here is considerable evidence that a number of apparently impulsive or addictive
behaviours (e.g., self
-
harm, alcohol or substance misuse) can be triggered by negatively
valenced affective states, and that the behaviours serve the f
unction of blocking awareness of
intolerable emotions. However, the evidence base for this pattern of emotionally
-
driven blocking
behaviours is relatively patchy, because there has been little systematic investigation of the
emotions that trigger different
blocking behaviours. In this preliminary study of emotionally
-
driven
blocking behaviours, 53 non
-
clinical women completed a self
-
report measure of the link between
specific affective states (anger, anxiety, boredom, depression, loneliness) and different b
locking
behaviours (smoking; aggression; drinking alcohol; overeating; compulsive spending; stealing;
self
-
harm; ‘risky’ sexual behaviour). The results indicate a relatively specific pattern of
association between different emotions and blocking behaviours
. In addition, that linkage was
stronger when the individual had a higher level of behavioural impulsivity, particularly where the
emotion was loneliness or anger. These findings suggest that individuals who display such
behaviours might benefit from skill
s training for adaptive affect regulation, although further
research is needed to determine the generalizability of these results to broader clinical and non
-
clinical populations
