Diana G. Căzănescu1*, Aurora Szentagotai-Tătar2
*cazanescu.diana@gmail.com
1Evidence-based Assessment and Psychological Interventions Doctoral School;
The International Institute for the Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy
and Applied Mental Health, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
2Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy,
The International Institute for the Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy
and Applied Mental Health, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Abstract
While research on mood disorders has been mostly focused on negative emotions, recent data shows that studying positive emotion regulation may be essential for a better understanding of psychopathological mechanisms. There is evidence showing that depressive symptoms are associated with disturbances in the regulation of positive affect. Research on cognitive models also shows that irrational beliefs are important factors contributing to depression. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between irrational beliefs described in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT): demandingness (DEM), awfulizing (AWL), low frustration tolerance (LFT) and self-downing/ other-downing (SD/OD) and dampening strategies in depression. Data were collected from a sample of 157 individuals from the general population (82.2% females), Mage=26.32. SD/OD explained the highest variance of dampening strategies (R2Adjusted = .22, p<.001). Mediation analyses revealed that dampening strategies mediate the relation between SD/OD and depression.
Keywords: irrational beliefs, dampening, self-downing, depression
Published online: 2018/03/01
Published print: 2018/03/01
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