The Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Training on Social Cognition, Intolerance of Uncertainty and Distress Tolerance in Adolecents

Asadinia, Atena; منصوری, احمد

doi:10.22055/psy.2024.45147.3145

The Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Training on Social Cognition, Intolerance of Uncertainty and Distress Tolerance in Adolecents

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Atena Asadinia ¹

احمد منصوری ²

¹ Master of Science, Department of Psychology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran.

² Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran

10.22055/psy.2024.45147.3145

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical period in life characterized by significant changes in physical, sexual, social, cognitive, and emotional aspects. These changes can lead to distress, and adolescents often struggle to tolerate this distress, which can have both physical and psychological health consequences. However, various therapeutic and educational interventions have been employed to improve distress tolerance and related factors such as social cognition and intolerance of uncertainty. One promising intervention is emotion regulation training. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of emotion regulation training on social cognition, intolerance of uncertainty, and distress tolerance in adolescents. This applied research utilized a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test/post-test approach and included a control group. The statistical population comprised all male students from public elementary schools in Mashhad in 2022. A total of 30 adolescent males from these schools were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The experimental group participated in eight group training sessions based on Gross's emotion regulation model (Gross, 2002), while no intervention was provided to the control group. Participants completed the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (Carleton et al., 2007), the Social Stories Questionnaire (1986), and the Distress Tolerance Scale (Simons & Gaher, 2005). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 26, employing multivariate analysis of covariance, with a significance level set at 0.05. The average ages of the participants in the experimental and control groups were 12.06 and 12.13, respectively, with an overall average age of 12.01 for all participants. The results indicated a significant difference between the experimental and control groups regarding social cognition (p = 0.001) and distress tolerance (p = 0.02). However, no significant difference was found in terms of intolerance of uncertainty (p = 0.052). Overall, the findings suggest that emotion regulation training effectively enhances social cognition and distress tolerance among adolescents. Therefore, emotion regulation training can be utilized as an effective intervention by psychologists and mental health professionals to improve these areas in adolescents.

Keywords

Distress tolerance

emotion regulation

intolerance of uncertainty

social cognition

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