Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Identification and Evaluation of Cognitive Affect-Regulation Strategies: Development of a Self-Report Measure

  • Published:
Cognitive Therapy and Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

The ability to regulate emotions is important to mental health and well-being. However, relatively little is known about the cognitive strategies people use when faced with negative affect and the extent to which these strategies reduce such affect. This may be due, in part, to the lack of a comprehensive measure of cognitive affect-regulation strategies. Three studies were conducted to develop a broad-based self-report inventory of 15 specific strategies, called the Inventory of Cognitive Affect Regulation Strategies (ICARUS). This instrument assesses strategies that are oriented toward avoidance of the feelings (e.g., mental disengagement, thoughts of suicide) or diverting attention (e.g., self-criticism/self-blame, blaming others), as well as strategies that are oriented toward approach or engagement (e.g., reframing and growth, acceptance, mindful observation). Results provide preliminary support for the internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and convergent validity of the measure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. We considered the possibility that ICARUS strategies may predict changes in positive affect, in the form of self-rated energy. However, reports of energy at the final assessment were virtually identical to those made after the mood induction. With no increase in this quality, it would seem unlikely that any cognitive strategy would relate to changes in it, and none did.

  2. It is noteworthy that this clinical sample endorsed low–to–moderate levels of distress. It is unclear whether or not the associations reported here would emerge in a highly distressed clinical sample.

REFERENCES

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, (4th Ed.). Washington, DC: APA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aspinwall, L. G., & Taylor, S. E. (1993). Effects of social comparison direction, threat, and self-esteem on affect, self-evaluation, and expected success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 708–722.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561–571.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boden, J. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Repressive coping: Distraction using pleasant thoughts and memories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 45–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bonnano, G. A., Keltner, D., Holen, A., & Horowitz, M. J. (1995). When avoiding unpleasant emotions might not be such a bad thing: Verbal-autonomic response dissociation and midlife conjugal bereavement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 975–989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campos, P. E. (2002). Special series integrating Buddhist philosophy with cognitive and behavioral practice: Introduction. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9, 38–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S. (2001). Affect and the functional bases of behavior: On the dimensional structure of affective experiences. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5, 345–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., Pozo, C., Harris, S. D., Noriega, V., Scheier, M. F., Robinson, D. S, et al. (1993). How coping mediates the effect of optimism on distress: A study of women with early stage breast cancer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 375–390.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1994). Situational coping and coping dispositions in a stressful transaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 184–195.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dean, J. E., Whelan, J. P., & Meyers, A. W. (1989). An incredibly quick way to assess mood states: The incredibly short POMS. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology, San Antonio, TX.

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 219–239.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1985). If it changes it must be a process: Study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 150–170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218–226.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garnefski, N., Kraaij, V., & Spinhoven, P. (2001). Negative life events, cognitive emotion regulation and emotional problems. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 1311–1327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbons, F. X. (1986). Social comparison and depression: Company's effect on misery. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 140–148.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glynn, S. M., Eth, S., Randolph, E. T., Foy, D. W., et al. (1995). Behavioral family therapy for Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research, 4, 214–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2, 271–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J. J., & Levenson, R. W. (1997). Hiding feelings: The acute effects of inhibiting negative and positive emotion. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 95–103.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J. J., & Muñoz, R. F. (1995). Emotion regulation and mental health. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 2, 151–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. M., & Feldman, G. (2004). Clarifying the construct of mindfulness in the context of emotion regulation and the process of change in therapy. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11, 255–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C. (1994). Content, context, and the types of psychological acceptance. In Hayes, S. C., Jacobson, N. S., Follette, V. M., & Dougher, M. J. (Eds.), Acceptance and change: Content and context in psychotherapy (pp. 13–32). Reno, NV: Context.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C., Wilson, K. G., Gifford, E. V., Follette, V. M., & Strosahl, K. (1996). Experiential avoidance and behavioral disorders: A functional dimensional approach to diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 1152–1168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • H. H. Dalai Lama, & Cutler, H. C. (1998). The art of happiness: A handbook for living. New York: Riverhead Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoekstra-Weebers, J. E. H. M., Jaspers, J. P. C., Kamps, W. A., & Klip, E. C. (1998). Gender differences in psychological adaptation and coping in parents of pediatric cancer patients. Psycho-Oncology, 7, 26–36.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, R. E., Bernet, C. Z., & McLaughlin, S. C. (1994). Attentional allocation processes in individuals at risk for depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 18, 317–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, R. E., Cruet, D., Johnson, B. R., & Wisnicki, K. S. (1988). Self-focused attention, gender, gender role, and vulnerability to negative affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 967–978.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, C., & Revenson, T. A. (1999). Gender differences in coping with infertility: A meta-analysis. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 22, 341–358.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go there you are. New York: Hyperion.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaminer, H., & Peretz, L. (1993). Sleep and dreams in well-adjusted and less adjusted Holocaust survivors. In M. S. Stroebe, & W. Stroebe (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 331–345). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimerling, R., Ouimette, P., & Wolfe, J. (2002). Gender and PTSD. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H. G., George, L. K., & Siegler, I. C. (1988). The use of religion and other emotion-regulating coping strategies among older adults. The Gerontologist, 28, 303–310.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kohn, C. S., Mertens, J. R., & Weisner, C. M. (2002). Coping among individuals seeking private chemical dependence treatment: Gender differences and impact on length of stay in treatment. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 26, 1228–1233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S. (1975). The self-regulation of emotion. In L. Levi (Ed.), Emotions—Their parameters and measurement (pp. 47–67). New York: Raven.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S. (1991a). Cognition and motivation in emotion. American Psychologist, 46, 352–367.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S. (1991b). Progress on a cognitive–motivational–relational theory of emotion. American Psychologist, 46, 819–834.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford .

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyumbomirsky, S., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1993). Self-perpetuating properties of dysphoric rumination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 339–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyumbomirsky, S., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1995). Effects of self-focused rumination on negative thinking and interpersonal problem solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 176–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masters, J. C. (1991). Strategies and mechanisms for the personal and social control of emotion. In J. Garber, & K. A. Dodge (Eds.), The development of emotion regulation and dysregulation (pp. 182–207). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMillen, J. C., Smith, E. M., & Fisher, R. H. (1997). Perceived benefit and mental health after three types of disaster. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 733–739.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McNair, D., & Heuchert, J. W. P. (2003). Profile of Mood States technical update. Toronto, Canada: MHS.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNair, D., Lorr, M., & Droppleman, L. (1971). Profile of Mood States manual. San Diego, CA: EDITS.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNair, D. M., Lorr, M., & Droppleman, L. (1992). POMS: Profile of Mood States manual. Toronto, Canada: MHS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, W. N., & Reilly, N. P. (1987). Toward the self-regulation of mood: Theory and research. Motivation and Emotion, 11, 215–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mullis, R. L., & Chapman, P. (2000). Age, gender, and self-esteem differences in adolescent coping styles. Journal of Social Psychology, 140, 539–541.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, P. E., Ciarrochi, J. W., Piedmont, R. L., Cheston, S., Peyrot, M., & Fitchett, G. (2000). The relation of religious belief and practice, depression, and hopelessness in persons with clinical depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 1102–1106.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1987). Sex differences in unipolar depression: Evidence and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 259–282.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Morrow, J. (1991). A prospective study of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster: The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 115–121.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Morrow, J. (1993). Effects of rumination and distraction on naturally occurring depressed mood. Cognition and Emotion, 7, 561–570.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Morrow, J., & Fredrickson, B. L. (1993). Response styles and the duration of episodes of depressed mood study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 20–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Parker, L. E., & Larson, J. (1994). Ruminative coping with depressed mood following loss. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 92–104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, C. L., & Cohen, L. H. (1993). Religious and nonreligious coping with the death of a friend. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 17, 561–577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, C. M., & Weiss, R. S. (1983). Recovery from bereavement. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson, B., & Totterdell, P. (1999). Classifying affect-regulation strategies. Cognition and Emotion, 13, 277–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parrott, W. G. (1993). Beyond hedonism: Motives for inhibiting good moods and for maintaining bad moods. In D. M. Wegner, & J. W. Pennebaker (Eds.), Handbook of mental control (pp. 278–305). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearlin, L. I., & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 2–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, L. S., Marco, C. A., Schwartz, J. E., Neale, J. M., Shiffman, S., & Stone, A. A. (2000). Gender differences in coping: A comparison of trait and momentary assessments. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19, 480–498.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhode, P., Lewinsohn, P. M., Tilson, M., & Seeley, J. R. (1990). Dimensionality of coping and its relation to depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 499–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salovey, P., Mayer, J. D., Goldman, S. L., Turvey, C., & Palfai, T. (1995). Emotional attention, clarity, and repair: Exploring emotional intelligence using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. In J. W. Pennebaker (Ed.), Emotion, disclosure, and health (pp. 125–154). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2002). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: A new approach to preventing relapse. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharkansky, E. J., King, D. W., King, L. A., Wolfe, J., Erickson, D. J., & Stokes, L. R. (2000). Coping with Gulf War combat stress: Mediating and moderating effects. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 188–197.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shuchter, S. R., & Zisook, S. (1993). The course of normal grief. In M. S. Stroebe, & W. Stroebe (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 23–43). New York: Cambridge University Press.

  • Stone, A. A., & Neale, J. M. (1984). New measure of daily coping: Development and preliminary results. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 892–906.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1995). Trauma and transformation: Growing in the aftermath of suffering. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P. A. (1985). Self-labeling processes in mental illness: The role of emotional deviance. American Journal of Sociology, 92, 221–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P. A. (1990). Emotional deviance: Research agendas. In T. D. Kemper (Ed.), Research agendas in the sociology of emotions (pp. 180–203). Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P. A. (1991). Gender differences in coping with emotional distress. In J. Eckenrode (Ed.), The social context of coping (pp. 107–138). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., & Tellegen, A. (1985). Toward a consensual structure of mood. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 219–235.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wegner, D. M., Erber, R., & Zanakos, S. (1993). Ironic processes in mental control of mood and mood-related thought. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1093–1104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, D. M., & Zanakos, S. (1994). Chronic thought suppression. Journal of Personality, 62, 615–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenzlaff, R. M. (1993). The mental control of depression: Psychological obstacles to emotional well-being. In D. M. Wegner, & J. W. Pennebaker (Eds.), Handbook of mental control (pp. 239–257). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenzlaff, R. M., Wegner, D. M., & Roper, D. W. (1988). Depression and mental control: The resurgence of unwanted negative thoughts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 882–892.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, J., Keane, T. M., Kaloupek, D. G., Mora, C. A., & Wine, P. (1993). Patterns of positive readjustment in Vietnam combat veteran. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 6, 179–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wortman, C. B., & Silver, R. C. (1989). The myths of coping with loss. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 349–357.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zautra, A. J. (2003). Emotions, stress, and health. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, M., Coryell, W., Corenthal, C., & Wilson, S. (1986). A self-report scale to diagnose major depressive disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 1076–1081.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A portion of this work was supported by a VA Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) grant (Ronald Goldstein, MD, Principal Investigator), grant funding awarded to the first author by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and NIDA grant DA016138 awarded to the first author. We would like to thank Dr. Clive Robins at Duke University Medical Center for his helpful suggestions on an earlier draft of this manuscript, and Ms. Gabrielle Liverant at Boston University for her statistical consultation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

    Barbara Wolfsdorf Kamholz, Adele M. Hayes, Charles S. Carver & Carol A. Perlman

  2. VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Barbara Wolfsdorf Kamholz & Suzy Bird Gulliver

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, 108 Wolf Hall, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Adele M. Hayes

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Carol A. Perlman

  5. IA Boston Healthcare System, Psychology Service (116B), 150 South Huntington Avenue, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, 02130, USA

    Barbara Wolfsdorf Kamholz

Authors
  1. Barbara Wolfsdorf Kamholz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adele M. Hayes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Charles S. Carver
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Suzy Bird Gulliver
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Carol A. Perlman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barbara Wolfsdorf Kamholz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kamholz, B.W., Hayes, A.M., Carver, C.S. et al. Identification and Evaluation of Cognitive Affect-Regulation Strategies: Development of a Self-Report Measure. Cogn Ther Res 30, 227–262 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9013-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9013-1

KEY WORDS:

Search

Navigation