Development and Feasibility of an Online Brief Emotion Regulation Training (BERT) Program for Emerging Adults

Abstract

Mental wellness is a critical component of healthy development in emerging adulthood and serves to protect against stress and promote resilience against psychopathology. Emotion regulation is a key mechanism for effective prevention because of its role in socio-emotional competence and its transdiagnostic significance for psychopathology. In this feasibility study, a brief, time and cost-effective emotion regulation training program for emerging adults (BERT) was developed and tested using the RE-AIM framework. Importantly, building interventions within the context of an implementation framework, such as the RE-AIM framework, enhances the chances that an intervention will be able to scale out and scale up. First, the brainwriting premortem method was utilized to refine program content, conducting focus groups a priori to identify potential program failures prior to program implementation. Undergraduate students (n = 12) attended four focus groups presenting initial program content. Four clinicians were also interviewed to determine program barriers. Qualitative analyses aggregated participant feedback to identify compliments, changes, and concerns about BERT and critical feedback was immediately implemented prior to initial testing. BERT was rooted in cognitive-behavioral practices and informed by the Gross model of emotion regulation. The 5-week program was then examined in a college sample (N = 42) to evaluate implementation (low attrition, high content engagement, favorable attitudes, low incidence of technical errors, costs), reach (enrollment and completion demographics comparable to the population in which recruitment took place), and efficacy (positive change in emotion regulation pre- to post-program). Of the recruited participants, 36 remained in the study where 27 completed at least 80% of program content. Repeated-measures ANOVAs exhibited significant improvements in emotion regulation, psychological distress, and negative affectivity, suggesting promising initial efficacy. Initial data provide support for feasibility and a future randomized control trial. BERT has potential significance for promoting healthy development as its brief electronic format reduced barriers and the program development process incorporated stakeholder feedback at multiple levels to inform better implementation and dissemination.

Emotional regulation, attachment style, and assertiveness as determinants of well-being in emerging adults

“…The more emerging adults will be able to identify and regulate their emotions, the more they will probably be able to concentrate, feel accepting of themselves, and feel autonomous, fulfilled, and oriented in their life. The results of the current study are consistent with the study by Guassi Moreira et al (2022), which showed that emerging adults felt more fulfilled when they sensed that they could regulate their emotions. The results of our study on emotional regulation and well-being thus align with American studies, suggesting that the interventions that we will suggest could potentially be extended to emerging adults in other locations around the world.…”

Relationships Among Adverse and Benevolent Childhood Experiences, Emotion Dysregulation, and Psychopathology Symptoms

“…In addition, there may be an overload of counseling center capacity to meet student mental health needs (Xiao et al, 2017). To address these challenges, universities/colleges can (and do) consider offering services that are supplemental to traditional mental health service, including brief online or course-based emotion regulation training (Gatto et al, 2022;Van Doren et al, 2021), mindfulness-based interventions (Jia-Yuan et al, 2022), and stress reduction programs that may help disrupt the developmental cascade between ACEs and emerging mental health problems (Kalmakis et al, 2020;Karatekin, 2018).…”

A methodological progress note: Introducing qualitative focus group research and the brainwriting premortem

“…14 The method was adapted to a virtual setting to refine the content of an online brief emotion regulation training program for emerging adults. 15 The authors indicated that the virtual brainwriting premortem provided invaluable input, simplified scheduling, and data collection.…”

“…Additional case studies in healthcare include a project in rural India to increase access to healthcare 13 and a US program to design an electronic health record‐based discharge readiness communication tool 14 . The method was adapted to a virtual setting to refine the content of an online brief emotion regulation training program for emerging adults 15 . The authors indicated that the virtual brainwriting premortem provided invaluable input, simplified scheduling, and data collection.…”