Maladaptive personality and the efficiency of response-focused emotion regulation strategies: a study on suppression and acceptance

Abstract Background Personality influences several factors, including cognitive and emotional processes. Previous literature showed that personality affects the individual’s affective system, and that potential emotional difficulties and dysregulations could be associated with maladaptive personality. The Maladaptive Personality Trait Model is a powerful tool for identifying this latter personality type, targeting its psychopathological aspects. The present study first sought to characterize maladaptive personality profiles in terms of potential negative symptoms such as alexithymia, anxiety, depression, and difficulties in emotion regulation. Additionally, we experimentally analyzed the general reactivity to positive and negative emotional stimuli and the efficiency of two response-focused emotion regulation strategies, acceptance and suppression, to understand whether these strategies can be differentially efficient depending on maladaptive personality profiles. Methods We defined the personality structure of 103 undergraduate students (Meanage: 20.57, SDage: 1.90) according to the Maladaptive Personality Trait Model and characterized their emotional features with a survey. In addition, experience, expressivity, and physiological arousal parameters were recorded while participants viewed emotionally charged negative and positive pictures. During this induction, participants either applied acceptance or suppression to regulate emotions, or no specific emotion regulation strategy. Results “Resilient” and “Under-controlled” profiles were identified. The Under-controlled group was found to have more emotion regulation difficulties and higher psychopathological risks. Resilient profile reported more resources to regulate emotions and lower scores of depression and anxiety. Regarding emotional induction, both profiles were similarly reactive to both valences in experience and expressivity, but differences were found in physiological parameters. Finally, despite the differential influence of acceptance and suppression on the parameters, they were overall not efficient for any profiles. Conclusions This study was one of the first attempt to characterize maladaptive personality in terms of emotion and emotion regulation processes. In addition, it was the first study that investigated the efficiency of suppression and acceptance in relation to maladaptive personality. From a clinical perspective, these results offer a starting point to understand the emotional specificities of maladaptive personality profiles and provide information on how to direct emotion regulation training for this population.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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