Emotion dysregulation has long been thought to be a vulnerability factor for mood disorders. However, there have been few empirical tests of this idea. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that depression vulnerability is related to difficulties with emotion regulation by comparing recovered-depressed and never-depressed participants (N = 73). In the first phase, participants completed questionnaires assessing their typical use of emotion regulation strategies. In the second phase, sad mood was induced using a film clip, and the degree to which participants reported to have spontaneously used suppression versus reappraisal to regulate their emotions was assessed. In the third phase, participants received either suppression or reappraisal instructions prior to watching a second sadness-inducing film. As predicted, suppression was found to be ineffective for down-regulating negative emotions, and recovered-depressed participants reported to have spontaneously used this strategy during the first sadness-inducing film more often than controls. However, the groups did not differ regarding the effects of induced suppression versus reappraisal on negative mood. These results provide evidence for a role for spontaneous but not instructed emotion regulation in depression vulnerability.

Characteristics of emotion regulation in recovered depressed versus never depressed individuals Ehring, T.W.A.; Fischer, S.; Schnülle, J.; Bösterling, A.; Tuschen-Caffier, B. General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. There is evidence that depressed individuals show a more dysfunctional use of emotion regulation strategies than controls. Some authors have suggested that these deficits are not confined to the acute phase but are a risk factor for the development of recurrent depressive episodes. The study aimed to provide a preliminary test of this hypothesis by comparing 42 students with a history of depression to 42 matched controls using self-report questionnaires.In line with the hypotheses, past depression was related to higher levels of self-perceived emotion regulation difficulties, a more frequent use of dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies and a less frequent use of 'putting things into perspective' as a functional strategy.In exploratory analyses, the groups also differed in emotion acceptance and clarity. As a whole, the results provide preliminary support for the idea that depression vulnerability is related to deficits in emotion regulation.

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