Getting ‘stuck’ in negative emotions //Links between emotional inertia, expressive suppression and adolescents’ delinquent and aggressive behaviour
1 Murdoch 2 Griffith
University, WA, Aus. University, QLD, Aus.
13-14th July, 2016
Bep Uink
[email protected] Dr. Kathryn Modecki1,2 Dr. Helen, Correia1 Prof. Bonnie Barber 1,2
Delinquent and Aggressive Behaviour in Adolescence ‘How Do You Feel?’ Experience Sampling Method (ESM) Lab
ESM = in-vivo sampling of adolescents’ emotions and behaviours
Developmental systems perspective on delinquent
and aggressive (externalizing) behaviours Luciana & Collins (2012) Steinberg (2008) 20/09/2016
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Externalizing Behaviours in Adolescence Increased incentive motivation reward seeking
Pre-frontal cortex development BUT easily overwhelmed
-More autonomy over decision making -Desire for peer acceptance
Luciana & Collins (2012) Steinberg (2008) 20/09/2016
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Mental Health and Externalizing Behaviours Why is it important to understand the mental health of young people who engage in externalizing behaviours?
1) Psychological diagnosis and juvenile offending coincide Cauffman (2004): 18,607 juvenile offenders, 81% females and 70% males scored above clinical cut-off (Internalizing/Depression, Anger/Irritability, Substance Abuse, Somatic Complaints, SI)
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Mental Health and Externalizing Behaviours Why is it important to understand the mental health of young people who engage in externalizing behaviours?
2) Implications for legal policy: Legal framework assumes reasonable decision makers
Empirical evidence that psychological disorders are linked to reduced decision making capacity and recidivism (see Modecki & Uink, forthcoming)
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Emotional Inertia
Emotional flexibility = key indicator of mental health Emotional inertia: the persistence of an emotion from one time point to the next- represents poor emotional flexibility, and is counter-productive to mental health
Houban et al., 2015 Kuppens et al., 2012 20/09/2016
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Emotional Inertia & Externalizing • Index of adolescents’ “emotional dynamics” – the temporal and intensive aspects of emotion
Previous ESM studies – youth higher in externalizing display different emotion dynamics (higher intensity and lability of negative emotions, less efficient regulation)
Higher inertia for negative emotions? Kuppens et al., 2012 Silk, Steinberg & Morris, 2003 20/09/2016
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Research Question
1) Are there differences in emotional inertia based on youths’ levels of externalizing symptoms?
• H1: Youth higher in externalizing will demonstrate higher inertia compared to their peers lower in externalizing
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Measuring Emotional Dynamics Because emotional dynamics research captures the temporal ordering of emotions, need a method that captures moment-to-moment changes in emotion ESM: allows adolescents to rate their emotions at several time points across the day
Emotional inertia: Can be measured by computing the auto-regression of emotion at time = 1 (T) onto emotion at Time – 1 (t-1)
Example: How much does a given adolescent’s morning sadness predict their lunch time sadness?
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Study Procedure Phase 1: Pre-ESM survey – computerized survey, demographics, externalizing behaviour, expressive suppression
Phase 3: Post-ESM Survey – same items as Pre-ESM survey. Averaged scores across pre- and post to get ‘trait’ level variable, ran test-retest reliability to establish stability in traits
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Study Procedure Phase 2: ESM surveys Youths provided with iPhone & data for 7 days Texted a web-link to ESM surveys
Surveys sent 7:30 am - 10:00pm (Monday lunchfollowing Monday morning).
Surveys took 1.5-3 minutes to complete
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Participants N = 109 (Mean age = 14.7years, Range = 13-16 years) adolescents Female = 66.9%
Low SES school in Western Australia
Maternal education: 26% had not finished high school 25% did not know maternal edu. level Primarily Caucasian (69.6%)
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Measures: Pre-and Post-ESM “How often in the last 6 months have you….?” (0 = none, 7 = 31 or more times) …“gotten in trouble with the police for something they thought you did? …“used drugs? ” …“gotten in a physical fight with someone?” 15 items total Time 1 α = .85; Time 2 α =.90, test-retest, r = .88
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Measures: ESM “Right now, how are you feeling?”
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HLM Step 1: Is inertia present? Emotion (t-1)
Emotion (T)
Table 1: Emotional inertia values Emotional Inertia Value [95% C.I., Lower, Upper] Happy (t-1)
.115[.05,.18]*
Bored (t-1)
.082[.02,.14]*
Angry (t-1)
.012[-.09,.11]
Excited (t-1)
.110[.04,.18]*
Worried (t-1)
.267[.15,.39]**
Sad (t-1)
.133[.04,.22]*
Lonely (t-1)
.013[-.05,.07]
Jealous (t-1)
.325[.20,.46]**
*p
