The goal of this clinical trial is to learn which aspects of distress intolerance (i.e., difficulties withstanding upsetting emotional states) are the most important for improving effective emotion regulation and associated mental health symptoms. The main questions it aims to answer are: How are willingness to feel upset and self-efficacy for withstanding distress associated with different emotion regulation strategies used in daily life? Does targeting willingness to feel upset and/or self-efficacy for withstanding distress help people use more effective emotion regulation strategies in daily life when they feel upset? Are improvements in emotion regulation strategies in daily life associated with fewer symptoms of mental health problems over time? Participants will: Answer questions about their moods, willingness to feel upset, self-efficacy for withstanding distress and emotion regulation strategies for three weeks using a cell phone app Undergo a willingness, self-efficacy, combined or psychoeducational control intervention in the lab Be prompted to use the intervention skill via the cell phone app during the second week, after the intervention Complete weekly reports of mental health symptoms
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
240
Brief skills based psychotherapy session to increase perceived self-efficacy for withstanding distress, giving participants increased beliefs that they \*can\* do it.
Brief skills based psychotherapy session to increase perceived willingness to engage with distress for withstanding distress, giving participants increased motivation to try.
Psychoeducation about the components and functions of emotion.
University of Arkansas - Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States
RECRUITINGEngagement behaviors
Emotion regulation strategies reflective of engagement; these are new items developed for this study and are not from an established scale. All items will be rated from 0 (not at all) to 6 (extremely). There will be 7 items assessing labeling ("I'm using emotion words to describe how I feel right now"), processing ("I'm reflecting on or writing about my feelings"), sharing ("I'm sharing how I feel with another person"), physical feeling ("I'm intentionally feeling my feelings in my body"), curiously considering ("I'm curiously considering how my feelings came about"), defusion ("I'm observing my feelings without getting 'stuck' in them"), and importance ("I'm trying to think about how this current situation maps on to what matters.")
Time frame: Assessed 5x/day via ecological momentary assessment
Disengagement behaviors
Emotion regulation strategies reflective of disengagement, some of which were modified from a momentary experiential avoidance measure (Hershenberg et al., 2017). All items will be rated from 0 (not at all) to 6 (extremely).Items will assess distraction ("Trying to distract myself from my feelings'), thought suppression ("Trying to push unwanted thoughts out of my mind."), discounting ("I'm telling myself I shouldn't be feeling the way I'm feeling"), expressive suppression ("I'm trying to control my feelings by not expressing them"), procrastination ("I'm intentionally putting of an unpleasant task until later"), denial ("I'm trying to 'turn off' the feelings that I don't want to feel"), and reduce importance ("Trying to think about the current situation as unimportant to me.")
Time frame: Assessed 5x/day via ecological momentary assessment
GAD-7
Symptoms of anxiety
Time frame: Baseline, weekly for three weeks and then after one month followup
PHQ-9
symptoms of depression
Time frame: Baseline, weekly for three weeks and then after one month followup
AUDIT
Alcohol misuse
Time frame: Baseline, weekly for three weeks and then after one month followup
Binge Eating Disorder Scale
binge eating symptoms
Time frame: Baseline, weekly for three weeks and then after one month followup
DSM Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure
symptoms of psychopathology
Time frame: Baseline, weekly for three weeks and then after one month followup
Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)
life satisfaction
Time frame: Baseline, weekly for three weeks and then after one month followup
Self-Compassion Scale - Short
self-criticism and self-compassion
Time frame: Baseline, weekly for three weeks and then after one month followup
State Loss of Interest and Pleasure Scale
anhedonia
Time frame: Baseline, weekly for three weeks and then after one month followup
Rumination and Reflection Questionnaire
rumination and self-reflective tendencies
Time frame: Baseline, weekly for three weeks and then after one month followup
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.