3 - (SYM 29) I Can Experience Positive Emotions When I Want To: Regulatory Emotional Self-efficacy Predicts Daily Social Connectedness in Adults with Anxiety or Depression

Abstract Body
Social disconnection is common in adults with anxiety and depression and does not improve sufficiently with evidence-based treatments. Regulatory emotional self-efficacy (RESE), or belief about one's ability to regulate emotions, plays an important role in psychosocial functioning. Diminished RESE has been linked with anxiety and depression and may be a promising treatment target; yet, little is known about how these perceptions relate to daily social experiences in adults with these conditions.
Participants included adults with clinically elevated anxiety and/or depression (N=113, mean age was 30 years; 64% identified as women, 27% identified as Hispanic/Latino; and 57% identified with a race category other than White). Beliefs in one’s ability to regulate positive and negative emotions were first measured using the RESE Scale, followed by 20 ecological momentary assessment (EMA) surveys over five days to capture average daily affect and social experiences.
A multivariate analysis model, including RESE for positive and negative emotions, showed higher RESE for positive emotions significantly predicted feelings of satisfaction, F=11.05, p=.001; connectedness, F=19.34, p< .001; and acceptance, F=18.53, p< .001, during social interactions. RESE for negative emotions was not linked with any social interaction outcomes (ps >.05).
Higher RESE for positive emotions was linked with greater positive affect (PA), r=.44, p< .001, and lower negative affect (NA), r=-.32, p< .001. Results remained when considering RESE for negative emotions, t=4.89, p< .001 and t=-3.29, p=.001, respectively.
A mediation analysis showed PA accounted for the link between RESE for positive emotions and connectedness when socializing. A significant indirect effect revealed greater RESE for positive emotions was linked with greater PA, which was linked with feeling more connected during social interactions, 95%CI [.051, .144]. A second model showed fewer experiences of NA accounted for the link between greater RESE for positive emotions and connectedness when socializing, [.007, .052]. Results remained when considering RESE for negative emotions in both models, [.047, .137] and [.006, .0053], respectively.
Findings advance understanding of how beliefs in one’s emotion regulation capabilities relate to real-world social and emotional experiences in adults with anxiety and depression. Cultivating self-efficacy beliefs in emotion regulation, especially for positive emotions, may be beneficial for improving social functioning within this population.