Chronic Stress and Emotion Regulation: Implications for PTSD

描述(由申请人提供)：拟议研究计划的广泛目标是了解慢性压力以及抑制和重新评估的情绪调节策略如何影响自然主义环境中的情绪和生理反应。更具体地说，一项研究将考察感知到的慢性压力、压抑和重新评估对健康本科生的情绪体验和皮质醇唤醒反应的影响，健康本科生在使用这些情绪调节策略和对压力的感知方面存在差异。第二项研究试图了解抑制和重新评估如何与反复遭受自然灾害的人的皮质醇唤醒反应有关(其中一半人目前经历的症状与可能的创伤后应激障碍或创伤后应激障碍一致)。这个项目的具体目标有三个：1)在健康人群中建立慢性应激、特质情绪调节、情绪体验和皮质醇唤醒反应之间的关系(研究1)；2)在没有创伤后应激障碍的慢性应激人群中研究特质情绪调节和自然环境中皮质醇唤醒反应之间的联系(研究2)；3)在匹配的创伤暴露样本中检验创伤后应激障碍和CAR结果之间的关系，并在长期应激的创伤后应激障碍人群中阐明特质情绪调节和皮质醇唤醒反应之间的关系(研究2)。情绪调节的特质测量，关于慢性压力的问卷，情绪和健康的日常日记报告，以及皮质醇的评估将被用来解决具体目标。在研究一中，健康本科生将进入实验室完成关于慢性压力知觉以及压抑和重评特质使用的问卷调查。然后，他们将完成每日日记的一部分，在那里他们将收集两个唾液样本(一个在醒来时，一个在30分钟后)，以测量皮质醇唤醒反应，并每天完成对他们当前情绪的盘点。在研究2中，反复遭受自然灾害(如地震、海啸、洪水)的参与者，无论是否可能患有创伤后应激障碍，都将从一项更大的应对自然灾害研究中招募。符合可能的创伤后应激障碍标准的参与者中，有一半将在创伤暴露方面与没有创伤后应激障碍的参与者进行匹配。参与者将完成关于人口统计学、健康、创伤暴露以及压抑和重新评估特质使用的问卷。然后，他们将完成一项类似于研究1的为期1天的每日日记研究，以评估皮质醇唤醒反应。这个项目坚持NIH的使命，因为了解情绪调节如何在慢性压力的背景下影响情绪体验和生理，对心理和身体健康有影响。消极情绪反应经常发生在对慢性应激源的反应中；了解哪些情绪调节策略在缓解这些反应方面可能更好，可以转化为干预方法。 公共健康相关性：该项目与公共健康相关，因为它有可能a)阐明情绪调节在慢性应激背景下对情绪体验和生理的影响，b)促进对特定情绪调节策略如何影响健康和长期应激人群的生理的理解，以及c)通过建议在遇到慢性或重复应激源时使用更适应性的情绪调节过程来告知干预措施。这一点非常重要，因为那些遭受长期压力和情绪调节不良的人更容易出现心理和身体健康问题(例如，临床抑郁症、冠心病)。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The broad objective of the proposed program of research is to understand how chronic stress and the emotion regulation strategies of suppression and reappraisal affect emotional and physiological responses in naturalistic settings. More specifically, one study will examine the effects of perceived chronic stress, suppression and reappraisal on emotional experience and the cortisol awakening response in healthy undergraduates, who vary both in the use of these emotion regulation strategies and their perceptions of stress. The second study seeks to understand how suppression and reappraisal are associated with the cortisol awakening response in those who have endured repeated natural disasters (half of whom currently experience symptoms consistent with probable Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD). The specific aims of this particular program are threefold: 1) to establish the relationship between chronic stress, trait emotion regulation, emotional experience, and the cortisol awakening response in a healthy population (Study 1); 2) to examine the link between trait emotion regulation and the cortisol awakening response in a natural setting among a chronically stressed population without PTSD (Study 2); and 3) to examine the relationship between the PTSD and CAR findings in a matched trauma-exposed sample, and clarify the relationship between trait emotion regulation and the cortisol awakening response in a natural setting among a chronically stressed population with PTSD( Study 2). Trait measures of emotion regulation, questionnaires on chronic stress, daily diary reports of emotion and health, and assessments of cortisol will be utilized to address the specific aims. In Study 1, healthy undergraduates will come into the lab to complete questionnaires on perceived chronic stress and the trait use of suppression and reappraisal. They will then complete a daily diary component where they will collect two saliva samples (one at awakening, one after 30 minutes) to measure the cortisol awakening response and will also complete an inventory on their current emotions each day. In Study 2, participants who have endured repeated natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, floods), with and without probable PTSD, will be recruited from a larger study of coping with natural disasters. Half of the participants who meet criteria for probable PTSD will be matched on trauma exposure with participants who do not have PTSD. Participants will complete questionnaires on demographics, health, trauma exposure and the trait use of suppression and reappraisal. They will then complete a 1-day daily diary study similar to Study 1 to assess the cortisol awakening response. This project adheres to the mission of NIH because understanding how emotion regulation influences emotional experience and physiology in the context of chronic stress has implications for mental and physical health. Negative emotional responses occur frequently in reaction to chronic stressors; understanding which emotion regulation strategies may be better at alleviating these responses can be translated into intervention approaches. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project has relevance to public health because it has the potential to a) shed light on the effects of emotion regulation on emotional experience and physiology in the context of chronic stress b) advance understanding on how specific emotion regulation strategies influence physiology in a healthy and chronically stressed population, and c) inform interventions by suggesting more adaptive emotion regulation processes to utilize when encountering chronic or repeated stressors. This is of great importance because those who suffer from chronic stress and poor emotion regulation are more prone to mental and physical health problems (e.g., clinical depression, coronary heart disease).