Poster #20 - Fluctuations in Emotion Regulation as a Mechanism Linking Stress and Internalizing Psychopathology among Adolescents

• In Event: Poster Session 08

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a period of peak risk for the onset of internalizing disorders, such as anxiety and depression (Kessler et al., 2005). Exposure to stressful life events (SLEs) is a well-established risk factor for both anxiety and depression (Hammen, 1991; McLaughlin et al., 2012), and the coupling between SLEs and internalizing psychopathology is particularly strong during adolescence (Larson & Ham, 1993). However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain poorly understood. Emotion regulation may play a role in this pathway, as negative emotion regulation strategies (i.e., rumination) are often preceded by stressful life events (Michl et al., 2013) and are strongly associated with later increases in internalizing psychopathology. The associations between emotion regulation and psychopathology are much weaker for positive emotion regulation strategies (i.e., acceptance, reappraisal) (Aldao et al., 2010).
Recent work suggests substantially greater variability in associations between numerous psychological constructs at the within-person level than what has been commonly observed in between-person studies (Fisher et al., 2018). Because emotion regulation is a dynamic process that varies within-individuals over time and in response to changes in the environment, examining links between stress, emotion regulation, and symptoms of psychopathology in longitudinal within-person studies is warranted. Furthermore, investigations of emotion regulation have not jointly considered emotion regulation as both a mediator and moderator of stress and psychopathology, which may allow us to evaluate the potential differing roles of positive and negative strategies.
Methods: We investigated how monthly fluctuations in SLEs are associated with within-person changes in three emotion regulation strategies (acceptance, reappraisal, rumination), and whether changes in these strategies relate to changes in internalizing symptoms in an intensive longitudinal study involving monthly assessments for one year (n=355 monthly observations) of female adolescents ages 15–17 years (N=30). Analyses were conducted in a Bayesian framework and were pre-registered (https://osf.io/wmp35/).
Results: Adolescents engaged in higher levels of rumination on months when they experienced more SLEs than was typical for them (b=0.05, [0.01, 0.10]). Higher symptoms of anxiety (b=0.49, [0.27, 0.70]) and depression (b=0.40, [0.17, 0.63]) were also observed on months when rumination was higher than usual. Fluctuations in monthly rumination mediated the association of SLEs with both anxiety and depression symptoms. Meanwhile, increased reported use of acceptance and reappraisal was associated with stronger links between stress with anxiety symptoms (b=0.07, [0.00, 0.14]) and depression symptoms (b=0.07, [0.00, 0.15]), respectively.
Conclusion: Within-person fluctuations in rumination may be a mechanism linking SLEs with changes in anxiety and depression symptoms, whereas positive emotion regulation moderates the association between stress and depression symptoms. Mediation findings suggest that when adolescents experience more stress than is typical for them, they also engage in higher levels of rumination, which partly explains the strong within-person association between stress and anxiety and depression symptoms. The moderation analyses counterintuitively suggest that increases in use of positive emotion regulation may indicate higher levels of stress and potential risk for heightened internalizing symptoms. Understanding mechanisms and markers of risk linking stress and psychopathology remains critical for the advancement of prevention and intervention efforts among adolescents.

Authors

• Yuri-Grace Bridges Ohashi, Harvard University
  Presenting Author

• Alexandra M Rodman, Harvard University

• Katie McLaughlin, Harvard University