A multimodal investigation of emotion regulation in schizophrenia.

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Copyright: Perry, Yael
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Abstract
Although deficits in emotional processing are well documented in schizophrenia, there remains limited empirical evidence regarding how emotion regulation specifically is affected. The aim of this thesis, therefore, was to conduct a multimodal investigation into the use of discrete emotion regulation strategies in relation to affective symptoms in this clinical group. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the literature in the fields of emotion regulation and schizophrenia, and highlights unanswered questions which this thesis aimed to address. Chapter 2 presents findings from Study 1, which examined the habitual use of suppression, reappraisal and acceptance strategies, and their relationship to functional outcomes. Results from this study suggest that people with schizophrenia do not differ from non-clinical controls in terms of their use of the former two strategies, but do report using less acceptance. Further, use of this latter strategy was associated with better psychosocial functioning. Study 2 (presented in Chapter 3) examined the impact of implementing these three strategies on the experiential, expressive and physiological components of emotion. This study highlights meaningful between- and within-group differences. In particular, these data demonstrate that accepting rather than suppressing difficult emotions leads to greater willingness to re-experience similar feelings in the future. However, this was only found in non-clinical participants, suggesting that acceptance may not yield equivalent benefits for individuals with schizophrenia. Finally, Chapter 4 presents the results of Study 3, which examined emotion regulation in a personally relevant context. Specifically, the relationship between the use of regulatory strategies and recovery from ostracism was explored using a social psychological paradigm. The results showed that, for both groups, better recovery from social exclusion was associated with greater habitual use of acceptance. Taken together, the current findings suggest that acceptance may be an important strategy in terms of differentiating between clinical and non-clinical individuals. Further, despite the positive, longer-term outcomes associated with this strategy, individuals with schizophrenia do not appear to experience the same immediate benefits as those without mental illness. This inconsistency is discussed in the final chapter of this thesis, as are the broader theoretical and clinical implications of these data.
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Author(s)
Perry, Yael
Supervisor(s)
Henry, Julie
Grisham, Jessica
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Publication Year
2010
Resource Type
Thesis
Degree Type
PhD Doctorate
UNSW Faculty
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