A path to flourishing: the role of emotion regulation in adolescent wellbeing and positive education
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Emotion regulation (ER) is a widely recognized contributor to adaptive psychological functioning, and an important developmental task of adolescence.Positive education programs (PEPs) are school-based interventions that seek to enhance wellbeing and protect young people against the development of psychological distress and dysfunction.To date, the role and relevance of ER to PEPs remains unknown.The central objective of this thesis was to evaluate the relationship of ER with the full spectrum of mental health in an adolescent sample, and to determine the relevance of ER to outcomes of a best-practice PEP.A literature review explored methodological and conceptual considerations in the examination of ER in adolescent wellbeing.A second, targeted review of the literature (Publication 1) synthesized two fields of research, ER and positive psychology interventions, to reveal that processes of ER are meaningfully related to domains of wellbeing, including positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and health (i.e., the PERMA model).An exploratory study of 101 adolescents (age 14 -16; 36% female) was then conducted to assess the degree of covariance between change in physiological (i.e., heart rate variability; HRV) and selfreport measures of ER (i.e., the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale; DERS) over the school year, to determine if including both measures in subsequent analyses provides a more comprehensive measure of ER than using one alone.Small, significant relationships were found between HRV and DERS total score, indicating that HRV and self-report represent related but largely distinct processes contributing to the ER construct.A second study of 119 adolescents (age 14-17; 50% female) then evaluated the cross-sectional relationship between multiple ER measures and domains of positive and negative psychological functioning.As predicted, after controlling for covariates (i.e., age and school), hierarchical regression analyses revealed that self-reported ER predicted resilience, perseverance, connectedness, and happiness; and fewer depression and anxiety symptoms.Higher HRV also predicted resilience and perseverance.Effect sizes were small to moderate.To explore the longitudinal relationship between ER and wellbeing, and to determine the role of ER in PEP outcomes, a third empirical study was conducted.This study examined the relationship between two selfreport measures of ER and changes in wellbeing scores of 44 Year 10 adolescents (50% female, m age = 15.07)following a year-long PEP compared to a treatment-as-usual control condition (n = 36; m age = 15.11;18.8% female,).Results of linear mixed modelling revealed that ER meaningfully predicted wellbeing over time.A time-by-group-by-ER interaction !3! revealed that adolescents with low ER capacity enrolled in PEP reported improvements in happiness and social connection following PEP exposure, and benefits were sustained at least 6-months post treatment.Irrespective of treatment group, greater ER capacity was associated with higher wellbeing and resilience, and fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety over time.PEP did not improve students' ER capacity.Overall, this thesis underscores the importance of ER capacity to the full spectrum of adolescent mental health, and indicates that PEP interventions may be extended and enhanced by conceptualizing them within a broader, theoretical ER framework.Finally, results provide preliminary support for the value of ER in differentiating students who are more likely to benefit from PEP participation, and suggest that current PEP models might benefit from the inclusion of explicit ER training and interventions.!
Author: Lucy Morrish
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Australian Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W2961655138