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Southward - Master's Thesis.pdf (1.12 MB)

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The Impact of Expressive Flexibility and Context Sensitivity on Distress

Southward, Matthew Wayne
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5888-2769
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1413288630

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Emotion theorists have argued that the adaptivity of emotion regulation strategies depends on situational context (e.g., Aldao, 2013). Bonanno, Papa, Lalande, Westphal, and Coifman (2004) used a within-subject experimental paradigm to measure flexibility in two expressive regulation strategies: expressive enhancement and expressive suppression. Flexibility predicted two-year changes in distress in a college sample. However, it is unclear how or for whom flexibility predicts changes in distress. In the current study, I attempted to replicate Bonanno and colleagues’ (2004) findings and extend them by examining potential mediators and moderators of the effect of flexibility on short-term changes in distress in a different college sample. Participants completed behavioral measures of expressive flexibility (EF) and facial affect sensitivity at baseline. They also filled out self-report measures of distress, context sensitivity, and emotion regulation flexibility at baseline, two weeks, and one month later. EF did not predict one-month changes in distress (ß = -.06, p = .35). However, Discriminative Facility, a measure of context sensitivity, moderated the effect of EF on changes in distress (ß = .16, p = .03). When Discriminative Facility was low, EF negatively predicted changes in distress. Additionally, there was evidence for moderated mediation. At low levels of Facial Affect Sensitivity, EF predicted increased use of evaluation coping two weeks later which in turn predicted decreased distress one month later (ab = .008, 95% CI: .001, .021). These results suggest that different measures of context sensitivity moderate the impact of expressive flexibility on changes in distress in different ways. The pattern of these findings also suggests that being skilled at either expressive flexibility or context sensitivity, but not both, leads to the greatest decreases in distress.
Jennifer Cheavens, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Daniel Strunk, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Amelia Aldao, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
82 p.
Psychology
emotion regulation, flexibility, distress, context sensitivity, mediation, moderation

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Southward, M. W. (2014). The Impact of Expressive Flexibility and Context Sensitivity on Distress [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1413288630

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Southward, Matthew. The Impact of Expressive Flexibility and Context Sensitivity on Distress. 2014. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1413288630.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Southward, Matthew. "The Impact of Expressive Flexibility and Context Sensitivity on Distress." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1413288630

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1413288630
936
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.