A longitudinal model of rejection sensitivity and internalizing symptoms: Testing emotion regulation deficits as a mechanism and outcome of symptoms
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Author(s)
Gardner, Alex A
Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J
Modecki, Kathryn L
Year published
2020
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Objective: Individuals who experience heightened rejection sensitivity (RS) are at greater risk of increased internalizing symptoms over time. This is especially so for adolescents and young adults, as this is a time of many social transitions and an average increase in such symptoms. Yet, little longitudinal research has explored specific mechanisms that may help explain how RS lends itself to increased symptomology during adolescence and young adulthood. In this study, we tested the summative effect of emotion dysregulation, expressive suppression, and social avoidance (i.e., ER-deficits) as mechanisms. Moreover, we estimated ...
View more >Objective: Individuals who experience heightened rejection sensitivity (RS) are at greater risk of increased internalizing symptoms over time. This is especially so for adolescents and young adults, as this is a time of many social transitions and an average increase in such symptoms. Yet, little longitudinal research has explored specific mechanisms that may help explain how RS lends itself to increased symptomology during adolescence and young adulthood. In this study, we tested the summative effect of emotion dysregulation, expressive suppression, and social avoidance (i.e., ER-deficits) as mechanisms. Moreover, we estimated bidirectional temporal associations between ER-deficits and symptoms. Method: Participants included 402 adolescents and young adults aged 17 to 27 years (M = 19.9 years, 66% female) who completed two assessments over a 1-year period. Results: In a path model, participants who reported more RS increased in anxious symptoms, and RS was indirectly associated with increased anxious and depressive symptoms via the three ER-deficits. Additionally, cross-lagged panel analyses showed that dysregulation and suppression predicted increased symptoms over time, while anxious symptoms predicted increased social avoidance over time. Conclusion: These findings expand understanding of the role of RS in young people's increasing internalizing symptoms, implicating ER-deficits in these processes.
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View more >Objective: Individuals who experience heightened rejection sensitivity (RS) are at greater risk of increased internalizing symptoms over time. This is especially so for adolescents and young adults, as this is a time of many social transitions and an average increase in such symptoms. Yet, little longitudinal research has explored specific mechanisms that may help explain how RS lends itself to increased symptomology during adolescence and young adulthood. In this study, we tested the summative effect of emotion dysregulation, expressive suppression, and social avoidance (i.e., ER-deficits) as mechanisms. Moreover, we estimated bidirectional temporal associations between ER-deficits and symptoms. Method: Participants included 402 adolescents and young adults aged 17 to 27 years (M = 19.9 years, 66% female) who completed two assessments over a 1-year period. Results: In a path model, participants who reported more RS increased in anxious symptoms, and RS was indirectly associated with increased anxious and depressive symptoms via the three ER-deficits. Additionally, cross-lagged panel analyses showed that dysregulation and suppression predicted increased symptoms over time, while anxious symptoms predicted increased social avoidance over time. Conclusion: These findings expand understanding of the role of RS in young people's increasing internalizing symptoms, implicating ER-deficits in these processes.
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Journal Title
Journal of Personality
Funder(s)
ARC
Grant identifier(s)
DP170102547
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: A longitudinal model of rejection sensitivity and internalizing symptoms: Testing emotion regulation deficits as a mechanism and outcome of symptoms, Journal of Personality, 2002, which has been published in final form at 10.1111/jopy.12549. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving (http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-828039.html)
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This publication has been entered into Griffith Research Online as an Advanced Online Version.
Subject
Psychology
Cognitive and computational psychology
Applied and developmental psychology
Social and personality psychology
anxiety
depression
emotion regulation
rejection sensitivity
social avoidance