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ViewAttendees 9

Symposia

Adult Depression

Session: The Role of Positive Emotions in Depression and Anxiety: Evidence of Positivity Avoidance and Treatment Implications

4 - (SYM 60) the Relationship Between Expressive Suppression, Therapeutic Bond, and Response to a Positive Affect Intervention for Adults with Anxiety And/or Depression

Saturday, November 18, 2023
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Location: Elwha B, Level 5
Expressive suppression (ES; i.e., reducing expression associated with experiencing emotions) is commonly used by people with anxiety or depression. ES can interfere with relationship formation and is linked with reduced social connectedness in individuals with anxiety or depression. One implication is that people who use ES may have difficulty establishing a bond with their therapist in treatment. Given the well-established link between a strong therapeutic alliance and treatment response, ES may impede clinical improvement by impairing a person’s ability to bond with their treatment provider. To our knowledge, this possibility remains untested. The current study examined the relationship between use of ES during a standardized social affiliation task, and therapeutic bond and response to treatment for anxiety and depression. Participants included adults with clinically elevated anxiety and/or depression (N = 33; 67% identified as female; 18% identified as Hispanic; and 46% identified with a race category other than White). Participants interacted with a trained confederate during a controlled conversation task designed to generate connectedness; partners answered a series of increasingly intimate questions about themselves. Participants completed measures of ES for positive and negative emotions during the task. Participants then completed a cognitive and behavioral intervention focused on enhancing positive valence thoughts, emotions, and behaviors (e.g., savoring, gratitude, acts of kindness). Participants completed measures of early perceived therapeutic bond (i.e., during session 3), and treatment outcomes (i.e., positive affect and social connectedness). ES of positive (r = -.39, p = .018), but not negative (r = .06, p = .747), emotions was negatively associated with early perception of therapeutic bond. Indirect effect analyses suggested early perceived therapeutic bond mediated the relationship between greater ES of positive emotions during affiliation and poorer treatment response for both positive affect, 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence interval [-0.150, -0.001], and social connectedness, [-0.419, -0.017]. ES of positive emotions may be an important factor in the development of early therapeutic bond and therefore treatment response for individuals with anxiety and/or depression.