Mindfulness and Defense Mechanisms as Explicit and Implicit Emotion Regulation Strategies against Psychological Distress during Massive Catastrophic Events

Mariagrazia Di Giuseppe (), Graziella Orrù, Angelo Gemignani, Rebecca Ciacchini, Mario Miniati and Ciro Conversano
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Mariagrazia Di Giuseppe: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology, Critical and Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Graziella Orrù: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology, Critical and Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Angelo Gemignani: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology, Critical and Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Rebecca Ciacchini: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology, Critical and Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Mario Miniati: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology, Critical and Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Ciro Conversano: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology, Critical and Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-10

Abstract: Emotion regulation is an important aspect of psychological functioning that influences subjective experience and moderates emotional responses throughout the lifetime. Adaptive responses to stressful life events depend on the positive interaction between explicit and implicit emotion regulation strategies, such as mindfulness and defense mechanisms. This study demonstrates how these emotion regulation strategies predict psychological health during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. A convenience sample of 6385 subjects, recruited via snowball sampling on various social media platforms, responded to an online survey assessing psychological reaction to social restrictions imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Italy. Psychological distress, post-traumatic stress symptoms, mindfulness, and defense mechanisms were assessed using SCL-90, IES-R, MAAS, and DMRS-30-SR, respectively. Higher mindfulness was significantly associated with higher overall defensive maturity and a greater use of high-adaptive defenses ( p < 0.0001). Both mindfulness and defense mechanisms acted as good predictors of psychological health (R 2 = 0.541) and posttraumatic symptoms (R 2 = 0.332), confirming the role of emotion regulation in protecting against maladaptive responses to stressful situations.

Keywords: emotion regulation; mindfulness; defense mechanisms; stress; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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