You Do Not Have to Get through This Alone: Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Psychosocial Resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic across Four Countries

While experiencing the unpredictable events of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are likely to turn to people in order to regulate our emotions. In this research, we investigate how this interpersonal emotion regulation is connected to affective symptoms, above and beyond intrapersonal emotion regulation. Furthermore, we explore whether perceived psychosocial resources moderate these associations, i.e., if individuals reporting healthier social connections benefit differently from interpersonal emotion regulation. N = 1401 participants from the USA, UK, Germany, and Switzerland completed an online survey that included text samples. Affective symptoms (depression, adjustment disorder, fear of COVID-19) were examined based on self-reported as well as language-based indicators. As psychosocial resources, we examined social support, loneliness, attachment style, and trust. We defined latent variables for adaptive and maladaptive interpersonal emotion regulation and analyzed how they were associated with affective symptoms controlling for intrapersonal emotion regulation. Further, we analyzed how they interacted with psychosocial resources. Maladaptive interpersonal emotion regulation strategies were associated with affective symptoms. With lower psychosocial resources, the associations between interpersonal emotion regulation and depressive symptoms were more pronounced. The results highlight that maladaptive interpersonal emotion regulation is associated with worse mental health. These effects are not buffered by more psychosocial resources and are stronger for people with low psychosocial resources

BDD-NET – Ein internetbasiertes Programm bei Körperunzufriedenheit zur niedrigschwelligen Behandlung der körperdysmorphen Störung für den deutschen Sprachraum

Hintergrund: Die Körperdysmorphe Störung (KDS) ist eine schwerwiegende psychische Störung, die mit starker Scham sowie Leidensdruck und Funktionseinschränkungen einhergeht. Kognitive Verhaltenstherapie stellt die aktuell wirksamste evidenzbasierte Behandlungsmethode dar. Aufgrund zahlreicher Behandlungsbarrieren kommen KDS-Betroffene jedoch selten in der psychotherapeutischen Behandlung an, weshalb niedrigschwelligen Behandlungsmethoden (z.B. aus dem Bereich E-Mental-Health) eine wichtige Rolle zukommen könnten. Erste internationale Studien weisen auf die Wirksamkeit von E-Mental-Health-Angeboten bei KDS hin. Material und Methoden: Dieser Beitrag gibt eine Übersicht zur bisherigen Umsetzung und Evidenz von E-Mental-Health-Angeboten für KDS und stellt die ins Deutsche übersetzte Version des BDD-NET-Programms, eines internetbasierten, manuali­sierten, therapeutenbegleiteten Interventionsprogramms, für die KDS vor, welches aus dem Englischen für den deutschen Sprachraum übersetzt und adaptiert wurde. Ergebnisse: BDD-NET umfasst acht Module, die binnen einer 12-wöchigen Behandlung online bearbeitet werden. Die Online-Plattform bietet für die Patienten die Möglichkeit, mit dem BDD-NET-Therapeuten mittels persönlicher Nachrichten zu kommunizieren. Sämtliche Materialien wurden aus dem Englischen übersetzt und vor allem in kultureller Hinsicht adaptiert. Schlussfolgerungen: BDD-NET könnte ein wichtiger Baustein in der Versorgung von KDS-Betroffenen sein. Die Evaluation steht für den deutschen Sprachraum noch aus. Auf Besonderheiten des Settings (z.B. Störungseinsicht als möglicher Behandlungsfokus) sowie praktische Implikationen wird eingegangen. Zudem werden Voraussetzungen und Rahmenbedingungen für eine perspektivische Dissemination diskutiert

Understanding family dynamics in a cross-cultural sample: a multi-national study

The Family Systems Circumplex Model posits that balanced levels of cohesion and adaptability are associated with positive familial outcomes, whereas extremely high or low levels of these factors are associated with deleterious outcomes. Despite the popularity and utility of this model in Western cultures, there is a dearth of empirical data supporting its use in more culturally diverse contexts. The current, preregistered study assessed the Family Circumplex Model, cultural factors, and emerging adult outcomes across seven countries (i.e., China, Iran, Nigeria, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Participants were N = 3,593 emerging adults, mostly self-identifying as women (71.3%). Collaborators were participants in Psi Chi’s Network for International Collaborative Exchange (NICE) and administered measures related to family dynamics and cultural orientation to participants in a random order. Results indicated that the Family Circumplex Model did not fit cross-culturally. As such, a new model was adapted, the Expanded Circumplex Model, which demonstrated invariance across samples and between women and men. The Expanded Circumplex Model retained 6 constructs with differences regarding the separation of disengagement into 2 variables and the combining of adaptive flexibility and cohesion. The current study suggests that the cultural context in which family dynamics occur should be taken into consideration when conceptualizing family dynamics theory and measurement. Future work should seek to replicate and further apply the Expanded Circumplex Model to familial outcomes

Body dysmorphic disorder of female genitalia: a qualitative study of Swiss obstetrician-gynecologists' experiences and practices

PURPOSE: This work focuses on the experiences and practices of obstetrician-gynecologists (ob-gyns) with patients suffering from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and issues with their aesthetics, specifically focusing on female genitalia. Ob-gyns are likely to play an important role in the recognition and treatment of women facing such issues. METHODS: This study took a qualitative, explorative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 ob-gyns about their experiences with patients who presented symptoms of BDD of female genitalia, their treatments, and interest in further education and supportive material. Interviews were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: A categorization system was created. The results showed that the participating ob-gyns are often confronted with genital dissatisfaction of patients. The study sample demonstrated a lack of mental health literacy concerning BDD. The treatments that the ob-gyns of this sample suggested for BDD of female genitalia were not in line with what evidence suggests. Finally, interest in further education and supportive material for consultation was evidenced in this sample. CONCLUSIONS: The findings encourage further studies to identify the recognition of BDD concerning genitalia or etiological factors. Furthermore, practical implications (e.g., need of supportive material) can be derived from the results

Emotion regulation across the lifespan: age differences in intrapersonal and interpersonal strategies for the adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic in four countries

OBJECTIVES: Studies have shown age differences in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. The processes explaining these age differences remain unclear. Intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation play an important role in psycho-social adjustment and develop across the lifespan. This study investigated whether differences in COVID-19-related adjustment disorder symptoms can be explained by age-differences in rumination in a multi-national sample. Furthermore, linguistic indicators of ruminative processing were examined with reference to age. METHODS: N = 1401 participants (from USA, UK, Switzerland, Germany, aged 18-88) completed an online survey and a writing task. Measures included brooding, co-brooding, adjustment disorder symptoms, and language indicators of negative self- and communal-focus. RESULTS: Older participants reported less adjustment disorder symptoms which was mediated by less (co-)brooding. Participants reporting more (co-)brooding wrote about COVID-19 more negatively. While in younger adults more self-focus was associated with higher ruminative brooding, in older adults it was associated with less brooding. CONCLUSION: These findings contribute to a better understanding of regulatory mechanisms that help explain age differences in mental health. They warrant further research considering age-related differences, as our results suggest not only more adaptive emotion regulation as resilience factor in older individuals but also different qualities of self-focus while processing stressful events

Emotion regulation across the lifespan:Age differences in the intra- and interpersonal strategies for adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic in four countries

Objectives: Studies have shown age differences in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the processes explaining these age differences remain unclear. Intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation – such as ruminative brooding and co-brooding - play an important role in psycho-social adjustment and develop across the life-span. This study aims at investigating COVID-19-related adjustment disorder symptoms in relation to age and whether this relation can be explained by age-differences in rumination in a multi-national sample. As a second research goal, linguistic indicators of ruminative processing when writing about the pandemic will be examined with reference to age. Methods: N = 1401 participants (from USA, UK, Switzerland, and Germany, aged 18-88) filled out an online survey and completed a writing task. Measures include brooding, co-brooding, adjustment disorder symptoms, and language indicators of negative self-focus and communal focus while writing down thoughts and feelings regarding the pandemic. Findings: Older participants reported less adjustment disorder symptoms which was mediated by less (co-)brooding. Participants who reported more (co-)brooding wrote about COVID-19 more negatively. While in younger adults (age 18-40) more self-focus was associated with higher ruminative brooding, in older adults (age 59-88) it was associated with less maladaptive emotion regulation. Discussion: These findings contribute to a better understanding of regulatory mechanisms that help explain age differences in mental health. They warrant further research considering age-related differences, as our results suggest not only more adaptive emotion regulation as a resilience factor in older individuals, but also different qualities of self-focus while processing stressful events across the lifespan

Twitter language samples reflect collective emotional responses following political leaders’ rhetoric during the pandemic across four countries

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the global public has relied on their political leaders to guide them through the crisis. The current study investigated if and how political leader’s rhetoric would be associated with collective emotional responses. We used text analytical methods to investigate association between political leader speech and daily aggregates of expressed emotions on Twitter. We collected posts concerning Covid-19 and all speeches by the highest executive power from the USA, UK, Germany, and Switzerland. We applied cross-lagged time series analyses. Political leaders whose communication was more analytic and communal corresponded to increased positivity on Twitter. Collective communal focus, in turn, increased after speeches which were more analytic and negative. Processes of socio-affective dynamics between political leaders and the general public are apparent. Our findings demonstrate that political leaders who present public crises competently and with a sense of community are associated with more positive responses on Twitter