Emotion regulation has long been suspected to boost executive functioning. Correlational studies have shown links between emotion regulation and executive functioning. However, experimental studies have been rare, especially with older adults for whom declines in executive functioning may become a pressing concern. In this laboratory-based study, we examined whether instructing older adults to use emotion regulation strategies in response to loss-themed film clips could enhance subsequent executive functioning. The sample consisted of 129 healthy older adults (age 64-83) who completed an experiment consisting of six trials in which they first watched a loss-themed film clip (with the instruction to “just watch” or to regulate their emotions using detachment, positive reappraisal, or emotional acceptance) and then completed an executive functioning task (assessing verbal fluency, inhibition, or working memory). Results showed a selective effect of emotion regulation on verbal fluency, but not inhibition or working memory performance. Older adults who were instructed to regulate negative emotions (vs. “just watch”) subsequently showed greater verbal fluency. Effects of emotion regulation on executive functions did not differ between detachment, positive reappraisal, and emotional acceptance and remained stable when controlling for age, gender, education, and functional status. This study contributes to our understanding of emotion-cognition interactions, highlights emotion regulation as an avenue for enhancing verbal fluency in older adults, and suggests further probing of links between emotion regulation and other executive functioning processes in late life.

Feelings of affection (i.e., fondness and intense positive regard) are a hallmark of close relationships. Existing studies have often examined affection as a trait or behavior, but rarely as an emotional experience in social interactions. In two dyadic observational interaction studies (total N = 314 individuals), 49 US-based married couples (age range: 21-65) and 108 friendship dyads (age range: 15-26) engaged in two naturalistic 10-min conversations about (a) a topic of disagreement (conflict conversation) and (b) something they enjoyed doing together (pleasant conversation) and reported on their subjective emotional experiences (e.g., affection, using an emotion checklist following each conversation) and relationship satisfaction. Conversation transcripts were analyzed using natural language analysis. Results showed that experiences of affection were most strongly associated with experiences of compassion, amusement, and excitement, as well as with less anger, and were unrelated to most other negative emotions. Natural language analysis further showed that greater positive (but not negative) emotional tone was associated with greater affection (especially among friends in the pleasant conversations). Levels of affection were consistently higher in pleasant versus conflict conversations and similar across marital versus friendship interactions. Finally, experiences of affection were associated with greater relationship satisfaction for friends across conversations and for spouses (women) in the pleasant conversation. These findings contribute to our understanding of affection as a foundational emotional experience in close relationships and highlight avenues for future research.

This study tested the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of Coping and Emotional Development for Adolescents to Reduce Stress (CEDARS) a positive psychological intervention (PPI), tailored for adolescents and administered in a classroom setting, in boosting CEDARS skill use and emotional well-being. Adolescents (N = 102, 45

Well-being in older adults is an important concern as the aging population grows, as is identifying modifiable factors that contribute to well-being over time. The ability to savor the moment (i.e., to notice and upregulate one’s emotional response to positive events) has been linked to greater well-being; however, few studies have examined these relationships longitudinally or in older adults. The current study examined inter- and intra-individual associations between trait savoring ability, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms in older adults. 4491 older adults (Mage = 82.10, SD = 6.23) completed at least two out of four annual surveys. Multilevel modeling was employed to account for within- and between-person differences in associations between savoring and well-being, as well as the role of savoring in moderating trajectories of well-being over time. Covariates included age, gender, health, and stress. Savoring ability was associated with greater well-being, both within- and between-individuals. Individuals with higher savoring ability experienced attenuated declines in well-being over time. Savoring, or noticing and amplifying positive experiences, is a malleable ability that is associated with improved well-being, both on average and within-person. Higher trait savoring ability may also protect against declines in well-being associated with greater age. We discuss implications for savoring interventions in older adults.

Background Peer victimization predicts the development of mental health symptoms in the transition to adolescence, but it is unclear whether and how parents and school environments can buffer this link.Methods We analyzed two-year longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, involving a diverse sample of 11 844 children across the United States (average at baseline = 9.91 years; standard deviation = 0.63; range = 8.92-11.08; complete case sample = 8385). Longitudinal associations between peer victimization and two-year changes in mental health symptoms of major depression disorder (MDD), separation anxiety (SA), prodromal psychosis (PP), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were examined including a wide range of covariates. Mixed linear models were used to test for the moderating effects of parental warmth and prosocial school environment.Results 20% of children experienced peer victimization. Higher exposure to peer victimization was associated with increases in MDD, SA, and ADHD symptoms. Parental warmth was associated with decreases in MDD symptoms but did not robustly buffer the link between peer victimization and mental health symptoms. Prosocial school environment predicted decreases in PP symptoms and buffered the link between peer victimization and MDD symptoms but amplified the link between peer victimization and SA and ADHD symptoms.Conclusions Peer victimization is associated with increases in mental health symptoms during the transition to adolescence. Parental warmth and prosocial school environments might not be enough to counter the negative consequences of peer victimization on all mental health outcomes.

Purpose: Poor sleep is associated with short-term dysregulation of mood and is a risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD). This study examines whether objectively measured sleep in late adolescence prospectively predicts major depressive episode (MDE) onset in early adulthood as well as whether daily affect mediates this association. Methods: The present study draws on subjective and objective sleep data, ecological momentary assessment, and diagnostic data from the longitudinal Youth Emotion Project to examine whether: a) short sleep predicts dysregulated ecological momentary assessment-measured mood the next day; b) sleep predicts depressive episodes over the subsequent 5 years; and c) dysregulated daily moods mediate the associations between short sleep and later MDD. Fixed effects, logistic regression, and formal mediation analyses were employed. Results: Our results showed that nights with less sleep are followed by days with more negative affect; short sleep predicted MDEs over the subsequent 5 years (adjusting for prior MDD); and negative affect mediates the relationship between short sleep and later MDEs. Discussion: Overall, our findings show sleep to be an important risk factor and hence a promising point of intervention for improving mood and reducing the risk of future MDEs in adolescents and early adults. (c) 2023 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.

Landmark studies have shown decreased coherence between different emotion response systems (e.g., physiology and facial expressions) in people with psychosis. However, while there is good evidence to suggest broad signs of affective dysfunction (e.g., blunting of facial expression) in the critical clinical high-risk (CHR) state, it is not clear whether these signs fit into a broader pattern of decoupling. This is in part due to there being no studies to date with this population that include a dyadic interaction. The current laboratory-based dyadic interaction study examined whether there is decreased coherence in CHR between autonomic physiology, as indexed by heart rate, and facial expressions of emotion, assessed by automated facial expressions analysis. The study included 145 individuals consisting of 34 CHR-partner and 41 control-partner pairs who completed clinical interviews and engaged in three naturalistic 10-min conversations while their physiology and expressions were continuously monitored. Compared to controls, CHR youth showed decreased coherence between heart rate and positive (t = 4.09) and negative (t = -7.90) facial expressions. Across CHR and control youth, greater severity of psychosis risk symptoms was related to lower coherence between heart rate and positive (t = 3.97-11.69) and neutral expressions (t = 0.06-4.98), and a change in the direction of the relationship between heart rate and negative expression intensity (t = 7.88-10.60). These findings provide the first evidence for changes in coherence between physiology and facial expressions of emotion in CHR individuals, with larger changes in coherence relating to greater general psychotic-like symptom severity. This evidence may be leveraged to identify targets for early diagnosis and intervention. People with schizophrenia show reductions in facial expressions of emotion, which are framed as reflecting weaker relationships between physiology, experience, and behavioral responses to emotion. Similar blunting of emotions has been related to risk for psychosis prior to formal illness onset. The current study supports the notion that blunting of facial expression in those at risk for a psychosis spectrum disorder reflects similar changes in coherence between physiology and emotional expression as what are seen in schizophrenia.

Background Epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation (DNAm), can play a role in the biological embedding of early-life adversity (ELA) through serotonergic mechanisms. The current study examines methylation of the CpG island in the promoter region of the stress-responsive serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) and is the first to jointly assess how it is influenced by ELA severity, timing, and type—specifically, deprivation and threat. Methods We use data from 627 Youth Emotion Project study participants, recruited from two US high schools. Using adjusted linear regressions, we analyze DNA collected in early adulthood from 410 participants and ELA based on interviewer-rated responses from concurrent Childhood Trauma Interviews, adjusting for survey-measured covariates. Results ELA robustly predicted mean CpG island SLC6A4 DNAm percent across 71 CpG sites. Each additional major-severity ELA event was associated with a 0.121-percentage-point increase (p<0.001), equating to a 0.177 standard deviation (sd) higher DNAm level (95% CI: 0.080, 0.274) with each 1-sd higher adversity score. When modeled separately, both childhood and adolescent ELA predicted SLC6A4 DNAm. When modeled jointly, adolescent ELA was most strongly predictive, and child adversity remained significantly associated with DNAm through indirect associations via adolescent adversity. Additionally, the ELA-SLC6A4 DNAm association may vary by adversity type. Across separate models for childhood and adolescent exposures, deprivation coefficients are positive and statistically significant. Meanwhile, threat coefficients are positive and not significantly significant but do not statistically differ from deprivation coefficients. In models including all ELA dimensions, one major adolescent deprivation event is associated with a 0.222-percentage-point increased SLC6A4 DNAm (p<0.05), or a 1-sd higher deprivation score with a 0.157-sd increased DNAm. Conclusion Results further implicate epigenetic modification on serotonergic neurotransmission via DNAm in the downstream sequelae of ELA—particularly adolescent deprivation—and support preventive interventions in adolescence to mitigate biological embedding.

A secular trend of increased depressive symptoms among adolescents and early adults has received both scientific and media attention (Office of the Surgeon General, 2021). Research on cortisol and depression has revealed the important role of the HPA axis in internalizing disorders. But evidence remains mixed regarding the direction of effects, with findings of both higher and lower levels of diurnal cortisol associated with depressive symptoms. There is a need for new approaches to study the biological underpinnings of depressive symptoms. We analyzed diurnal cortisol among 141 adolescents (Mage = 15.0; 59.7% female; 50.8% white). Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to characterize cortisol rhythms identified from four daily salivary samples (at waking, 30 minutes after waking, after school, and bedtime) taken over five days. Resulting profiles were examined in relation to reported stress, depressive symptoms, and other measures of psychosocial functioning. Analyses identified two cortisol profiles associated with elevated depressive symptoms. One had the lowest average cortisol levels at each sampling time throughout the day. The other corresponded to highly elevated diurnal cortisol, with both waking and bedtime levels exceeding 0.8 μg/dL. However, they diverged in associations with other aspects of psychosocial functioning. We will present the correlates of each diurnal profile and discuss implications for longitudinal work. Both elevated and suppressed cortisol rhythms were associated with higher depressive symptoms than those among adolescents with more typical rhythms. Using LPA to characterize diurnal cortisol may allow for better understanding of youth risk for depression.

This study assists in identifying caregivers for whom positive emotion interventions work best, suggests ways that the intervention should be tailored to match caregiver characteristics, and targets outcomes most impacted according to caregivers' individual differences.

Abstract Well-being in older adults is an important concern as the aging population grows, as is identifying modifiable factors that contribute to well-being over time. The ability to savor the moment (i.e., to notice and enhance one’s emotional response to positive events) has been shown to be associated with greater well-being, though few studies have examined these relationships longitudinally or in older adults. The current study examined whether savoring ability moderated the trajectory of older adults’ life satisfaction and depressive symptoms over time. A sample of 5777 older adults (Mage = 83.83, SD = 6.61; 66.6% female), recruited from Life Plan Communities, completed four consecutive annual surveys. Multilevel growth curve models revealed main effects of small but significant declines in well-being over time (life satisfaction: B = -.09, SE = .01, p < .001; depressive symptoms: B = .13, SE = .01, p < .001), after accounting for age, gender, education, life stress, and health. Interactions between time and savoring ability indicated that participants with greater savoring ability were better able to maintain their levels of well-being (i.e., smaller decline in life satisfaction [B = .05, SE = .01, p < .01] and smaller increase in depressive symptoms [B = -.10, SE = .01, p < .01]). In contrast, individuals lower in savoring ability experienced less favorable well-being trajectories. Savoring is a malleable emotion regulation ability that is associated with attenuated declines in well-being over time. Implications for savoring interventions in older adults will be discussed.

When confronted with an emotion prototype (e.g., loss), individuals may experience not only target emotions (e.g., sadness), but also nontarget emotions (emotions that are atypical or incongruent with an emotion prototype; e.g., gratitude in response to loss). What are the cognitive correlates of nontarget emotions? Drawing from models of emotion generation, the present laboratory-based study examined associations between aspects of executive functioning (i.e., working memory, inhibition, verbal fluency) and the subjective experience of positive and negative nontarget emotions in response to sad and awe film clips in 129 healthy older adults. Findings showed that (a) lower working memory was associated with higher levels of positive and negative nontarget (but not target) emotions in response to sad and awe film clips. Moreover, (b) associations were specific to working memory and not found for other aspects of executive functioning. Associations were (c) robust when accounting for age, gender, education, target emotion and physiological arousal (except for negative nontarget emotions in response to the sad film clips). Finally, (d) findings were driven by awe, happiness, calm, and gratitude for the sad film clips and disgust, fear, sadness, compassion, happiness, love, and excitement for the awe film clips. Overall, these findings show a link between lower working memory function and elevated nontarget emotional experiences in late life. Directions for future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent-child relationships are hotbeds of emotion and play a key role in mental health. The present proof-of-concept study examined facial expressions of emotion during adolescent-parent interactions and links with internalizing mental health symptoms. Neutral, negative, and positive facial expressions were objectively measured in 28 parent-adolescent dyads during three 10-min dyadic interactions. Internalizing mental health symptoms were measured using anxiety and depressive symptom questionnaires. Data were analyzed using actor-partner interdependence modeling. Results revealed that higher levels of (a) adolescents' neutral facial expressions as well as (b) parents' negative facial expressions were associated with higher levels of adolescents' mental health symptoms. Findings did not support a robust link between (c) positive expressions and mental health symptoms. Together, these results demonstrate the utility of facial expressions of emotion during parent-child interactions as behavioral correlates of adolescents' internalizing mental health symptoms, highlight the need for replication with larger samples, and suggest directions for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Physicians are at the frontline of advising patients on nutrition; however, only 29% of medical schools teach the recommended 25 hours of nutrition, and fewer than 14% of practicing physicians feel adequately trained.1,2 Moreover, limited nutrition education in medical school may focus on vitamin deficiencies or treatment for specific disease states rather than general wellness.1 These outcomes negatively impact not only patients, but also the well-being of physician trainees themselves.Our project leverages existing community expertise by collaborating with a nonprofit, Common Threads, to deliver a hands-on nutrition curriculum to family medicine residents. Through a train-the-trainer model, resident physicians later apply what they learned to teach nutrition education to local middle school students. The purposes of this project were to (1) assess the feasibility of conducting a culinary medicine pilot within the context of an existing residency curriculum; and (2) determine the impact of a culinary medicine curriculum combining academic, culinary, and community components to achieve nutrition competencies.Twenty-three residents at the Northwestern McGaw Family Medicine Residency at Lake Forest were assigned asynchronous learning on the topics delineated in the Table, followed by 3 weekly synchronous virtual hourlong culinary training sessions led by Common Threads professional chefs. Topics were selected for their relevance to primary care.These sessions were followed by a 30-minute debrief and discussion of prework, led by residency faculty. Gift cards were provided to purchase groceries for each recipe. Applying knowledge learned in weeks 1 to 3, residents led three 45-minute classes during weeks 4 through 6 at a local middle school where 80% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. By connecting trainees with local schools, we aim to increase community engagement and positively impact our surrounding community, all while fostering self-care in health professionals around nutrition.Residents completed validated assessments and follow-up surveys, including the PrimeScreen self-reported dietary intake and others. Following the course, residents showed significant increases in their confidence in nutrition counseling (t=3.8, P=.004), confidence in cooking skills (t=2.8, P=.018), and ability to prepare plant-based meals (t=2.9, P=.016). There was also a significant increase in resident knowledge of plant-based diets (t=0.5, P=.002) and substituting animal-based proteins with plant-based proteins (t=4.3, P=.002). Eighty-one percent (13 of 16) reported a positive or neutral impact on their knowledge due to the virtual nature of the cooking classes.This pilot demonstrates the feasibility and positive impact of a residency and nonprofit collaboration to launch a culinary medicine curriculum for both resident and middle school learners. This model could be adapted for residents of any specialty with downstream impact on factors related to obesity and nutrition in patient care. Not only does each trainee interact with children during the course, but throughout their training and career each will touch the lives of thousands of patients. As a secondary benefit, this curriculum increases middle school student exposure to STEM careers through their interaction with resident physicians. This type of collaboration can empower future health care professionals and patients as agents of change for healthier schools and communities. In conclusion, this framework may offer a new model to deliver nutrition education to residents and fellows that can be replicated by many specialties and types of residency programs.The authors would like to acknowledge Kassandra Hinrichsen, Lindsey Fritz, and Stephanie Folkens of Common Threads, as well as Jennifer Martinez of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine for their contributions to the development of this manuscript.

Putting feelings into words is often thought to be beneficial. Few studies, however, have examined associations between natural emotion word use and cardiovascular reactivity. This laboratory-based study examined emotion word use (i.e., from computerized text analysis) and cardiovascular reactivity (i.e., interbeat interval changes from baseline) across two interaction contexts (i.e., conflict and positive conversations) in 49 mixed-sex married couples (age: M = 43.11, SD = 9.20) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. We focused on both frequency (i.e., relative proportion of emotion words) and diversity (i.e., relative proportion of unique emotion words) of emotion words. Data were collected between 2015 and 2017 and analyzed treating both partners and conversations as repeated measures, resulting in 196 observations overall (four per dyad). Findings showed that (1) when spouses used more negative emotion words (especially anger), they showed higher cardiovascular reactivity. This finding was robust when controlling for covariates; generalized across gender, interaction contexts, and socioeconomic status. Moreover, (2) when spouses used a more diverse negative emotion vocabulary, they showed higher cardiovascular reactivity, but this was not robust when controlling for negative emotion word frequency. Associations between (3) positive emotion word use and cardiovascular reactivity were not statistically significant. Verbalizing negative emotions thus seems to go along with higher cardiovascular reactivity, at least in the short term. Replication is needed across other relationship types, genders, and sexual orientations. These findings highlight emotion word use as an indicator of cardiovascular reactivity, which has implications for the identification of potential health risks that emerge during marital interactions.

Growing evidence suggests that epigenetic pathways, including DNA methylation (DNAm), play a role in the biological embedding of early-life adversity (ELA) and life-course health, but how remains unclear. We explore epigenetic pathways indicated by DNAm of the stress-regulating gene, SLC6A4, including how DNAm is shaped by distinct life-course dimensions of ELA, including developmental contexts characterized by threat and deprivation. We investigate whether and how life-course dimensions of ELA are associated with SLC6A4 methylation (SLC6A4m) using data from 370 cohort members from the Youth Emotion Project. Participants were recruited from two US high schools and followed prospectively, with DNA collection in early adulthood and ELA measures based on coded responses from the Childhood Trauma Interview. Adjusted linear regressions of mean SLC6A4m across 71 CpG sites on ELA reveal a strong and robust association, including a dose-response relationship between SLC6A4m and increased ELA severity. Each additional high-severity event was associated with a 0.052 percentage point increase in mean percent SLC6A4m (p<0.001). When modeled separately, both childhood and adolescent ELA predict SLC6A4m, and when modeled jointly, adolescent ELA alone predicts SLC6A4m. Additionally, the ELA- SLC6A4m relationship varies by ELA type. Across childhood and adolescence, deprivation is positively associated with greater SLC6A4m. Adolescent threat is also positively associated with SLC6A4m, but the association is not statistically significant. Results suggest prioritizing early-life interventions for promoting healthy stress regulation, including preventing adversity and its harmful effects, with close attention to adolescence and high-deprivation development settings.

Abstract Cardiovascular reactivity in midlife may predict health problems in later life, but few studies have examined cardiovascular reactivity during marital interactions, as an important interpersonal context, and potentially modifiable linguistic correlates. This laboratory-based study examined emotion word use (i.e., positive and negative emotion words derived using automated language analysis) and cardiovascular reactivity (i.e., heart rate changes from baseline) across two marital interaction contexts (i.e., positive and conflict conversation) in 46 married couples (92 individuals; age: M = 42.6, SD = 8.5). Results showed that (1) spouses who used more negative emotion words during conflict showed higher cardiovascular reactivity. Moreover, (2) when husbands used a more diverse negative emotion word vocabulary during positive conversations, their wives showed higher cardiovascular reactivity and (3) when wives used a more diverse positive emotion vocabulary, their husbands showed lower cardiovascular reactivity. Findings highlight the relevance of couples’ emotion word use for cardiovascular reactivity in midlife.

Abstract Affection is a positive emotion that plays an important role in intimate relationships. In a laboratory-based dyadic study of 52 middle-aged married couples (104 individuals) from highly diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, we examined spouses’ subjective experience of affection across different marital interaction contexts, correlates, and specificity. Results showed that (1) wives and husbands experienced lower affection in a conflict conversation compared to a positive conversation. Moreover, (2) for wives, higher affection in the conflict conversation was associated with lower physiological reactivity (i.e., less heart rate acceleration from baseline to conflict discussion). For wives, higher affection was also associated with higher marital satisfaction for themselves and their husbands. These findings were specific to affection and did not robustly emerge for other positive emotions. These findings support views of affection as a positive, context-sensitive emotion that may become particularly important in intimate relationship conflict. Directions for future research are discussed.

Romantic relationships are hotbeds of emotions - from the high highs and low lows in the beginning of a new relationship to all the tough and tender moments when navigating life as a couple to the question of how to let go and move on when a relationship ends. How couples regulate emotions has profound consequences, not only for relationship quality and stability, but also for well-being, health, and longevity (e.g., Gottman & Gottman, 2017; Levenson et al., 2014; Wells et al., 2022).Drawing from functionalist perspectives of emotion (e.g., Levenson, 1999), we propose that each phase in a romantic relationship (i.e., initiation, development, ending) can be characterized by specific challenges and opportunities that give rise to specific emotions and with it, demands for emotion regulation. We do not wish to imply that these challenges and opportunities are universal (although there is evidence that romantic love is a cross-cultural phenomenon, see Jankowiak & Fischer, 1992) or that everyone will navigate these stages in similar ways (in fact, variability is key when it comes to couples’ emotion regulation; Levenson et al., 2014). But we hope for this to be a useful organizing framework that can bridge the vast affective and relationship science literatures that speak to couples’ emotion regulation.