[A Multidimensional Assessment of Emotion Regulation in Adolescent Non-Suicidal Self-Injury]

The ability to regulate one's emotions (emotion regulation, ER) with regard to individual short- and long-term goals presents one of the most central human skills. A disrupted development of ER skills is associated with psychopathological outcomes. Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) presents a frequent and impairing phenomenon among young individuals. Disruptions regarding various aspects of ER are involved in the development and maintenance of NSSI. In the present study, we examined ER from a multidimensional perspective, including a sample of female adolescents meeting DSM-5 criteria for NSSI disorder (N = 30) and a psychologically healthy control group (N = 30). In line with results from previous studies, female adolescents with NSSI exhibited considerable difficulties regarding all aspects of ER investigated. Furthermore, various aspects of ER were distinctly linked with depressive and BPD symptomatology. Differences in NSSI frequency between participants largely went back to difficulties regarding specific aspects of ER, in combination with the self-rated severity of exposure to early life maltreatment. With regard to clinical practice, the use of interventions to improve particular aspects of ER, under simultaneous consideration of the individual developmental history and psychopathological impairment, might provide an efficient approach to mediate long-lasting change in the treatment of deliberate self-harm.

[Pilot Evaluation of a New Treatment Concept for Children to Improve Emotion Regulation and Stress Resilience. START-Kids: Stress-Arousal-Regulation-Treatment for Kids]

Emotional Dysregulation is a frequent challenge in clinical child psychiatric contexts. The Stress-Arousal-Regulation-Treatment for Children aged six to twelve (START-Kids, Dixius u. Möhler, 2021a), was developed as low threshold treatment tool for children with emotional dysregulation. The program is based on principles of dialectic behavioral therapy. The present article focuses feasibility and a first evaluation of this innovative treatment tool for emotionally dysregulated children. 23 child psychiatric patients aged six to twelve years took part in this eight weeks program with two group sessions at 60 min per week. Immediately before and after treatment personality functioning was assessed with the Levels of Personality Functioning Questionnaire LoPF-Q E and OPD-KJ2-SF E. There was no drop-out. Significant positive changes could be found after treatment with regard to therapists' and a trend for parent's ratings. Limitations are small sample size and lack of a treatment-as-usual-control group. START-Kids is an innovative program with high amount of feasibility and a positive influence on aspects of personality functions in children. Future studies, specifically a randomized controlled trial of START-Kids is warranted.

Developmental patterns of emotion regulation in toddlerhood: Examining predictors of change and long-term resilience

Emotion regulation is critical for optimal functioning across a wide range of domains and may be even more important for individuals in high-risk environments. While evidence suggests that childhood is generally a period of emotion regulation growth and development, research is needed to examine factors that may contribute to deviations from a typical trajectory. In a prospective study of 1,905 children, latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was used to identify trajectory groups of emotion regulation across toddlerhood (age 14-36 months), examine predictors of those trajectory groups from child temperament, parenting behaviors, and environmental risk, and explore predictions of resilience in 5th grade from the identified groups. LGCA supported a three-class model, with a Stable Incline group, a Decline group, and a Catch-Up group. Child negative emotionality, positive and negative parenting, and environmental risk predicted group membership. These trajectory groups in toddlerhood were predictive of child resilient functioning in the 5th grade. Our findings highlight the importance of utilizing developmental models of emotion regulation and provide implications for prevention and early intervention services to enhance emotion regulation development in early childhood.

Higher maternal reflective functioning is associated with toddlers' adaptive emotion regulation

Parental reflective functioning (RF), the ability to consider the child's behavior as a function of mental states (cognitions, emotions), is theorized to promote emotion regulation in children via its positive impact on parenting sensitivity. Using a sample of mothers and toddlers (N = 151 dyads; 41% Latinx; 54% girls; M_Age  = 21 months; SD_Age   =  2.5 months), we measured mothers' self-reported RF (high RF = low certainty/high interest-curiosity/low prementalizing), toddlers' distress during a standardized challenging behavioral task (toy removal), and three methods of children's coping with distress. Then, we tested whether RF moderated the association between children's observed distress and coping during the task (mother-directed adaptive coping, task-directed adaptive coping, maladaptive aggression) as an index of emotion regulation. Although RF was not associated with toddlers' distress, indices of RF moderated the associations between distress and coping. As maternal RF increased, the positive association between toddler distress and mother-oriented behavior increased, whereas the association between toddler distress and child aggression decreased. Findings were present only for certainty of mental states, whereas no effects were present for prementalizing or interest/curiosity. We discuss these findings in terms of their contributions to theory regarding parent-child relationships, maternal RF, and child emotion regulation.

TODDLERS' USE OF GESTURE AND SPEECH IN SERVICE OF EMOTION REGULATION DURING DISTRESSING ROUTINES

Research on the intersections of young children's emerging communication skills and emotion regulation has increased, following recognition of the link between these skills as they emerge in toddlerhood and the long-term impact of these skills on academic success. However, little is known about how toddlers use gesture and emerging language for emotion regulation. The current study describes toddlers' use of both words and gestures in naturally occurring distressing routines in childcare (diaper change, separation from parents). Seventeen toddlers between 11 and 28 months old were observed over the course of 3½ months in a childcare setting where symbolic gestures ("infant signs") were used as part of daily routines. Results show that toddlers communicated more frequently using gestures than speech, and used a greater range of self-regulatory strategies through gesture than through speech. Moreover, older, verbal toddlers continued to use gestures during heightened distress when they could not find their words. Findings suggest that toddlers use symbolic communication to implement complex and diverse emotion regulation strategies during distressing daily routines, and that gestures provide children with opportunities to employ more diverse emotion regulation strategies than does speech alone, which may ultimately enhance children's abilities to regulate their emotions.

[Strategies of Emotion Regulation in Adolescents with Depression]

Strategies of Emotion Regulation in Adolescents with Depression The present study investigated differences between adolescents with a depressive disorder and control subjects in their adaptive und maladaptive regulation of negative emotions. We assessed emotion regulation strategies using the German self-report questionnaire FEEL-KJ in a sample of adolescents with depression (n = 57) and controls (n = 57). We found that adolescents with depression reported using less adaptive strategies and more maladaptive strategies for dealing with the negative emotions anxiety, sadness and anger than control subjects. Our findings indicate that adolescents with depression showed difficulties with regard to different negative emotions that should be considered in intervention.

[Emotion Regulation in Adolescents with Nonsuicidal Self-Injury]

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a prevalent and impairing condition that was newly included in DSM-5 in the section III criteria for further research. Difficulties in emotion regulation play an important role in the development and maintenance of NSSI. This study investigated the emotion regulation in female adolescents with NSSI according to DSM-5 (n=55), clinical control adolescents with mental disorders without NSSI (n=30), and nonclinical control adolescents (n=58) using self-report questionnaires and interviews. As expected, results indicated that adolescents with NSSI have significantly more difficulties in emotion regulation compared to healthy controls. In addition, adolescents with NSSI reported also significantly more difficulties in impulse control, lack of emotional clarity, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior, and limited access to emotion regulation strategies compared to nonclinical and clinical controls. Adolescents with NSSI felt significantly more often sadness compared to clinical controls (d=0.66) and compared to other emotions. Adolescents with NSSI indicated significantly less often happiness compared to nonclinical controls (d=1.83). Results support that adolescents with NSSI have difficulties in emotion regulation and that these difficulties are even more pronounced than in adolescents with other mental disorders. Clinical implications will be discussed.

[Development and Validation of the Revenge Fantasy Inventory for Adolescents (RFI-J)]

The Revenge Fantasy Inventory for Adolescents (RFI-J) is a paper-pencil-questionnaire that aims at assessing revenge fantasies of adolescents and facilitates an interpersonal comparison of revenge fantasies. The RFI-J assesses components concerning the subjective relevance of revenge fantasies, for example a coherence with emotion regulation and adolescent's attitudes towards revenge. In addition, the content of revenge fantasies is measured. The psychometric properties of revenge fantasies were analysed in two studies: In the first study an early concept of the instrument (consisting of two parts: assessment of subjective relevance of the fantasies and assessment of revenge fantasy content) was presented to 248 students (123 males) with an average age of 14.9 years (SD=0.89; Range=14-18 years). Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) both parts of the instrument were dimensionalised. Subsequently, scales were built and a first version of the inventory was developed. In a second study with another sample consisting of 88 students (48 males) with an average age of 14.9 years (SD=0.72; Range=14-17 years) four of the factors which had been found in the first study were replicated. Furthermore, correlations were found between the RFI-J and measures of aggression, measures of pro-sociality, as well as measures of physical and psychological complaints. The developed test in its current version consist of two parts (18 and 6 Items).

[Self-reported Emotion Regulation Strategies in Children and Adolescents with Mental Disorders]

Emotion regulation (ER) is extensively researched in the context of psychopathology. It is quite controversial if deficits in ER are related to psychopathology across disorders or specifically linked to certain forms of psychopathology. Furthermore, it appears unclear if there are differences in ER depending on the specific emotion to be regulated. There are only few studies comparing different forms of psychopathology in terms of ER, specifically in childhood and adolescence. We explored ER in a consecutive clinical sample seeking help in two outpatient university clinics (N=129, age: 7-17 years, 45% female). In a first step, the ER of all children and adolescents seeking professional help for emotional and behavioral problems was compared with the ER-characteristics of children and adolescents identified in school samples. In a second step, the clinical sample was divided into different groups of psychopathology, comparing the associations of different types of psychopathology with ER. ER in the clinical sample differed significantly from children and adolescents in school settings. The clinical sample was particularly characterized by a lack of adaptive strategies, and only partially by an increased use of maladaptive strategies. Further analysis revealed no specific deficits in the ER depending on types of psychopathology. The findings suggest a transdiagnostic and emotion-overarching conceptualization of ER in childhood and adolescence.

[Self-reported Anxiety and Regulation Strategies in Primary School-age Children]

We examined the self-reported anxiety in different situations (social anxiety, cognitive fears, fears of injury) and the use of regulation strategies (problem orientation, problem avoidance and seeking social support) in a sample of N=175 primary school children (mean age 8 years 4 months). At time of recruitment we oversampled for children with internalizing symptoms. In addition, mothers rated the overall anxiety of their children. According to their mothers 14.3% of the children showed anxiety symptoms in an abnormal range which is comparable to prevalence rates of children from population samples. 19.4% of the children described themselves as being anxious in an abnormal range. The correlations between different measures of children's self-reported anxieties were low to moderate. We found no significant correlations between mothers' and children's reports. The higher children's self-reported overall and cognitive anxiety, the more frequently they reported seeking social support in frightening situations. Girls reported more frequently pm cognitive fears than boys. Regarding regulation strategies we found that boys reported more problem orientation than girls whereas girls reported more social support seeking than boys. The results are discussed and practical implications are outlined.