Interparental and Parent-Teen Relationships during Adolescence as Predictors of Intra- and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation in Young Adulthood.

Parents' contributions to their children's emotion regulation during adolescence has been a relatively understudied interpersonal context of development, even though parents' roles as sources of social and emotional learning persist from childhood into adolescence and the complexity of teens' lives grows during this time. This study aims to investigate the differential predictive utility of qualities and behaviors in interparental and parent-teen relationships during adolescence for predicting youths' development of intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation over a 13-year period. To assess these hypotheses, data were obtained from a longitudinal, multi-method, multi-informant study of 184 adolescents (107 Caucasian, 53 African American, and 24 mixed/other ethnicity; median family income of USD 40,000-60,000/year in 1999, equivalent to about USD 75,000-112,000/year when accounting for inflation) and their parents. The results provide support for a differential pattern of prediction; qualities of interparental relationships in early adolescence were significant predictors of young adult interpersonal emotion regulation, whereas behaviors in interparental and parent-teen relationships in late adolescence were significant predictors of both young adult positive intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation. Notably, some father-reported relationship predictors during late adolescence had unexpected relations with later intrapersonal emotion regulation. The results are discussed in terms of the helpfulness of these specific relationship factors during each part of adolescence for supporting positive intra- and interpersonal emotional regulation development.

A More Connected Future: How Social Connection, Interdisciplinary Approaches, and New Technology Will Shape the Affective Science of Loneliness, a Commentary on the Special Issue.

The recent Special Issue of Affective Science considered "The Future of Affective Science," offering new directions for the field. One recurring theme was the need to consider the social nature of emotional experiences. In this article, we take an interdisciplinary approach toward studies of social connection that builds upon current theoretical foundations to address an important public health issue - loneliness. Loneliness is an affective state that is characterized by feelings of isolation and has widespread adverse effects on mental and physical health. Recent studies have established links between loneliness, social connection, and well-being, but most of this work has been siloed in separate fields. We bridge these themes, leveraging advances in technology, such as artificial intelligence-based voice assistants (e.g., Alexa), to illuminate new avenues for detecting and intervening against loneliness "in the wild." Recognizing the power of connection among individuals as social beings and among researchers with shared goals, affective science can advance our understanding of loneliness and provide tangible benefits to society at large.

The critical mediating roles of the middle temporal gyrus and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in the dynamic processing of interpersonal emotion regulation.

Interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) is a crucial ability for effectively recovering from negative emotions through social interaction. It has been emphasized that the empathy network, cognitive control network, and affective generation network sustain the deployment of IER. However, the temporal dynamics of functional connectivity among these networks of IER remains unclear. This study utilized IER task-fMRI and sliding window approach to examine both the stationary and dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of IER. Fifty-five healthy participants were recruited for the present study. Through clustering analysis, four distinct brain states were identified in dFC. State 1 demonstrated situation modification stage of IER, with strong connectivity between affective generation and visual networks. State 2 exhibited pronounced connectivity between empathy network and both cognitive control and affective generation networks, reflecting the empathy stage of IER. Next, a 'top-down' pattern is observed between the connectivity of cognitive control and affective generation networks during the cognitive control stage of state 3. The affective response modulation stage of state 4 mainly involved connections between empathy and affective generation networks. Specifically, the degree centrality of the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) mediated the association between one's IER tendency and the regulatory effects in state 2. The betweenness centrality of the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) mediated the association between one's IER efficiency and the regulatory effects in state 3. Altogether, these findings revealed that dynamic connectivity transitions among empathy, cognitive control, and affective generation networks, with the left VLPFC and MTG playing dominant roles, evident across the IER processing.

Interpersonal emotion regulation and physiological synchrony: cognitive reappraisal versus expressive suppression.

The present study aimed to explore the effectiveness of two typical intrapersonal strategies (cognitive reappraisal, CR; expressive suppression, ES) on interpersonal emotion regulation (IER), and uncover the physiological synchrony pattern underlying this. A sample of 90 friend dyads (N = 180) was randomly assigned to the CR, the ES, or the control group. In each dyad, the target underwent a negative emotional task (induce sadness by recalling a negative event), and the regulator was assigned to implement the CR strategy, the ES strategy, or no action to down-regulate the targets' negative emotions. Self-reported results showed that compared to the control group, both CR and ES strategies decreased the targets' negative emotions, and increased the targets' positive emotions, indicating a successful IER effect. And the ECG results revealed that relative to the control condition, both CR and ES strategies evoked stronger physiological synchrony (heart rate synchrony and heart rate variation synchrony) during the emotion regulation stage of IER. Overall, these findings demonstrated the similar efficacy of reappraisal and suppression strategies implemented by the regulators to improve the targets' negative emotions, and suggested that the physiological synchrony might have an important relational meaning during the IER process.

I rely on a little help from my friends: the effect of interpersonal and intrapersonal emotion regulation on the relationship between FOMO and problematic internet use.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the role of emotion regulation in relation to the links between fear of missing out (i.e., FOMO) and two components of problematic internet use: problematic social media use and doomscrolling. METHODS: Participants (N = 603, Mage = 30.41, SDage = 7.64; 49.1% male-identifying) completed measures of fear of missing out, intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation, and problematic social media use, and doomscrolling. A parallel mediation model was tested to examine the nature of the associations between fear of missing out, intrapersonal, and interpersonal emotion regulation, in accounting for variance in the outcome measures. RESULTS: Analyses revealed that the effect of fear of missing out on problematic social media use was fully mediated by both intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation. In contrast, the effect on doomscrolling was fully mediated by intrapersonal emotion regulation only. CONCLUSIONS: Findings clarify the role of emotion regulation in explaining the relationship between fear of missing out and two types of problematic internet use, indicating a need to consider individual differences in emotion regulation in an evolving social media landscape.

Contexts Matter in 'a Distress Shared Is a Distress Halved': A Meta-Analysis of Distress Sharing-Psychological Distress Relations.

Can 'a distress shared is a distress halved' be universally applied? The relationship between sharing distress with others and individuals' psychological health may oscillate depending on how and where it is shared. This meta-analysis aimed to examine (1) whether the relationship between sharing distress and psychological distress is moderated by the manner of sharing (i.e. general tendency to share distress with others [general distress sharing] vs. ruminatively fixating on the negatives during the sharing [co-rumination]) and (2) cultural context (Eastern vs. Western). A total of 110 effect sizes from 105 studies (91 articles on general distress sharing and 84 articles on co-rumination) were included in the analysis with sharing manner as a moderator. For the cross-cultural analyses, 61 studies were included with 47 studies conducted in Western cultures and 15 studies conducted in Eastern cultures. Whereas generally sharing distress was negatively related to psychological distress, co-rumination showed a positive correlation with psychological distress. Culture significantly moderated co-rumination but not general distress sharing in relation to psychological distress. General distress sharing was consistently associated with decreased psychological distress across cultures. In contrast, co-rumination was related to deleterious psychological health only among Westerners, while Easterners showed a non-significant association with psychological distress. Our results align with the increasing importance of taking contextual factors into account in the field of emotion regulation literature.

Physiological synchrony in supportive discussions: An examination of co-rumination, relationship type, and heterogeneity.

During times of stress, we look to close others for support. Social support conversations are critical for relationship maintenance and well-being. Yet, certain ways of talking about problems-such as co-ruminating-can exacerbate stress. Since social support and co-rumination are both dyadic processes, it is important to examine physiological responses during these conversations in a dyadic manner. Little research has examined physiological synchrony of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) during social support conversations or co-ruminative conversations. The current research capitalizes on an experimental manipulation of co-rumination using a sample of close friends (147 dyads) and romantic partners (113 dyads) to examine physiological covariation in the context of support. Across both samples, dyads exhibited significant physiological covariation in pre-ejection period reactivity (PEP). Contrary to our hypothesis, dyads in the co-rumination condition did not show more covariation. Close friend dyads did, however, exhibit more covariation as compared to romantic dyads. We also found significant variability in physiological covariation across dyads, with a minority of dyads exhibiting negative covariation of PEP reactivity. The homogeneity of the samples limits the generalizability of the findings and highlights the need for more diverse samples in future work. These findings underline the need for further exploration into the mechanisms that contribute to distinct patterns of physiological synchrony, the conditions in which negative synchrony occurs, and what predicts especially strong positive synchrony. This work extends our understanding of physiological synchrony of the sympathetic nervous system during support conversations and emphasizes the importance of considering heterogeneity in physiological processes.

Interpersonal coping in sport: A systematic review.

PURPOSE: To systematically search for, appraise, and synthesize peer-reviewed literature on interpersonal coping (IC) in sport. DESIGN: A systematic review adhering to PRISMA-P guidelines. METHOD: Systematic searches of CINAHL, PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, and SPORTDiscus were conducted. To be eligible for inclusion, papers had to be published in full in the English language in a peer-reviewed journal and had to contain empirical data that focused on IC among individuals in sport (i.e., athletes, coaches, sport parents, practitioners). RESULTS: The final sample consisted of 28 studies (22 qualitative, five quantitative, one mixed methods) spanning from September 01, 1981 to July 10, 2023. The results highlight eight antecedents and facilitators of IC (closeness, commitment, communication, complementarity, cultural values, environment and situations, sharing of demands, support), three mediators and moderators of IC (appraisal of own and others' emotions and or coping, gender, individuals within the relationship), and three outcomes of IC (performance, relationships, regulation or management of emotions). The findings were used to develop the first working definition of IC in sport. CONCLUSION: A volte-face of thought is needed to shift attention toward the interpersonal manifestation of coping. IC has wide-reaching implications for individuals, relationships, and other psychological constructs. Methodological innovation is needed to realize stepwise changes in intellectual and practical progress and to develop quantitative measures of IC. Coaches, family members, practitioners, and retired athletes are considerably underrepresented in research on IC. This systematic review offers a vantage point from which composed and coordinated action can be taken to develop research on IC.

The Difficulties in Interpersonal Regulation of Emotions Scale (DIRE): Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance across Gender and Two Chinese Youth Samples.

Effective interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) strategies have been found to be meaningful predictors for positive psychological functioning. The Difficulties in Interpersonal Regulation of Emotions Scale (DIRE) is a measure developed to assess maladaptive IER strategies. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of DIRE using two college student samples (Sample 1: n = 296; Sample 2: n = 419). The two-factor structure of DIRE (venting and excessive reassurance-seeking) was confirmed through an exploratory structure equation modeling approach. Our results demonstrated that the Chinese version of DIRE exhibits a similar factor structure (in both samples) as the original DIRE. Measurement invariance across gender and samples was also achieved. Latent mean analyses demonstrated that females more frequently reported excessive reassurance-seeking (in both samples) and venting (in Sample 1) than males. Furthermore, venting and excessive reassurance-seeking were significantly related to intrapersonal emotion regulation and well-being indicators. Although in Chinese culture DIRE performs somewhat differently from the original DIRE, the current findings suggest that DIRE is a reliable and valid scale with which to measure the IER strategies in Chinese culture and the use of this measure in clinical practice may allow for an accurate assessment of emotion regulation deficits in clients from other diverse cultures.

Difficulties in interpersonal regulation of emotion in relation to disordered eating.

Eating disorders (EDs) are associated with emotion regulation difficulties. However, most studies have examined intrapersonal emotion regulation difficulties and strategies without consideration of interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). Thus, it remains unknown whether intrinsic IER (i.e., how people regulate their emotions through others) is associated with disordered eating. The present study examined whether putatively maladaptive IER strategies such as reassurance seeking and venting were associated with ED cognitions, behaviors, and symptom severity. Additionally, we examined whether IER strategy use varied as a function of probable ED diagnosis. A sample of 181 college students (Mage = 20.01 years, SD = 2.18) from a large northeastern university completed self-report measures of disordered eating, IER strategies, and intrapersonal emotion regulation difficulties. As predicted, reassurance seeking was associated with most ED symptomatology and ED symptom severity except for fasting frequency. Venting was only associated with body dissatisfaction. Associations between reassurance seeking and ED symptom severity and excessive exercise frequency remained significant even after controlling for sex and intrapersonal emotion regulation strategies. Finally, participants with a probable ED diagnosis reported greater reassurance seeking but not venting compared to nonprobable ED cases. These findings highlight the important associations between IER strategy use and disordered eating, namely, reassurance seeking. Additional research is needed to examine the associations between IER strategy use and disordered eating longitudinally.

Emotion regulation difficulties have consistently been associated with eating disorder symptomatology; however, most studies have examined intrapersonal emotion regulation, while ignoring interpersonal emotion regulation. We found that reassurance seeking was differentially associated with eating disorder symptomatology and symptom severity. Even after controlling for sex, intrapersonal emotion regulation strategies, reassurance seeking accounted for variance in symptom severity and excessive exercise frequency.

Boosting interpersonal emotion regulation through facial imitation: functional neuroimaging foundations.

Empathic function, which is primarily manifested by facial imitation, is believed to play a pivotal role in interpersonal emotion regulation for mood reinstatement. To explore this association and its neural substrates, we performed a questionnaire survey (study l) to identify the relationship between empathy and interpersonal emotion regulation; and a task-mode fMRI study (study 2) to explore how facial imitation, as a fundamental component of empathic processes, promotes the interpersonal emotion regulation effect. Study 1 showed that affective empathy was positively correlated with interpersonal emotion regulation. Study 2 showed smaller negative emotions in facial imitation interpersonal emotion regulation (subjects imitated experimenter's smile while followed the interpersonal emotion regulation guidance) than in normal interpersonal emotion regulation (subjects followed the interpersonal emotion regulation guidance) and Watch conditions. Mirror neural system (e.g. inferior frontal gyrus and inferior parietal lobe) and empathy network exhibited greater activations in facial imitation interpersonal emotion regulation compared with normal interpersonal emotion regulation condition. Moreover, facial imitation interpersonal emotion regulation compared with normal interpersonal emotion regulation exhibited increased functional coupling from mirror neural system to empathic and affective networks during interpersonal emotion regulation. Furthermore, the connectivity of the right orbital inferior frontal gyrus-rolandic operculum lobe mediated the association between the accuracy of facial imitation and the interpersonal emotion regulation effect. These results show that the interpersonal emotion regulation effect can be enhanced by the target's facial imitation through increased functional coupling from mirror neural system to empathic and affective neural networks.

Psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in a community sample of the Portuguese population.

BACKGROUND: Intrapersonal aspects of emotion regulation have been at the forefront of research, while interpersonal aspects have received less attention. The Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ) was developed to address this issue. However, this scale was neither adapted nor validated for European Portuguese. AIMS: The present study aims to adapt the IERQ to European Portuguese and explore the preliminary psychometric properties of the IERQ in a community sample, through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Construct validity was further supported by examining convergent validity with ERQ subscales. METHOD: Using a cross-sectional design, individuals were recruited online. Self-report questionnaires were used, namely the IERQ and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). RESULTS: The four-factor structure was confirmed through CFA. IERQ subscales correlated positively with the dimensions of the ERQ of cognitive reappraisal and correlated negatively with experiential suppression. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study showed that the IERQ has adequate psychometric properties in a Portuguese sample and supports that this instrument can be used to assess interpersonal emotion regulation strategies in non-clinical samples.

Differences in Interpersonal Resources and Risk Factors Among Mothers and Fathers of Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Serial Mediation Model.

Mothers and fathers of children on the autism spectrum may differ in their perception of their interpersonal resources and risk factors. Fathers (114) and mothers (507) of children on the autism spectrum participated in the study. Fathers (vs. mothers) reported lower interpersonal resources (interpersonal emotion regulation and perceived support from friends and formal sources, but not family) and higher levels of interpersonal risk factors (social, not emotional, loneliness). A serial mediation model indicated that parents' gender predicted interpersonal emotion regulation which in turn related to parents' social loneliness directly and indirectly through perceived social support. Fathers of children on the autism spectrum may differ from mothers in perceptions of interpersonal resources and risk factors related to parents' social belonging needs.

The Future of Emotion Regulation Research: Broadening Our Field of View.

Over the past few decades, emotion regulation research has matured into a vibrant and rapidly growing field (in 2022 alone, more than 30 thousand papers were published on emotion regulation). Taking stock of our progress, we ask "What does the future hold?" In this manuscript, we offer a roadmap for the next generation of research on emotion regulation. We begin by painting a picture of the field's journey so far. We then outline a forward-looking agenda for broadening our field of view along three key dimensions: (1) increasing our resolution to see how regulatory strategies are flexibly and dynamically translated into tactics; (2) widening our viewing angle to embrace interpersonal emotion regulation; and (3) extending the timescale of emotion regulation research to examine how regulatory efforts are fine-tuned across the regulatory cycle and in the context of a broader range of affective experiences. In doing so, we highlight empirical studies that exemplify these three areas of focus and discuss the opportunities that lie before us. We close by offering a set of concrete practical and methodological recommendations for how the field can accomplish the goals we have outlined.

Mapping Interpersonal Emotion Regulation in Everyday Life.

The growing literature on interpersonal emotion regulation has largely focused on the strategies people use to regulate. As such, researchers have little understanding of how often people regulate in the first place, what emotion regulation goals they have when they regulate, and how much effort they invest in regulation. To better characterize features of the regulation process, we conducted two studies using daily diary (N = 171) and experience sampling methods (N = 239), exploring interpersonal emotion regulation in the context of everyday social interactions. We found people regulated others' emotions nearly twice a day, regulated their own emotions through others around once a day, and regulated both their own and others' emotions in the same interaction roughly every other day. Furthermore, not only did people regulate others' emotions more often than regulating their own emotions through others, but they also put in more effort to do so. The goals of regulation were primarily to make themselves or others feel better, most often through increasing positive emotions, rather than decreasing negative emotions. Together, these findings provide a foundational picture of the interpersonal emotion regulation landscape, and lay the groundwork for future exploration into this emerging subfield of affective science. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-023-00223-z.

The link between adolescent girls' interpersonal emotion regulation with parents and peers and depressive symptoms: A real-time investigation.

Adolescents often experience heightened socioemotional sensitivity warranting their use of regulatory strategies. Yet, little is known about how key socializing agents help regulate teens' negative emotions in daily life and implications for long-term adjustment. We examined adolescent girls' interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) with parents and peers in response to negative social interactions, defined as parent and peer involvement in the teen's enactment of emotion regulation strategies. We also tested associations between rates of daily parental and peer IER and depressive symptoms, concurrently and one year later. Adolescent girls (N = 112; Mage = 12.39) at temperamental risk for depressive disorders completed a 16-day ecological momentary assessment protocol measuring reactivity to negative social interactions, parental and peer IER, and current negative affect. Results indicated that adolescents used more adaptive strategies with peers and more maladaptive strategies with parents in daily life. Both parental and peer IER down-regulated negative affect, reflected by girls' decreased likelihood of experiencing continued negative affect. Higher proportions of parental adaptive IER predicted reduced depressive symptoms one year later. Findings suggest that both parents and peers effectively help adolescent girls down-regulate everyday negative emotions; however, parents may offer more enduring benefits for long-term adjustment.

Embracing the Emotion in Emotional Intelligence Measurement: Insights from Emotion Theory and Research.

Emotional intelligence (EI) has gained significant popularity as a scientific construct over the past three decades, yet its conceptualization and measurement still face limitations. Applied EI research often overlooks its components, treating it as a global characteristic, and there are few widely used performance-based tests for assessing ability EI. The present paper proposes avenues for advancing ability EI measurement by connecting the main EI components to models and theories from the emotion science literature and related fields. For emotion understanding and emotion recognition, we discuss the implications of basic emotion theory, dimensional models, and appraisal models of emotion for creating stimuli, scenarios, and response options. For the regulation and management of one's own and others' emotions, we discuss how the process model of emotion regulation and its extensions to interpersonal processes can inform the creation of situational judgment items. In addition, we emphasize the importance of incorporating context, cross-cultural variability, and attentional and motivational factors into future models and measures of ability EI. We hope this article will foster exchange among scholars in the fields of ability EI, basic emotion science, social cognition, and emotion regulation, leading to an enhanced understanding of the individual differences in successful emotional functioning and communication.

Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression Evoke Distinct Neural Connections during Interpersonal Emotion Regulation.

Interpersonal emotion regulation is the dynamic process where the regulator aims to change the target's emotional state, which is presumed to engage three neural systems: cognitive control (i.e., dorsal and ventral lateral PFC, etc.), empathy/social cognition (i.e., dorsal premotor regions, temporal-parietal junction, etc.), and affective response (i.e., insula, amygdala, etc.). This study aimed to identify the underlying neural correlate (especially the interpersonal one), of interpersonal emotion regulation based on two typical strategies (cognitive appraisal, expressive suppression). Thirty-four female dyads (friends) were randomly assigned into two strategy groups, with one assigned as the target and the other as the regulator to downregulate the target's negative emotions using two strategies. A functional near-infrared spectroscopy system was used to simultaneously measure participants' neural activity. Results showed that these two strategies could successfully downregulate the targets' negative emotions. Both strategies evoked intrapersonal and interpersonal neural couplings between the cognitive control, social cognition, and mirror neuron systems (e.g., PFC, temporal-parietal junction, premotor cortex, etc.), whereas cognitive reappraisal (vs expressive suppression) evoked a broader pattern. Further, cognitive reappraisal involved increased interpersonal brain synchronization between the prefrontal and temporal areas at the sharing stage, whereas expressive suppression evoked increased interpersonal brain synchronization associated with the PFC at the regulation stage. These findings indicate that intrapersonal and interpersonal neural couplings associated with regions within the abovementioned systems, possibly involving mental processes, such as cognitive control, mentalizing, and observing, underlie interpersonal emotion regulation based on cognitive reappraisal or expressive suppression.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT As significant as intrapersonal emotion regulation, interpersonal emotion regulation subserves parent-child, couple, and leader-follower relationships. Despite enormous growth in research on intrapersonal emotion regulation, the field lacks insight into the neural correlates underpinning interpersonal emotion regulation. This study aimed to probe the underlying neural correlates of interpersonal emotion regulation using a multibrain neuroimaging (i.e., hyperscanning) based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Results showed that both cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression strategies successfully downregulated the target's negative emotions. More importantly, they evoked intrapersonal and interpersonal neural couplings associated with regions within the cognitive control, social cognition, and mirror neuron systems, possibly involving mental processes, such as cognitive control, mentalizing, and observing. These findings deepen our understanding of the neural correlates underpinning interpersonal emotion regulation.

Gender differences in cognitive and affective interpersonal emotion regulation in couples: an fNIRS hyperscanning.

Emotion regulation is vital in maintaining romantic relationships in couples. Although gender differences exist in cognitive and affective strategies during 'intrapersonal' emotion regulation, it is unclear how gender differences through affective bonds work in 'interpersonal' emotion regulation (IER) in couples. Thirty couple dyads and 30 stranger dyads underwent functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning recordings when targets complied with their partner's cognitive engagement (CE) and affective engagement (AE) strategies after viewing sad and neutral videos. Behaviorally, for males, CE was less effective than AE in both groups, but little difference occurred for females between AE and CE. For couples, Granger causality analysis showed that male targets had less neural activity than female targets in CH06, CH13 and CH17 during CE. For inflow and outflow activities on CH06 and CH13 (frontopolar cortex), respectively, male targets had less activity in the CE condition than in the AE condition, while for outflow activities on CH 17 (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), female targets had more activity in the CE condition than in the AE condition. However, these differences were not observed in strangers. These results suggest gender differences in CE but not in AE and dissociable flow patterns in male and female targets in couples during sadness regulation.