Beyond Self-Report: Performance Measures of Emotional Competencies Predict Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety, Physical Symptoms, Self-Rated Health, and Immunoregulatory Molecules.

BACKGROUND: Most work testing links between emotional competencies and health has focused on self-reported and/or trait assessments. However, more objective assessments of skills and knowledge may also predict health relevant outcomes. PURPOSE: The current study investigated whether performance-based tests of emotional knowledge and expressive skill predicted symptoms of depression and anxiety, self-reported physical symptoms, perceived health, and a range of immunoregulatory molecules. METHODS: Eighty females aged 18-35 completed self-report assessments before attending a testing session in which they provided blood samples and completed performance-based assessments of expressive skill and emotional knowledge. RESULTS: Greater expressive skill predicted better self-reported outcomes, but links to immunoregulatory molecules were mixed. Expressive skill for contempt and anger predicted higher, whereas skill for happiness predicted lower, concentrations of immunoregulatory molecules. CONCLUSIONS: These data highlight the need to extend research beyond self-reported emotional competencies and suggest that performance-based skill and knowledge metrics may be associated with health relevant outcomes.

Higher resting heart rate variability predicts skill in expressing some emotions.

Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is a measure of cardiac vagal tone, and is widely viewed as a physiological index of the capacity to regulate emotions. However, studies have not directly tested whether vmHRV is associated with the ability to facially express emotions. In extending prior work, the current report tested links between resting vmHRV and the objectively assessed ability to facially express emotions, hypothesizing that higher vmHRV would predict greater expressive skill. Eighty healthy women completed self-reported measures, before attending a laboratory session in which vmHRV and the ability to express six emotions in the face were assessed. A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a marginal main effect for vmHRV on skill overall; individuals with higher resting vmHRV were only better able to deliberately facially express anger and interest. Findings suggest that differences in resting vmHRV are associated with the objectively assessed ability to facially express some, but not all, emotions, with potential implications for health and well-being.