Date of Award

6-2016

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Amy E. Naugle

Second Advisor

Dr. Mary Z. Anderson

Third Advisor

Dr. Susan Baird

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Scott T. Gaynor

Keywords

Emotion regulation, assessment, transdiagnostic, affect regulation, emotion, measure

Abstract

To address limitations of existing emotion regulation measures, the goal of the present study was to develop new measures of emotion undercontrol and emotion overcontrol. These measures were created from 305 undergraduate participants who completed preexisting scales of emotion regulation. Analyses were applied to determine which regulatory strategies were most predictive of personality disorders associated with emotion overcontrol (i.e., AVPD and OCPD) and emotion undercontrol (i.e., BPD and ASPD). The variables most predictive of these disorders and related traits were included in the item pools for factor analysis. Exploratory factor analyses were implemented to determine which factors were associated with emotion undercontrol and emotion overcontrol. A 7-factor scale related to emotion undercontrol was established which included factors indicative of emotional avoidance, emotional identification, emotional reactivity, emotional interference, emotional control, emotional tolerance, and emotional expressivity. Additionally, a 6-factor scale was developed related to emotion overcontrol including emotional avoidance, emotional control, emotional identification, emotional interference, emotional judgment, and emotional reappraisal. These scales were found to be reliable and valid based on the current sample. Implications for the new measures and future research directions are discussed.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

Download

Included in

Counseling Commons

Share

COinS