TY - JOUR
T1 - Emotional rigidity negatively impacts remission from anxiety and recovery of well-being
AU - Wiltgen, Anika
AU - Shepard, Christopher
AU - Smith, Ryan
AU - Fowler, J. Christopher
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was partially supported by the Menninger Clinic Foundation and McNair Medical Institute. The study follows the guidelines on good publication practices. The study sponsors were not involved in any aspect of the research activities and did not approve the specific protocol or manuscript. Thus, the authors were independent from study sponsors.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018
PY - 2018/8/15
Y1 - 2018/8/15
N2 - Objectives: Emotional rigidity is described in clinical literature as a significant barrier to recovery; however, few there are few empirical measures of the construct. The current study had two aims: Study 1 aimed to identify latent factors that may bear on the construct of emotional rigidity while Study 2 assessed the potential impact of the latent factor(s) on anxiety remission rates and well-being. Method: This study utilized data from 2472 adult inpatients (1176 females and 1296 males) with severe psychopathology. Study 1 utilized exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to identify latent factors of emotional rigidity. Study 2 utilized hierarchical logistic regression analyses to assess the relationships among emotional rigidity factors and anxiety remission and well-being recovery at discharge. Results: Study 1 yielded a two-factor solution identified in EFA was confirmed with CFA. Factor 1 consisted of neuroticism, experiential avoidance, non-acceptance of emotions, impaired goal-directed behavior, impulse control difficulties and limited access to emotion regulation strategies when experiencing negative emotions. Factor 2 consisted of lack of emotional awareness and lack of emotional clarity when experiencing negative emotions. Results of Study 2 indicated higher scores on Factor 1 was associated with lower remission rates from anxiety and poorer well-being upon discharge. Factor 2 was not predictive of outcome. Conclusions: Emotional rigidity appears to be a latent construct that negatively impacts remission rates from anxiety. Limitations of the present study include its retrospective design, and inefficient methods of assessing emotional rigidity.
AB - Objectives: Emotional rigidity is described in clinical literature as a significant barrier to recovery; however, few there are few empirical measures of the construct. The current study had two aims: Study 1 aimed to identify latent factors that may bear on the construct of emotional rigidity while Study 2 assessed the potential impact of the latent factor(s) on anxiety remission rates and well-being. Method: This study utilized data from 2472 adult inpatients (1176 females and 1296 males) with severe psychopathology. Study 1 utilized exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to identify latent factors of emotional rigidity. Study 2 utilized hierarchical logistic regression analyses to assess the relationships among emotional rigidity factors and anxiety remission and well-being recovery at discharge. Results: Study 1 yielded a two-factor solution identified in EFA was confirmed with CFA. Factor 1 consisted of neuroticism, experiential avoidance, non-acceptance of emotions, impaired goal-directed behavior, impulse control difficulties and limited access to emotion regulation strategies when experiencing negative emotions. Factor 2 consisted of lack of emotional awareness and lack of emotional clarity when experiencing negative emotions. Results of Study 2 indicated higher scores on Factor 1 was associated with lower remission rates from anxiety and poorer well-being upon discharge. Factor 2 was not predictive of outcome. Conclusions: Emotional rigidity appears to be a latent construct that negatively impacts remission rates from anxiety. Limitations of the present study include its retrospective design, and inefficient methods of assessing emotional rigidity.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Emotional rigidity
KW - Treatment outcomes
KW - Well-being
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85046370883&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85046370883&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2018.04.113
DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2018.04.113
M3 - Article
C2 - 29723764
AN - SCOPUS:85046370883
SN - 0165-0327
VL - 236
SP - 69
EP - 74
JO - Journal of Affective Disorders
JF - Journal of Affective Disorders
ER -