Are attitudes towards emotions associated with depression? A conceptual and meta-analytic review
Abstract
Objectives We performed a conceptual and meta-analytic review of the relationship between negative cognitive and affective evaluations of negative emotional experiences (negative ATE) and depression. We examined the negative ATE-depression relationship in terms of three ATE constructs: fear of emotion, non-acceptance of emotion, and distress intolerance. We also explored whether the negative ATE-depression relationship differs as a function of specific emotions.Methods Seventy articles with a total sample of 19950 adults were included in the general analysis, and 10 studies with a total sample of 1726 were included in the emotion-specific analysis.Results In the general analysis, negative ATE was associated with depression with a medium to large effect. Notably, this effect size was stronger than previously observed associations between emotion regulation strategies and depression (Aldao et al., 2010). In the emotion-specific analysis, negative attitudes towards depressive affect had a particularly strong association with depression.Limitations Limitations include heterogeneity in effect sizes and a small number of samples for the emotion-specific analyses.Conclusions The present review is the first to establish a systematic relationship between negative ATE and depression. We close with suggestions for future work designed to understand why negative ATE is related to depression, which can lead to understanding of depression's etiology and ways to refine interventions to alter ATE.
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Distress tolerance is negatively correlated with anxiety and depression across diagnostic boundaries.
“DT is negatively correlated with anxiety and depression across diagnostic boundaries (Leyro et al., 2010; Yoon et al., 2018).”
From Distress tolerance as a mediator of mindfulness-based intervention for anxiety and depression: Evidence from two randomized controlled trials (2024) · cites this paper as Yoon et al., 2018
Individuals with greater distress tolerance were less likely to display symptoms of depression.
“That is, individuals with greater distress tolerance were less likely to display symptoms of depression.”
From The Cyclical Battle of Insomnia and Mental Health Impairment in Firefighters: A Narrative Review (2024) · cites this paper as [119]
There is a systematic relationship between lower distress tolerance and depression.
“Yoon et al. [119] conducted a meta-analysis on distress tolerance and depression. Their results indicate a systematic relationship between lower distress tolerance and depression.”
From The Cyclical Battle of Insomnia and Mental Health Impairment in Firefighters: A Narrative Review (2024) · cites this paper as [119]
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- Authors
- Yoon, S., Dang, V., Mertz, J., & Rottenberg, J.
- Affiliations
- University of South Florida (US)
- Corresponding author
- Rottenberg, Jonathan
- Venue
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-05
- Volume
- 232
- Pages
- 329-340
- ISSN
- 0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2792817782
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 0.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Keywords
- depression, fear of emotions, distress intolerance, emotion regulation, depressive affect, negative emotional experiences, etiology of depression
- MeSH terms
- Attitude, Depression, Emotions, Humans
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