of emotions, poor understanding of emotions, negative reactivity to emotions, and maladaptive management of emotions—best reflected the structure of 4 commonly used measures of emotion function and dysregulation. In Study 2, a separate sample provided support for this 4-factor model of emotion dysregulation. Poor understanding, negative reactivity, and maladaptive management were found to relate to a latent factor of emotion dysregulation. In contrast, heightened intensity of emotions was better characterized separately, suggesting it may relate more strongly to dispositional emotion generation or emotionality. Finally, the 4 components demonstrated both common and specific relationships to self-reported symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, major depression, and social anxiety disorder.