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Evidence of Broad Deficits in Emotion Regulation Associated with Chronic Worry and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

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Abstract

This study examined the relationship between emotion regulation deficits and GAD-related outcomes in an analogue sample. Consistent with hypotheses, general emotion dysregulation was associated with reports of chronic worry and with analogue GAD status. Also, specific regulation deficits, including deficits in emotional clarity, acceptance of emotions, ability to engage in goal directed behaviors when distressed, impulse control, and access to effective regulation strategies, were associated with worry and analogue GAD above and beyond variance contributed by negative affectivity. These findings provide additional preliminary evidence for an emotion regulation deficit model of GAD and are discussed in terms of clinical implications and directions for future research.

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Author notes

  1. Matthew T. Tull

    Present address: Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

  2. Latanya Rucker

    Present address: B & D Behavioral Health Services, Durham, NC, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA

    Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault, Lizabeth Roemer, Matthew T. Tull & Latanya Rucker

  2. National Center for PTSD, Behavioral Science Division, VA Boston Healthcare System (116B-5), 150 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02130, USA

    Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault

  3. Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Lizabeth Roemer

  4. Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Douglas S. Mennin

Authors
  1. Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault
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  2. Lizabeth Roemer
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  3. Matthew T. Tull
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  4. Latanya Rucker
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  5. Douglas S. Mennin
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Correspondence to Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault.

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Salters-Pedneault, K., Roemer, L., Tull, M. et al. Evidence of Broad Deficits in Emotion Regulation Associated with Chronic Worry and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Cogn Ther Res 30, 469–480 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9055-4

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