Recovering from a Bad Day: Mood, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 4
About This Presentation
Title:

Recovering from a Bad Day: Mood,

Description:

... Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Taylor, Ryan, & Bagby, 1986) - difficulty in labeling ... Others to Get Help (Lehman, Reynolds, & Bennett, 2001) Willingness to ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:57
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 5
Provided by: joelbe
Category:
Tags: bad | day | mood | recovering | reynolds | ryan

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Recovering from a Bad Day: Mood,


1
Laura A. King , PhD University of
Missouri-Columbia
Wyndy L. Wiitala, PhD Tarrant Council on
Alcoholism Drug Abuse
Recovering from a Bad Day Mood, Behavior, and
Emotional Confidence
Camille R. Patterson, PhD Tarrant Council on
Alcoholism Drug Abuse
Joel B. Bennett, PhD Organizational Wellness
Learning Systems
2
INTRODUCTION
In order to alleviate a bad mood, people often
give in to impulses they would otherwise resist,
such as eating more after a negative mood
induction (Tice, Bratslavsky, Baumeister,
2001), drinking alcohol to improve mood (McMahon,
Kouzekananai, DeMarco, Kusel, 1992), or
consuming goods and services to feel better
(Gould, 1997). Given that a stressful day can
adversely affect mood, the perception that one
can reduce negative moods may build confidence
for coping with stress. In research conducted
with college students, the expectation that
negative moods can be reduced was associated with
lower depression (Catanzaro Mearns, 1990), less
adverse reactions to anxiety (Catanzaro, 1996),
and reduced burnout and distress (Mearns Cain,
2003). The confidence in ones mood regulation
skills may have important health implications.
There may be less tendency to use harmful or
ineffective means of negative mood regulation,
such as alcohol, over-eating, or over-spending.
Confidence that one can handle experiencing
negative moods may contribute to using less
harmful mood regulation strategies. On the other
hand, certain individuals may realize that they
can successfully improve their mood through
healthy and effective means such as spending time
with friends or exercising. Emotional confidence
(EC) is the perception that one can regulate
their negative moods with relative ease. This
study explored the concept of EC including its
relationship to 1) personality and well-being
measures, 2) peer perceptions of mood regulation
strategies, 3) personal expectations of mood
recovery behaviors, and 4) behaviors and
attitudes towards mood recovery.
METHOD
Participants Sample 1 and 2 participants were
recruited from college psychology classes.
Sample 1 58 participants (19 male) whose
average age was 23.91 (S.D. 3.22 range 20 to
44 years, with only two subjects older than 23).
Sample 2 90 participants (18 male) had an
average age of 20.78 (S.D. 1.15 range 19 to
26 years). Workplace Sample Participants (n
573) were employees of small businesses (lt 500
employees) from industries identified as high
risk for alcohol or drug abuse (construction,
transportation/vehicle maintenance, and
service/hospitality SAMHSA, 1999). Employee
participants were 59 white, 23 Hispanic or
Latino, 17 African American, and 50 male. 62
were married and 53 had children living at home.
7 completed lt 9 years of school, 63 completed
high school, and 14 completed college. Measures
and Procedure Participants completed several of
the measures below (see Tables for a list by
sample). Emotional Confidence (EC) Alpha .87
to .89, Items 1. Although I may experience
sadness for a long time, eventually I will be
happy. 2. Though I may be unhappy at times, I
know Ill survive. 3. Although bad events may
happen, I am confident I can adjust and be
happy. 4. Even if someone broke my heart, I would
eventually love someone again. 5. Im confident
that, with time, I can recover from even very bad
experiences. 6. No matter what happens to me, I
am sure I can find a way to make a happy life. 7.
I believe I am an emotionally strong person. 8. I
rebound from negative experiences.
3
MEASURES (continued) The Positive Affect Negative
Affect Scales (PANAS, Watson, Clark, Tellegen,
1988) - the extent to each of 7 positive and 7
negative emotions are felt Neuroticism,
Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and
Conscientiousness (NEO-PI-R Costa McRae, 1992)
measure of the Big Five personality
factors Hope Scale (Snyder, C. R., Harris, C.,
Anderson, S. A., Holleran, S. A., 1991)-
hopefulness Life Satisfaction - The Satisfaction
with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen
Griffin, 1985) The Sense of Coherence
(Antonovsky, 1988 1993) predicts maintenance and
improvement in health Self-Esteem (Rosenberg,
1979) - general positive feeling about the self
Optimism - The Life Orientation Test (Scheier
Carver, 1985) measures dispositional optimism.
The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Taylor, Ryan,
Bagby, 1986) - difficulty in labeling
emotions The Marlowe-Crown Social Desirability
Scale (Crown Marlowe, 1964) Peer Reports - 1-2
people, who knew the participant well, reported
on the his/her emotions and behavior. Expected
Behaviors - likelihood of engaging in specific
harmful behaviors after experiencing the
moderately stressful events (romantic break-up,
lost job, failed test, and car trouble)
described. Self-expression at Work (Mitroff,
1997) Ability to express creativity, feelings,
intelligence, and humor. Physical Health
Frequency of illness, headaches, tension, and
other common health problems Importance of
Spirituality Rating of how important living a
spiritual life is to the participant Work
Meaning Rating of how much work contributes to
meaning in participants life Perceived Wellness
(Adams et al., 1997). Emotional, social, and
spiritual wellness. Group Cohesion (Jones
James, 1979). Perceived trust and interdependence
in ones workgroup. UNWINDING How often
unwinding behaviors are performed after work and
in general. Positive Unwinding - 1) call or
spend time with friends, 2) meditate or pray, 3)
entertainment (watch TV, listen to music, read,
go to moves, etc.), 4) exercise. Substance
Unwinding - Use over-the-counter medication, 2)
drink alcohol, 3) smoke cigarettes/chew tobacco,
4) use other drugs. Willingness to Get Help -
(Lehman, Reynolds, Bennett, 2001) Willingness
to seek help for problems with stress,
depression, and/or substance abuse. Willing to
Encourage Others to Get Help (Lehman, Reynolds,
Bennett, 2001) Willingness to encourage
co-worker, spouse, or child to seek help for
mental health or substance abuse problems.
RESULTS
Sample 1 (N 58) Correlations of Personality
Measures with Emotional Confidence
Sample 1 (N 58) Correlations of Peer Ratings
with Emotional Confidence
Note For all tables p lt .1, p lt .05, p lt
.01, p lt .001
4
Workplace Sample (N573) Correlations between
Emotional Confidence and Personality and
Behavior Measures
Sample 2 (N90) Correlations between Expected
Behaviours after Stressful Scenarios and
Emotional Confidence
Note For all tables p lt .1, p lt .05, p lt
.01, p lt .001
CONCLUSION
Being high in emotional confidence (EC) was found
to relate to with being psychologically and
physically healthy. Individuals who are
confident in their ability to deal with negative
emotion seem to be happier and more confident in
general. EC relates to high agreeableness and low
neuroticism. Individuals high in neuroticism may
feel they have less control over their happiness
and that they do not recover as quickly from bad
moods. Factors in the workplace, such as teamwork
(group cohesion), being able to express ones
complete self, and desire for meaning were also
associated with higher EC. Friends and family
members rate people high in EC as being more
engaged in emotion-invoking events, as getting
out of bad moods easily, and as staying in good
moods for a long time. They also felt they would
be able to get out of bad mood by doing something
to distract themselves (such as exercising or
going out). Peers also rated their high EC
friends as being the best ones to turn to for
cheering up or getting advice on how to handle a
depressed mood. EC was also related to self
ratings of being supportive and willing to seek
help. Those high in EC expect that they will
react better to a stressful situation and be less
likely to engage in harmful behaviors. Low EC
individuals expect that they will do things like
smoke, drink, or procrastinate after something
happens to upset them. On the other hand, those
high in EC seem to engage in better mood
regulation strategies following stress. Both
self-reports and peer reports indicate that high
EC individuals are likely to go out or exercise
when feeling down and they also can get out of
bad moods more rapidly. High EC individuals also
tend to relax and unwind more through positive
behaviors rather than through the use of
substances. EC appears to relate to knowing and
using healthy mood repair strategies and may have
implications as a protective factor against poor
health practices.
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com