The Impact of the Emotion Regulation Intervention Program on Cognitive-emotional Strategies among Adolescent Girls

Description

Page: 291-295

Neerja Agarwal¹, Sharanya Jain², and Saloni³ (Emoneeds, RNR Emotional Well-being Technologies LLP, Gurugram, Haryana¹,³, and Carmel Convent School, Chandigarh²)

Adolescence is crucial for learning, skills development and stress management, but also vulnerable to maladaptive behaviours. Emotional regulation deficits contribute to various mental health concerns. Interventions targeting emotion regulation can be beneficial at this age in improving emotional regulation strategies among adolescents. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the ‘Emotion Regulation’ intervention programme on cognitive-emotional strategies among adolescent girls. The research is a pre-post intervention study of two and half months of emotion regulation program. Using the purposive sampling method, 32 female adolescents aged 13 to 17 years, were selected randomly from 9th to 12th standard from Caramel Convent at Chandigarh. A 10-module emotional regulation programme was created by combining attachment theory, brain development, Emotional regulation in Adolescence, group DBT (Dialectical behavior therapy) skills, and group schema therapy techniques and delivered online for two &half months. The emotion regulation techniques were evaluated before and after the intervention program using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). The findings revealed that the pre-intervention mean scores for the Adaptive techniques. ‘Acceptance’, ‘Positive refocusing’, ‘Positive reappraisal’, ‘Putting things into perspective’, and ‘Refocus on planning’ was 11.64, 10.88, 11.58, 12.09, and 12.79, whereas. Corresponding post-intervention mean scores were 13.7, 12.64, 13.52, 14.00, and 14.52 respectively. Pre-intervention means scores for Maladaptive strategies ‘Self-Blame, ‘Rumination’, ‘Catastrophizing’, and ‘Other Blame’ were 12.30, 13.45, 12.06, and 7.91, respectively. Corresponding post-assessment mean scores were 10.03, 11.12, 10.06, and 6.52. The mean difference between pre and post-intervention on Adaptive and Maladaptive strategies was significant at 0.01 significance level. Post-intervention scores showed enhanced utilization of ‘Adaptive strategies’ and decreased Maladaptive strategies engagement among adolescent participants. The intervention demonstrated significant efficacy in increasing engagement in adaptive strategies and reducing involvement in ‘Maladaptive’ coping strategies, affirming the intervention’s success in promoting Adaptive coping mechanisms and mitigating ‘Maladaptive’ strategies.