TY - JOUR
T1 - Anxiety and Depression
T2 - The Moderating Effects of Attention to Emotion and Emotional Clarity
AU - Yildirim, Damla
AU - Vives, Jaume
AU - Ballespí, Sergi
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the National Plan for Research and Development of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the Support to Research Groups grant numbers (2014SGR1070, PGC2018-100675-B-I00, PSI2014-56303-REDT).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health problems. They often occur together and significantly affect well-being and daily functioning. However, it is unclear to what extent the two dimensions of meta-mood knowledge play a role in their comorbidity. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the role of attention to emotion and emotional clarity in the relationship between anxiety and depression. A sample of 256 adults aged 32–66 years (M = 46.21, SD = 5.53; 82.03% women) completed questionnaires on anxiety, depression, and meta-mood knowledge. Results showed that emotional clarity buffered the relationship between anxiety and depression. In addition, all combinations of attention to emotion and emotional clarity showed a significant and positive relationship with anxiety and depression symptom severity, with one exception. Interestingly, there was no statistically significant relationship between anxiety and depression when attention to emotion was low and emotional clarity was high. This last condition was interpreted as beneficial rather than detrimental, which in turn could help promote psychological resilience to better cope with emotional difficulties. Given these findings, this study highlights the role of attention to emotion and emotional clarity in assessing anxiety and risk of comorbid depression.
AB - Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health problems. They often occur together and significantly affect well-being and daily functioning. However, it is unclear to what extent the two dimensions of meta-mood knowledge play a role in their comorbidity. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the role of attention to emotion and emotional clarity in the relationship between anxiety and depression. A sample of 256 adults aged 32–66 years (M = 46.21, SD = 5.53; 82.03% women) completed questionnaires on anxiety, depression, and meta-mood knowledge. Results showed that emotional clarity buffered the relationship between anxiety and depression. In addition, all combinations of attention to emotion and emotional clarity showed a significant and positive relationship with anxiety and depression symptom severity, with one exception. Interestingly, there was no statistically significant relationship between anxiety and depression when attention to emotion was low and emotional clarity was high. This last condition was interpreted as beneficial rather than detrimental, which in turn could help promote psychological resilience to better cope with emotional difficulties. Given these findings, this study highlights the role of attention to emotion and emotional clarity in assessing anxiety and risk of comorbid depression.
KW - anxiety
KW - attention to emotion
KW - comorbidity
KW - depression
KW - emotional clarity
KW - emotionally overwhelmed
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123482315&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/00332941211070764
DO - 10.1177/00332941211070764
M3 - Article
C2 - 35060789
SN - 0033-2941
VL - 126
SP - 1221
EP - 1234
JO - Psychological Reports
JF - Psychological Reports
IS - 3
ER -
