The contribution of deficits in emotional clarity to stress responses and depression

Abstract

This research investigated the contribution of deficits in emotional clarity to children’s socioemotional adjustment. Specifically, this study examined the proposal that deficits in emotional clarity are associated with maladaptive interpersonal stress responses, and that maladaptive interpersonal stress responses act as a mechanism linking deficits in emotional clarity to childhood depressive symptoms. Participants included 345 3rd graders (M age = 8.89, SD = .34) assessed at two waves, approximately one year apart; youth completed self-report measures of emotional clarity, responses to interpersonal stress, and depressive symptoms. Results supported the hypothesized process model linking deficits in emotional clarity, maladaptive interpersonal stress responses, and depressive symptoms, adjusting for prior depressive symptoms. Findings have implications for theories of emotional competence and for depression-intervention efforts aimed at fostering emotional understanding and adaptive interpersonal stress responses.

The cyclical nature of depressed mood and future risk: Depression, rumination, and deficits in emotional clarity in adolescent girls

“…Higher scores on this measure indicate greater levels of emotional clarity. Flynn and Rudolph (2010) demonstrated that the ECQ has good internal consistency and convergent validity through significant correlations with congruent behavioral measures that assess emotional processing abilities, such as identifying affect through facial expressions. The ECQ also demonstrated adequate internal consistency for the current sample (Time 1, α = .81; Time 3, α = .88).…”

“…High emotional clarity is associated with conscientiousness, active coping strategies, positive reinterpretation of stressful events, and increases in well-being among adults (Gohm & Clore, 2002). Emotional clarity is hypothesized to be adaptive because the ability to discriminate among and comprehend one’s own emotions allows for resources to be allocated towards goal-directed behaviors and cognitions rather than towards recognizing one’s own emotional experiences (Flynn & Rudolph, 2010; Gohm & Clore, 2000). …”

The Association Between Relational Aggression and Internalizing Symptoms: A Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Both RA and internalizing problems have a substantial interpersonal component (Flynn & Rudolph, 2010;Xie, Swift, Cairns, & Cairns, 2002), and some studies suggest that both are more common among females than males (Brown, Arnold, Dobbs, & Doctoroff, 2007;Crick & Grotpeter, 1995;Murray-Close et al, 2007). Theory suggests that RA and internalizing problems may be reciprocally related, causing a worsening cycling effect across time.…”

Emotion regulation in bipolar disorder: Profile and utility in predicting trait mania and depression propensity

“…Indeed, the ability to control impulsive behaviours and engage in goal directed behaviours when distressed, as well as the ability to acknowledge, accept, monitor, and evaluate negative and positive Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/psychres emotions in a manner that highlights both of these affective states as functional, may be important in maintaining healthy emotional equilibrium. This is plausible, given that deficits in these latter response tendencies have been implicated in reduced resilience for coping with stress, heightened vulnerability to depressive symptoms, neuroticism, rumination and anxiety disorders, all of which are associated with BD (Salovey et al, 1995;Gohm and Clore, 2002;Tull and Roemer, 2007;Flynn and Rudolph, 2010).…”