Search

Recent studies emphasize the role of emotion dysregulation as an underlying mechanism initiating and maintaining emotional eating in obesity. Since multidisciplinary obesity treatment (MOT) does not directly address emotion regulation (ER), the current study aimed to investigate the feasibility of an ER training in children and adolescents with obesity on top of MOT. Feasibility was evaluated multi-informant on relevant parameters e.g. practicability, satisfaction, change in affect and homework compliance.Participants (N = 50, M_age = 12.26, 60.7 % girls) with obesity received a brief ER training and were assigned to one out of three conditions to learn one specific ER strategy (i.e., Cognitive reappraisal, Distraction or Acceptance). Afterwards the ER strategy was further trained by a homework assignment during 5 consecutive days. Children and adolescents, trainers and as well as the educators of the treatment center completed a feasibility questionnaire.The training was positively evaluated by different informants for 11 out of 19 feasibility criteria. Only one implementation barrier was reported regarding homework compliance. Furthermore, some important considerations could be taken into account e.g. session length and motivation.Reports suggest that, with some modifications, it is feasible to implement an ER training on top of MOT. In addition, future training protocols should focus on other essential components of ER (e.g., emotional awareness, emotional flexibility).

BackgroundThe prevalence rates of childhood obesity are increasing. The current multidisciplinary treatments for (childhood) obesity are effective but only moderately and in the short term. A possible explanation for the onset and maintenance of childhood obesity is that it reflects a maladaptive mechanism for regulating high levels of stress and emotions. Therefore, the current RCT study aims to test the effectiveness of adding an emotion regulation training to care as usual (multidisciplinary obesity treatment) in young inpatients (10–14) involved in an obesity treatment program compared to care as usual alone.The research model for this RCT study states that when high levels of stress are regulated in a maladaptive way, this can contribute to the development of obesity.MethodsThe current study will recruit 140 youngsters (10–14 years) who are involved in an inpatient multidisciplinary obesity treatment (MOT) program. After giving consent to participate in the study, youngsters will be randomly assigned, during consecutive waves, to one of two conditions: care as usual (receiving MOT) or intervention (receiving MOT in addition to emotion regulation training). The training itself consists of 12 weekly sessions, followed by a booster session after 3 and 5 months. The participants will be tested pretraining, post-training, and at 6 months’ follow-up. We hypothesize that, compared to the control condition, youngsters in the intervention condition will (1) use more adaptive emotion regulation strategies and (2) report less emotional eating, both primary outcome measures. Moreover, on the level of secondary outcome measures, we hypothesize that youngsters in the intervention condition, compared with the control condition, will (3) report better sleep quality, (4) undergo improved weight loss and weight loss maintenance, and (5) experience better long-term (6-months) psychological well-being.DiscussionThis study will add to both the scientific and clinical literature on the role of emotion regulation in the development and maintenance of different psychopathologies, as emotion regulation is a transdiagnostic factor.Trial registrationThe RCT study protocol is registered at ISRCTN Registry, with study ID “ISRCTN 83822934.” Registered on 13 December 2017.

Background The transition from childhood into adolescence can be considered as a critical developmental period. Moreover, adolescence is associated with a decreased use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies and an increased use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies increasing the risk of emotional problems. Targeting emotion regulation is therefore seen as an innovative prevention approach. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Boost camp, an innovative school-based prevention program targeting ER, on adolescents’ emotion regulation skills and emotional wellbeing. Also secondary outcomes and possible moderators will be included. Methods The aim is to reach 300 adolescents (16 class groups, 6 schools) in their first year of high school. A clustered Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with two conditions, intervention (n = 150) and control (n = 150), will be set up. Adolescents in the intervention condition will receive 14 lessons over the course of 2 days, followed by Booster sessions, and will be compared with adolescents in a non-intervention control group. The outcomes will be measured by self-report questionnaires at baseline, immediately after Boost camp, and at three and 6 months follow-up. Discussion Data-collection is planned to be completed in May 2018. Data-analyses will be finished the end of 2018. The presented paper describes the Boost camp program and the clustered RCT design to evaluate its effectiveness. It is expected that Boost camp will have beneficial effects. If found effective, Boost camp will have the potential to increase adolescent’s ER and well-being, and reduce the risk to become adults in need. The trials is registered on the 13th of June 2017 in ISRCTN registry [ISRCTN68235634].

Decreased emotional awareness contributes to the risk of internalizing disorders, such as depression. Although emotional awareness may be especially important during adolescence, a developmental period in which emotional arousal is high and the risk of depression rises dramatically, little research has examined the mechanisms linking emotional awareness to depression. Starting from affect regulation models, the current study proposes emotion regulation (ER) as a key underlying mechanism in the emotional awareness—depression relationship. The current study investigated whether maladaptive and adaptive ER strategies mediate the relationship between emotional awareness and depressive symptoms among youth using a cross-sectional design. Participants were 220 youth (65% girls; $$M_{\text{age}}$$ = 11.87, SD = 1.94) who filled out a set of questionnaires assessing emotional awareness, ER strategies, and depressive symptoms. Results revealed no direct relationship between emotional awareness and depressive symptoms. However, emotional awareness yielded a significant mediation effect through total adaptive ER strategies on higher depressive symptoms. No evidence was found for the mediating role of maladaptive ER strategies in this relationship. The current study provides further support for affect regulation models positing that emotional awareness may be a basic skill that is required for learning adaptive ER skills, and thus call for greater attention to adaptive ER strategies.