Gorman,
Rachel (1/11) Affect regulation and the representational world of emerging
adulthood (Nicholas Papouchis, Ph.D.; Lisa Samstag, Ph.D.; Philip Wong, Ph.D.)
While affect regulation is a frequently
discussed topic within the object relations and attachment literature, few
studies have empirically examined the impact of internal representations on
ones' ability to regulate affect. Internal representations are particularly
important during the developmental phase of emerging adulthood (a period
roughly between 18 and 25 years) when representations go through a significant
reorganization. At this time, internal representations of self and other become
increasingly integrated, differentiated, and complex. These internal changes
manifest in emerging adults taking increased responsibility for modulating
their own affective states. Thus, the success or failure of representational
re-organization at this point will prove to be significant in the subsequent
ability to regulate affect. This study adds to the literature by examining the
impact of 4 aspects of internal representations on affect regulation in a
sample of 151 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse emerging adults.
Participants were assessed for: complexity and differentiation/relatedness of
representations; and attachment anxiety and avoidance. Participants then
watched a film clip, designed to both activate the attachment system and create
an affective state in participants in order to evaluate how they regulate their
affects in-the-moment. Adaptive management of emotional experience (affect
regulation) was measured by the extent emotional words from the film clip
(negative, positive, and neutral) interfered with the cognitive processes of attention
(as measured by an Emotional Stroop task) and memory (as measured by a recall
task), with better emotional management characterized by less interference. It
was expected that individuals with representations characterized by high levels
of anxiety and avoidance, along with lower levels of complexity,
differentiation and relatedness would have more difficulty adaptively
regulating their affective states. Results revealed that there were no
significant relationships between representations and affect regulation. These
results are discussed both in terms of the unique characteristics of the
sample, as well as what these findings reveal about the concept of affect
regulation. Additional findings regarding the use of the ORI to assess
representations in a non-clinical population, identity development throughout
emerging adulthood, and the relationship between ethnicity and attachment are
discussed. Implications and directions for future research are elaborated.
