Emotional Regulation Skills and Depression in Adolescence

Thompson, Zoe (2024) Emotional Regulation Skills and Depression in Adolescence. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Background: It is acknowledged that there are both cognitive and emotional processes which may underpin depression, but these factors are less explored in adolescent populations. This thesis aims to consider the developmental differences in emotional regulation strategies and depression across adolescence. Furthermore, it aims to examine the interactions between executive functions, emotional regulation and depression in early adolescence, a cohort rarely studied in this context.

Methods: Using a meta-analytic approach, the relationship between six emotional regulation strategies and depression across adolescence (early [10-14 years], mid [15-18 years] and late [19-25 years]) were examined. This included 44 studies (equating to 92 effects sizes, N=46,533). The empirical study used a cross-sectional design to examine associations between three executive functions, two emotional regulation strategies and depression using self-report measures with 51 adolescents aged 11-14 years.

Results: Maladaptive emotional regulation strategies were all significantly positively associated with depression, whilst adaptive strategies had mixed findings, with only one, (cognitive reappraisal) being significantly negatively associated with depression. Exploratory findings suggest that there were no differences in the use of emotional regulation strategies across stages of adolescence. The empirical study found that executive function impairment significantly predicted depression, but this relationship was not moderated by emotional regulation. A significant positive relationship was found between suppression (maladaptive strategy) and depression, whilst a significant negative relationship was found between cognitive reappraisal (adaptive strategy) and depression.

Conclusions: This thesis presents supporting evidence that maladaptive emotional regulation strategies are associated with greater depressive symptomology, whilst adaptive strategies may be associated with lesser symptomology. It also identifies the cognitive and emotional processes which may increase the likelihood of onset of depression in adolescents and explores clinical implications of these findings.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	07 Nov 2024 08:53
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2024 08:53
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/97546
DOI:

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