| Abstract [eng] |
Mood instability is defined as severe and unpredictable mood swings, which may occur without cause or due to the external factors. This construct is central to mood disorders, while in population without psychological diagnoses, higher mood instability is associated with lower self-esteem and relationship problems (Bowen et al., 2017). The current study was based on the theoretical framework of Linehan's biosocial model, which highlights the key constructs predicting development of mood instability (Linehan, 1993). The aim of the current study was to explore the interactions between emotion regulation, invalidating childhood experiences, presently perceived invalidation and emotional vulnerability and how these concepts influence the development of mood instability. Participants (N = 64, M = 25.28; SD = 4.38, from 20 to 60 years old) completed Affective Temperament (Azevedo et al., 2023), Responses to Positive Affect (Feldman et al., 2008), and Parental Responses to Adolescents Positive Affect (S. Nelis et al, 2019), The Emotional Vulnerability in Childhood (Sauer & Baer, 2010), Emotion Regulation Profile – Revised (D. Nelis et al., 2011), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation (Victor & Klonsky, 2016)Affective Lability (Oliver & Simons, 2004), Perceived Invalidation of Emotions (Zielinski & Veilleux, 2018), and Invalidating Childhood Environment (Mountford et al., 2007) questionnaires. Participants were then invited to answer momentary assessment questions about their moods on the M-Path app for seven days, five times a day, and to complete the Internal States questionnaire once per day (Bauer et al., 2000). The results revealed that invalidating childhood experiences predict greater mood instability and non-acceptance mediated this relationship. Higher levels of emotional vulnerability were also significantly correlated with higher rates of mood instability. Contrary to expectations, emotional vulnerability did not moderate the association between invalidating childhood environment and mood instability. The results add to previous research supporting the importance of invalidating childhood experiences, emotion regulation and emotional vulnerability in the development of mood instability, for the first time examining these relationships in the Lithuanian cultural context. |
