Emotion regulation difficulties related to depression and anxiety : a network approach to model relations among symptoms, positive reappraisal, and repetitive negative thinking

Frequent repetitive negative thinking and infrequent positive reappraisal use are theorized to increase risk for depression and anxiety. Yet, research has studied these regulatory strategies at the disorder level, ignoring the clinical heterogeneity and differential relations among their individual symptoms. In this study, we examined the associations among repetitive negative thinking, positive reappraisal, and individual symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders. Models of regularized partial-correlation networks were estimated using cross-sectional data from 468 participants. Results showed that repetitive negative thinking and positive reappraisal were differentially related to affective, cognitive, and somatic symptoms of depression and anxiety. Moreover, repetitive negative thinking was more central than positive reappraisal with stronger connections to individual symptoms. Finally, repetitive negative thinking was more important than positive reappraisal in connecting clusters of depression and anxiety symptoms. These findings cast light on potential pathways through which repetitive negative thinking and positive reappraisal may operate within depression and anxiety

Attention, interpretation, and memory biases in subclinical depression: a path analysis approach to test the combined cognitive bias hypothesis

Emotional biases in attention, interpretation, and memory are viewed as important cognitive processes underlying symptoms of depression. To date, there is a limited understanding of the interplay among these processing biases. This study tested the dependence of memory on depression-related biases in attention and interpretation. Subclinically depressed and nondepressed participants completed a computerized version of the scrambled sentences test (measuring interpretation bias) while their eye movements were recorded (measuring attention bias). This task was followed by an incidental free recall test of previously constructed interpretations (measuring memory bias). Path analysis revealed a good fit for the model in which selective orienting of attention was associated with interpretation bias, which in turn was associated with a congruent bias in memory. Also, a good fit was observed for a path model in which biases in the maintenance of attention and interpretation were associated with memory bias. Both path models attained a superior fit compared with path models without the theorized functional relations among processing biases. These findings enhance understanding of how mechanisms of attention and interpretation regulate what is remembered. As such, they offer support for the combined cognitive biases hypothesis or the notion that emotionally biased cognitive processes are not isolated mechanisms but instead influence each other. Implications for theoretical models and emotion regulation across the spectrum of depressive symptoms are discussed

Attention training through gaze-contingent feedback: effects on reappraisal and negative emotions

Reappraisal is central to emotion regulation but its mechanisms are unclear. This study tested the theoretical prediction that emotional attention bias is linked to reappraisal of negative emotion-eliciting stimuli and subsequent emotional responding using a novel attentional control training. Thirty-six undergraduates were randomly assigned to either the control or the attention training condition and were provided with different task instructions while they performed an interpretation task. Whereas control participants freely created interpretations, participants in the training condition were instructed to allocate attention toward positive words to efficiently create positive interpretations (i.e., recruiting attentional control) while they were provided with gaze-contingent feedback on their viewing behavior. Transfer to attention bias and reappraisal success was evaluated using a dot-probe task and an emotion regulation task which were administered before and after the training. The training condition was effective at increasing attentional control and resulted in beneficial effects on the transfer tasks. Analyses supported a serial indirect effect with larger attentional control acquisition in the training condition leading to negative attention bias reduction, in turn predicting greater reappraisal success which reduced negative emotions. Our results indicate that attentional mechanisms influence the use of reappraisal strategies and its impact on negative emotions. The novel attention training highlights the importance of tailored feedback to train attentional control. The findings provide an important step toward personalized delivery of attention training

Mapping dynamic interactions among cognitive biases in depression

Depression is theorized to be caused in part by biased cognitive processing of emotional information. Yet, prior research has adopted a reductionist approach that does not characterize how biases in cognitive processes such as attention and memory work together to confer risk for this complex multifactorial disorder. Grounded in affective and cognitive science, we highlight four mechanisms to understand how attention biases, working memory difficulties, and long-term memory biases interact and contribute to depression. We review evidence for each mechanism and highlight time- and context-dependent dynamics. We outline methodological considerations and recommendations for research in this area. We conclude with directions to advance the understanding of depression risk, cognitive training interventions, and transdiagnostic properties of cognitive biases and their interactions

Interactions among emotional attention, encoding, and retrieval of ambiguous information: an eye-tracking study

Emotional biases in attention modulate encoding of emotional material into long-term memory, but little is known about the role of such attentional biases during emotional memory retrieval. The present study investigated how emotional biases in memory are related to attentional allocation during retrieval. Forty-nine individuals encoded emotionally positive and negative meanings derived from ambiguous information and then searched their memory for encoded meanings in response to a set of retrieval cues. The remember/know/new procedure was used to classify memories as recollection-based or familiarity-based, and gaze behavior was monitored throughout the task to measure attentional allocation. We found that a bias in sustained attention during recollection-based, but not familiarity-based, retrieval predicted subsequent memory bias toward positive versus negative material following encoding. Thus, during emotional memory retrieval, attention affects controlled forms of retrieval (i.e., recollection) but does not modulate relatively automatic, familiarity-based retrieval. These findings enhance understanding of how distinct components of attention regulate the emotional content of memories. Implications for theoretical models and emotion regulation are discussed

Depressiesymptomen en de relatie met vertekening en inflexibele interpretatie

Vertekende interpretaties van ambigue sociale situaties spelen een belangrijke rol bij depressie. Tot op heden is echter onduidelijk waarom dergelijke vertekeningen toxische effecten hebben. Recente theorieën stellen dat inflexibiliteit bij het vormen van en vasthouden aan interpretaties zal bepalen of deze schadelijke gevolgen hebben. Met behulp van een nieuw paradigma, de emotionele bias against disconfirmatory evidence (BADE-)taak, onderzoekt deze studie of symptomen van depressie samenhangen met zowel vertekende als inflexibele interpretaties van sociale situaties. De resultaten tonen aan dat een verhoogde ernst van depressiesymptomen samenhangt met inflexibele interpretaties, waarbij men blijft vasthouden aan negatieve cognities, ook al werden deze ontkracht door positieve informatie. Verder geven de resultaten aan dat depressiesymptomen gerelateerd zijn aan zowel meer negatieve als minder positieve interpretaties van sociale situaties. Deze bevindingen geven aan dat zowel inhoudelijke als dynamische aspecten van emotionele interpretaties belangrijk zijn om te begrijpen hoe personen met een depressieve stemming betekenis geven aan hun sociale omgeving. Deze kennis kan bruikbaar zijn bij psychologische behandelingen voor depressie.Depression symptoms and the association to biased and inflexible interpretations Interpretation biases play an important role in depression. Despite decades of research, it remains unknown how interpretation biases exert their toxic effects. Recent theories postulate that inflexibility in forming and maintaining interpretations will determine whether emotional interpretations have toxic effects. Utilizing a novel cognitive task, the emotional Bias Against Disconfirmatory Evidence Task, this study investigated whether interpretation biases and inflexibility are related to depressive symptom severity. Results showed that depression severity was related to reduced revision of negative interpretations based on disconfirmatory positive information. In addition, depression severity was associated with increased negative and decreased positive interpretation biases. These findings indicate that individuals with more severe depression levels make more biased and inflexible interpretations. Research and clinical practice may benefit from considering both these factors to understanding and treating depression