Dr. Thomas Ehring (University of Amsterdam): Emotion regulation deficits as a risk factor for emotional disorders.

Deficits in emotion regulation have been suggested to be a transdiagnostic risk factor for emotional problems. There is accumulating evidence supporting this hypothesis. In the first part of the presentation, an overview of recent correlational and experimental research investigating the role of emotion regulation difficulties in psychopathology, especially depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, will be given. The second part of the presentation will then focus on conceptual and methodological limitations of existing research in this area and discuss avenues for future investigation. In particular, implications for research into emotion regulation in emergency situations will be discussed.