Fisher Hadar, Fatimah Haya, Pidvirny Kristina, Brown Hallie, Balkind Emma, Pastro Brianna, Webb Christian A
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.
Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame.
Emotion. 2025 May 26. doi: 10.1037/emo0001545.
Difficulties in emotion regulation during adolescence have been linked to depression. Early identification of deficits in emotion regulation may help prevent the onset of depression. This study investigated whether emotion regulation dynamics, particularly the strength of regulation to one's affective equilibrium (damping) inferred from the damped oscillator model, predicts future depressive symptoms in adolescents. We hypothesized that the relationship between damping and long-term outcomes would depend on the position of an individual's equilibrium. From July 2019 to May 2024, participants ( = 115) aged 12-15 completed smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment for 30 days, rating six emotions four times daily. The damped oscillator model was applied to each participant's time-series data, yielding person-specific frequency of oscillations (η) and damping (ζ) parameters. These parameters were then used to predict depressive symptoms at 6- and 12-month follow-ups controlling for baseline levels of depression. Results revealed that the interaction between the damping parameter and the equilibrium position significantly predicted depressive symptoms for sadness, but not for other emotions. For individuals with higher equilibrium levels of sadness, stronger damping predicted higher follow-up depressive symptoms. Additionally, higher frequency of oscillation around the equilibrium-representing greater elasticity and less rigidity-of two emotions (interest and happiness) predicted fewer depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that the adaptive value of rapid emotional recovery depends on one's baseline emotional state. Tracking emotion regulation dynamics of both positive and negative emotions may improve our ability to identify adolescents at risk for depression before symptoms emerge, thereby informing targeted intervention and prevention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
青春期情绪调节困难与抑郁症有关。早期识别情绪调节缺陷可能有助于预防抑郁症的发作。本研究调查了情绪调节动态，特别是从阻尼振荡器模型推断出的对自身情感平衡的调节强度（阻尼），是否能预测青少年未来的抑郁症状。我们假设阻尼与长期结果之间的关系将取决于个体平衡的位置。从2019年7月到2024年5月，115名年龄在12至15岁的参与者完成为期30天的基于智能手机的生态瞬时评估，每天对六种情绪进行四次评分。将阻尼振荡器模型应用于每个参与者的时间序列数据，得出个体特定的振荡频率（η）和阻尼（ζ）参数。然后使用这些参数来预测在6个月和12个月随访时的抑郁症状，并控制抑郁的基线水平。结果显示，阻尼参数与平衡位置之间的相互作用显著预测了悲伤情绪的抑郁症状，但对其他情绪则不然。对于悲伤平衡水平较高的个体，更强的阻尼预测随访时更高的抑郁症状。此外，在平衡周围更高的振荡频率——代表两种情绪（兴趣和快乐）更大的弹性和更小的僵化——预测更少的抑郁症状。这些发现表明，快速情绪恢复的适应性价值取决于一个人的基线情绪状态。追踪积极和消极情绪的情绪调节动态可能会提高我们在症状出现之前识别有抑郁风险青少年的能力，从而为有针对性的干预和预防工作提供信息。（PsycInfo数据库记录（c）2025美国心理学会，保留所有权利）
