Coping with the invisible enemy: The role of emotion regulation and awareness in quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic

Panayiotou, Georgia; Panteli, Maria; Leonidou, Chrysanthi

doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.11.002

Cited by 95 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Fancourt et al (2019) have proposed that ACAs may regulate emotion via different strategies that fall into three categories: (1) avoidance strategies such as distraction, suppression and detachment; (2) approach strategies such as acceptance, reappraisal and problem solving; and (3) self-development strategies which enhance self-identity, improve self-esteem and increase agency. Some studies have suggested that proactive, approach-oriented emotion regulation strategies are more effective at managing negative emotions in certain contexts (e.g., in workplaces) than avoidance-based strategies (Diefendorff et al, 2008;Pekaar et al, 2018), although one recent study found that avoidance-based strategies were protective of quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic (Panayiotou et al, 2021), suggesting that such strategies can also support well-being. Research has also shown that different types of situation can inform the specific strategy deployed, with low-intensity stimuli leading to a tendency toward reappraisal strategies on the one hand, and high-intensity stimuli leading to a tendency toward distraction strategies on the other hand (Sheppes et al, 2014).…”

Section: Emotion Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Artistic Creative Activities in Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia

et al. 2021

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During the COVID-19 pandemic some Australians turned to artistic creative activities (ACAs) as a way of managing their own mental health and well-being. This study examined the role of ACAs in regulating emotion and supporting mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also attempted to identify at-risk populations. We proposed that (1) participants would use ACAs as avoidance-based emotion regulation strategies; and (2) music engagement would be used for emotion regulation. Australian participants (N = 653) recruited from the general public completed an online survey, which included scales targeting anxiety (GAD7 scale), depression (PHQ9 scale) and loneliness (two UCLA Loneliness Scales, referring to “Before” and “Since” COVID-19). Participants reported which ACAs they had undertaken and ceased during the pandemic using an established list and ranked their undertaken ACAs in terms of effectiveness at making them “feel better.” For their top-ranked ACA, participants then completed the Emotion Regulation Scale for Artistic Creative Activities (ERS-ACA), and if participants had undertaken any musical ACAs, also the Musical Engagement Questionnaire (MusEQ). The results supported both hypotheses. ANOVAs indicated that participants ranked significantly higher on the “avoidance” ERS-ACA subscale than the other subscales, and that participants ranked significantly higher on the emotion regulation and musical preference MusEQ subscales than the other subscales. Additionally, while ACAs such as “Watching films or TV shows” and “Cookery or baking” were common, they ranked poorly as effective methods of emotion regulation, whereas “Listening to music” was the second-most frequently undertaken ACA and also the most effective. “Singing” and “Dancing” were among the most ceased ACAs but also ranked among the most effective for emotion regulation, suggesting that support for developing pandemic-safe approaches to these ACAs may provide well-being benefits in future crises. Additionally, correlation analyses showed that younger participants, those who took less exercise during the pandemic, and those with the highest musical engagement reported the poorest well-being. We conclude that ACAs provided an important resource for supporting mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and could potentially support mental health and well-being in future crises.

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Section: Emotion Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Artistic Creative Activities in Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia

et al. 2021

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“…In this study, we specifically explored negative mood regulation expectancies, which are people's beliefs that they can use behaviors and cognitions to alleviate unpleasant emotional states. Although emotion regulation has not yet been extensively studied in relation to COVID‐19, some studies have shown an association between adaptive regulation strategies and well‐being during the pandemic (Panayiotou et al., 2021 ). Studies of this kind highlight the importance of finding a biological mechanism underlying the ability to regulate negative emotions to better identify individual differences in resilience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre‐pandemic autonomic nervous system activity predicts mood regulation expectancies during COVID‐19 in Israel

et al. 2021

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Despite the unfolding impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on psychological well‐being, there is a lack of prospective studies that target physiological markers of distress. There is a need to examine physiological predictors from the pre‐pandemic period to identify and treat individuals at‐risk. In this study, our aim was to use pre‐pandemic markers of autonomic nervous system (ANS) parasympathetic and sympathetic regulation to predict individuals' psychological well‐being during the crisis. We also assessed the role of mood regulation expectancies as a mediator of the association between pre‐pandemic physiological measures and COVID‐related well‐being. In May to June 2020, 185 Israeli adults completed online questionnaires assessing their mood regulation expectancies since COVID‐19 began, and their current well‐being. These individuals had participated in lab studies 1.5–3 years prior to this assessment, where their physiological measures were taken, including respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and skin conductance level (SCL). RSA was positively related to mood regulation expectancies during COVID‐19 ( b = 3.46, 95% CI [0.84, 6.05]). Mood regulation expectancies, in turn, positively predicted well‐being during the crisis ( b = 0.021, 95% CI [0.016, 0.027]). The mediation was significant and moderated by SCL (index = −0.09, 95% CI [−0.02, −0.0001]), such that it was strongest for individuals with low SCL. We point to pre‐pandemic physiological mechanisms underlying individuals' mental well‐being during the COVID‐19 pandemic. These findings have theoretical, diagnostic, and clinical implications that may refine our understanding of the physiological basis of resilience to the COVID‐19 pandemic and thus may be implemented to identify and assist individuals in these times.

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“…Indeed, so far, several studies investigated the effect of emotion regulation strategies and cognitive control on well-being and mental health during the pandemic. Findings indicate that adaptive emotion regulation strategies predicted increased well-being, whereas maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and deficits in cognitive control predicted higher levels of anxiety, greater depressive symptoms, reduced quality of life, risky health behavior, and diminished well-being during the pandemic (Appelhans, Thomas, Roisman, Booth-LaForce, & Bleil, 2021; Breaux et al, 2021; Brehl, Schene, Kohn, & Fernández, 2021; Low, Overall, Chang, & Henderson, 2020; Panayiotou, Panteli, & Leonidou, 2021; Weissman et al, 2021; Yang, Liu, Li, & Shu, 2020). While affective control, such as reappraisal, involves the adaptive modulation of emotions in response to unpleasant stimuli (Gross, 2015; Holley, Ewing, Stiver, & Bloch, 2017), cognitive control includes the inhibition of inappropriate or ineffective behavior (Aron, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Coping under stress: Prefrontal control predicts stress burden during the COVID-19 crisis

Monninger

Pollok

Aggensteiner

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundThe coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has confronted millions of people around the world with an unprecedented stressor, affecting physical and mental health. Accumulating evidence suggests that emotional and cognitive self-regulation is particularly needed to effectively cope with stress. Therefore, we investigated the predictive value of affective and inhibitory prefrontal control for stress burden during the COVID-19 crisis.MethodPhysical and mental health burden were assessed using an online survey, which was administered to 104 participants of an ongoing German at-risk birth cohort during the first wave in April 2020. Two follow-ups were carried out during the pandemic, one capturing the relaxation during summer and the other the beginning of the second wave of the crisis. Prefrontal activity during emotion regulation and inhibitory control were assessed prior to the COVID-19 crisis.ResultsIncreased inferior frontal gyrus activity during emotion regulation predicted lower stress burden at the beginning of the first and the second wave of the crisis. In contrast, inferior and medial frontal gyrus activity during inhibitory control predicted effective coping only during the summer, when infection rates decreased but stress burden remained unchanged. These findings remained significant when controlling for sociodemographic and clinical confounders such as stressful life events prior to the crisis or current psychopathology.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that differential stress-buffering effects are predicted by the neural underpinnings of emotion regulation and cognitive regulation at different stages during the pandemic. These findings may inform future prevention strategies to foster stress coping in unforeseen situations.HighlightsHealth threatening stressors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly worsen well-being.Results reveal high levels of stress during the course of the pandemic with an increase of stress burden towards the second wave.Self-regulation is an important coping strategy to restore allostasis.Higher prefrontal activity during emotion regulation predicted less stress during the peaks of infection rates in the first and second waveHigher prefrontal inhibitory control predicted less stress burden between both waves when infection rates were low.Our findings highlight the importance of prefrontal regulation as effective coping mechanisms in the face of unprecedented stressors.

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Coping with the invisible enemy: The role of emotion regulation and awareness in quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 95 publications

References 59 publications

The Role of Artistic Creative Activities in Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia

The Role of Artistic Creative Activities in Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia

Pre‐pandemic autonomic nervous system activity predicts mood regulation expectancies during COVID‐19 in Israel

Coping under stress: Prefrontal control predicts stress burden during the COVID-19 crisis

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