Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Advances, Problems, and Challenges in the Study of Emotion Regulation: A Commentary

  • Published:
Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As observed by Zinbarg and Mineka (American Psychologist 62:259–261, 2007), the study of emotion regulation faces significant challenges that need to be addressed. In reviewing the articles in the present issue, we comment upon how researchers have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to meet these challenges. We suggest that the articles in the present volume demonstrate important conceptual and methodological advances in emotion regulation research, but that the most central problems noted by Zinbarg and Mineka have yet to be fully remedied. In highlighting both the progress made and problems faced by the field of emotion regulation, we suggest new directions for future research in this area.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bannermann, D., Grubb, M., Deacon, R., Yee, B., Feldon, J., & Rawlins, J. (2003). Ventral hippocampal lesions affect anxiety but not spatial learning. Behavioural Brain Research, 139, 197–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradburn, N. M., Rips, L. J., & Shevell, S. K. (1987). Answering autobiographical questions: the impact of memory and inference on surveys. Science, 236, 157–161.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, F. (1994). Autobiographical memory and survey research. In N. Schwarz & S. Sudman (Eds.), Autobiographical memory and the validity of retrospective reports (pp. 11–20). New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. (1978). The social origins of depression: A study of psychiatric disorder in women. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buss, K. A., & Goldsmith, H. H. (1998). Fear and anger regulation in infancy: effects on the temporal dynamics of affective expression. Child Development, 69, 359–374.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campos, J. J., Frankel, C. B., & Camras, L. (2004). On the nature of emotion regulation. Child Development, 75, 377–394.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carthy, T., Horesh, N., Apter, A., & Gross, J. J. (2009). Patterns of emotional reactivity and regulation in children with anxiety disorders. Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10862-009-9167-8.

  • Catanzaro, S., & Mearns, J. (1990). Measuring generalized expectations for negative mood regulation: initial scale development and implications. Journal of Personality Assessment, 54, 546–563.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cisler, J. M., Olatunji, B. O., Feldner, M. T., & Forsyth, J. P. (2009). Emotion regulation and the anxiety disorders: an integrative review. Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10862-009-9161-1.

  • Davis, M., & Whalen, P. J. (2001). The amygdala: vigilance and emotion. Molecular Psychiatry, 6, 13–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., Fabes, R. A., Reiser, M., Cumberland, A., Shepard, S. A., et al. (2004). The relations of effortful control and impulsivity to children’s resiliency and adjustment. Child Development, 75, 25–46.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eke, M., & McNally, R. (1996). Anxiety sensitivity, suffocation fear, trait anxiety, and breath-holding as predictors of response to carbon dioxide challenge. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 603–607.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, P. C., Shallice, T., & Dolan, R. J. (1998). The functional roles of prefrontal cortex in episodic memory I: encoding. Brain, 121, 1239–1248.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldin, P. R., Manber, T., Hakimi, S., Canli, T., & Gross, J. J. (2009). Neural bases of social anxiety disorder: emotional reactivity and cognitive regulation during social and physical threat. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66, 170–180.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gratz, K., & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: development, factor structure and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26, 41–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, J. A. (1970). The psychophysiological basis of introversion-extraversion. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 8, 249–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, J. A. (1982). The neuropsychology of anxiety: An enquiry into the functions of the septo-hippocampal system. NY: Clarendon Press/Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, J. A., & McNaughton, N. (2000). The neuropsychology of anxiety. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J. J., Richards, J. M., & John, O. P. (2006). Emotion regulation in everyday life. In D. K. Snyder, J. A. Simpson & J. N. Hughes (Eds.), Emotion regulation in families: Pathways to dysfunction and health (pp. 13–35). Washington: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hollon, S. D., Stewart, M. O., & Stunk, D. (2006). The enduring effects for cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of depression and anxiety. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 285–315.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huitema, B. (1980). Analysis of covariance and alternatives. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D. (1965). Control of spurious association and the reliability of the controlled variable. Psychological Bulletin, 64, 326–329.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kenny, D. A. (1979). Correlation and causality. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochanska, G., Murray, K. T., & Harlan, E. T. (2000). Effortful control in early childhood: continuity and change, antecedents, and implications for social development. Developmental Psychology, 36, 220–232.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • LeDoux, J. E. (1995). Emotion: clues from the brain. Annual Review of Psychology, 46, 209–235.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lilienfeld, S. O., Jacob, R. G., & Turner, S. M. (1989). Comment on Holloway and McNally’s (1987) “Effects of anxiety sensitivity on the response to hyperventilation”. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 98, 100–102.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Manglesdorf, S. C., Shapiro, J. R., & Marzolf, D. (1995). Developmental and temperament differences in emotion regulation in infancy. Child Development, 66, 1817–1828.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell, S. E., & Delaney, H. D. (2004). Designing experiments and analyzing data: A model comparison approach (2nd ed.). Mahwah: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNally, R. J. (1989). Is anxiety sensitivity distinguishable from trait anxiety? Reply to Lilienfeld, Jacob and Turner (1989). Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 98, 193–194.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, E. K., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 24, 167–202.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mineka, S., & Zinbarg, R. E. (2006). A contemporary learning theory perspective on the etiology of anxiety disorders: it’s not what you thought it was. American Psychologist, 61, 10–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, A. S., Silk, J. S., Steinberg, L., Terranova, A., & Kithakye, M. (2009). Concurrent and longitudinal links between children’s externalizing behavior in school and observed anger regulation in the mother-child dyad. Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10862-009-9166-9.

  • Olatunji, B. O., Forsyth, J. P., & Feldner, M. T. (2007). Implications of emotion regulation for the shift from normative fear-relevant learning to anxiety-related psychopathology. American Psychologist, 62, 257–259.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ptacek, J. T., Smith, R. E., Espe, K., & Rafferty, B. (1994). Limited correspondence between daily coping reports and retrospective coping recall. Psychological Assessment, 6, 41–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapee, R. M., & Medoro, L. (1994). Fear of physical sensations and trait anxiety as mediators of the response to hyperventilation in nonclinical subjects. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103, 693–699.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. K., & Bates, J. E. (1998). Temperament. In W. Damon & N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, an personality development (5th ed., pp. 105–176). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. K., & Rueda, M. R. (2005). The development of effortful control. In U. Mayr, E. Awh & S. Keele (Eds.), Developing individuality in the human brain: A tribute to Michael I. Posner (pp. 167–188). Washington: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. K., & Bates, J. E. (2006). Temperament. In W. Damon, R. L. Lerner & N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3: Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 99–166). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. K., Ahadi, S. A., Hershey, K. L., & Fisher, P. (2001). Investigations of temperament at three to seven years: the children’s behavior questionnaire. Child Development, 72, 1394–1408.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rydell, A.-M., Berlin, L., & Bohlin, G. (2003). Emotionality, emotion regulation, and adaptation among 5- to 8-year-old children. Emotion, 3, 30–47.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salovey, P., Mayer, J., Goldman, S., Turvey, C., & Palfai, T. (1995). Emotional attention, clarity and repair: exploring emotional intelligence using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. In J. Pennebaker (Ed.), Emotion, disclosure & health (pp. 125–154). Washington: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. E., Leffingwell, T. R., & Ptacek, J. T. (1999). Can people remember how they coped? Factors associated with discordance between same-day and retrospective reports. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 1050–1061.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, A. A., Schwartz, J. E., Neale, J. M., Shiffman, S., Marco, C. A., Hickcox, M., et al. (1998). A comparison of coping assessed by ecological momentary assessment and retrospective recall. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1670–1680.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sulik, M. J., Huerta, S., Zerr, A. A., Eisenberg, N., Spinard, T. L., Valiente, C., et al. (2009). The factor structure of effortful control and measurement invariance across ethnicity and sex in a high-risk sample. Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10862-009-9164-y.

  • Suveg, C., Payne, M., Thomassin, K., & Jacob, M. L. (2009). Electronic diaries: a feasible method of assessing emotional experience in youth? Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10862-009-9162-0.

  • Tull, M. T., Rodman, S. A., & Roemer, L. (2008). Examining fear of bodily sensations and body hypervigilence as predictors of emotion regulation difficulties among individuals with a recent history of uncued panic attacks. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 750–760.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waters, S. F., Virmani, E. A., Thompson, R. A., Meyer, S., Raikes, H. A., & Jochem, R. (2009). Emotion regulation and attachment: unpacking two constructs and their association. Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10862-009-9163-z.

  • Zinbarg, R. (1998). Concordance and synchrony in measures of anxiety and panic reconsidered: a hierarchical model of anxiety and panic. Behavior Therapy, 29, 301–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zinbarg, R. E., & Mineka, S. (2007). Is emotion regulation a useful construct that adds to the explanatory power of learning models of anxiety disorders or a new label for old constructs? American Psychologist, 62, 259–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zinbarg, R., Brown, T., Barlow, D. H., & Rapee, R. M. (2001). Anxiety sensitivity, panic, and depressed mood: a reanalysis teasing apart the contributions of the two levels in the hierarchical structure of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 372–377.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zinbarg, R., Craske, M., & Barlow, D. H. (2006). Therapist’s guide for the mastery of your anxiety and worry program. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zinbarg, R., Suzuki, S, Uliaszek, A., & Lewis, A. (2009). Biased parameter estimates and Inflated type I error rates in analysis of covariance (and analysis of partial variance) arising from unreliability: Alternatives and remedial strategies. Journal of Abnormal Psychology (in press).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Alison R. Lewis, Richard E. Zinbarg & C. Emily Durbin

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Richard E. Zinbarg & C. Emily Durbin

Authors
  1. Alison R. Lewis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard E. Zinbarg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. C. Emily Durbin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard E. Zinbarg.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lewis, A.R., Zinbarg, R.E. & Durbin, C.E. Advances, Problems, and Challenges in the Study of Emotion Regulation: A Commentary. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 32, 83–91 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-009-9170-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-009-9170-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation