204 Participants Needed

Emotion Regulation Strategies for Emotional Development

Age: < 18
Sex: Any
Trial Phase: Academic
Sponsor: Miami University
No Placebo GroupAll trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Trial Summary

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications.

What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Laboratory tasks for emotion regulation strategies?

Research shows that emotion regulation methods, including affect-focused and structured skill training, have a large positive effect on improving emotion regulation, with an effect size of 0.82 from pre- to post-treatment. This suggests that similar strategies used in laboratory tasks could be effective in enhancing emotional development.12345

Is emotion regulation generally safe for humans?

Research suggests that integrative emotion regulation, which involves understanding and accepting negative emotions, is linked to better emotional and cognitive functioning compared to suppressing emotions. This indicates that it is generally safe and may even be beneficial for emotional development.678910

How does the treatment 'Laboratory tasks' differ from other treatments for emotional development?

The 'Laboratory tasks' treatment is unique because it focuses on teaching children specific emotion regulation strategies, like distraction and cognitive reappraisal, through controlled experimental settings. This approach allows for the assessment of children's ability to manage emotions in real-time, using physiological measures to track effectiveness, which is not typically done in other treatments for emotional development.1112131415

What is the purpose of this trial?

This study will examine the relation between behavioral emotion regulation (ER) strategies at toddler age 3 to cognitive ER strategies in early adolescence as part of an ongoing longitudinal study of children\&amp;#39;s typical development. Aim 1 is to test whether self-soothing/caregiver-focused and distraction behavioral ER strategies at child age 3 predict avoidant and engaging cognitive ER strategies, respectively, at a follow-up assessment to be completed when children are 10-14 years old. In a completed wave of data collection, children\&amp;#39;s ER behaviors were elicited in laboratory tasks characterized by threat (novelty and uncertainty) at age 3. Avoidant and engaged cognitive ER strategies will be assessed by youth self-report, parent-report, and interviews with youth after they engage in new laboratory tasks characterized by mild threat. Hypothesis 1a: Self-soothing/caregiver-focused toddler behavioral ER strategies will predict avoidant cognitive strategies in early adolescence. Hypothesis 1b: The toddler behavioral ER strategy of distraction will predict engaged cognitive ER strategies in early adolescence. To provide additional developmental information, Aim 2 is to test whether child age at the follow up assessment (ranging 10-14 years) moderates the relation between behavioral ER strategies at age 3 and cognitive emotion regulatory strategies in early adolescence. Hypothesis 2: Because older children will have undergone more development underlying cognitive ER strategies, relations specified in Hypotheses 1a and 1b will strengthen across older ages. Finally, the Exploratory Aim is to test theoretically-supported individual (i.e., inhibited/fearful temperament) and environmental (i.e., family emotional environment) variables as potential mediators or moderators of the relation between behavioral ER strategies at age 3 and cognitive ER strategies in early adolescence. The investigators expect inhibited/fearful temperament to be involved in the link between behavioral ER strategies and avoidant cognitive ER strategies. The investigators expect the emotional family environment to be involved in linking behavioral ER strategies to both avoidant and engaged ER strategies.

Research Team

EJ

Elizabeth J Kiel Luebbe, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Miami University

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for children who were part of a previous study on emotion regulation at age 3 and are now between the ages of 10-14. They must have data from the initial study when they were toddlers to participate.

Inclusion Criteria

Mothers were able to complete study procedures in English
Family participated in previous phases of this ongoing longitudinal study
My child is between 8 and 14 years old.
See 2 more

Exclusion Criteria

Informed consent/assent is declined
My child has a developmental disability or chronic health issue affecting their emotional growth.

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Laboratory Assessment

Children and parents participate in a 1.5-hour laboratory assessment involving standardized tasks and interviews to assess emotion regulation strategies.

1.5 hours
1 visit (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for the development of cognitive emotion regulation strategies from age 10 to 14.

4 years

Treatment Details

Interventions

  • Laboratory tasks
Trial Overview The trial is studying how early childhood strategies for handling emotions relate to those used in early adolescence. It involves interviews, self-reports, parent-reports, and lab tasks that introduce mild stress.
Participant Groups
1Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Group I: Emotion regulation observation in early adolescenceExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
All children will experience brief standardized laboratory tasks according to the same protocol.

Find a Clinic Near You

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Miami University

Lead Sponsor

Trials
16
Recruited
3,000+

University of California, Riverside

Collaborator

Trials
33
Recruited
14,400+

Findings from Research

A systematic review of 10 studies and a meta-analysis of 26 studies involving 84 clients showed that therapist methods for emotion regulation (ER) significantly improve patients' ability to manage their emotions, with a large effect size of 0.82 from pre- to post-treatment.
Both affect-focused methods and structured skills training are effective in enhancing emotion regulation, highlighting the importance of considering cultural backgrounds in therapy to tailor approaches for individual patients.
Enhancing emotion regulation.Iwakabe, S., Nakamura, K., Thoma, NC.[2023]

References

Enhancing emotion regulation. [2023]
Recent Advances in Laboratory Assessment of Emotion Regulation. [2019]
Emotional regulation strategies (ER) used by trainees to overcome negative emotions. [2023]
Some like it hot: medical student views on choosing the emotional level of a simulation. [2016]
Emotion regulation related to children's future externalizing and internalizing behaviors. [2015]
Modeling heterogeneity in social interaction processes using multilevel survival analysis. [2007]
Integration of negative emotional experience versus suppression: addressing the question of adaptive functioning. [2018]
Why Do People Regulate Their Emotions? A Taxonomy of Motives in Emotion Regulation. [2018]
Influences of witnessed affect on information processing in children. [2007]
From Basic Processes to Real-World Problems: How Research on Emotion and Emotion Regulation Can Inform Understanding of Psychopathology, and Vice Versa. [2021]
11.United Statespubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Emotion regulation strategy flexibility in childhood: When do children switch between different strategies? [2020]
12.United Statespubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Emotion regulation: a theme in search of definition. [2023]
Behavioral assessment of emotion discrimination, emotion regulation, and cognitive control in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. [2021]
14.United Statespubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood. [2019]
15.United Statespubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Measures of Effortful Regulation for Young Children. [2021]
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