The relationship between executive functions and emotion regulation in females attending therapeutic community treatment for substance use disorder

Nov 21, 2017Drug and alcohol dependence

How thinking skills and managing emotions relate in women in addiction treatment communities

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Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Participants (N=50) exhibited a positive correlation between executive dysfunction and difficulties in emotion regulation.

Executive dysfunction, measured by the Global Executive Composite, was associated with higher scores on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale.
Indicators of personality disorder correlated positively with emotion regulation difficulties.
Task-switching performance and executive dysfunction scores predicted difficulties in emotion regulation, while working memory and inhibition did not.
Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of executive dysfunction and task-switching on emotion regulation difficulties through personality disorder indicators.

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BACKGROUND: Difficulties in emotion regulation influence the development of substance use disorder (SUD), its severity, course, treatment outcomes, and relapse. Impaired executive functions (EFs) are common in SUD populations and may relate to emotion dysregulation. The current study tested whether performance on three basic EF tasks ('working memory', 'inhibition', and 'task-switching') and/or inventory-based assessment of EF were related to difficulties in emotion regulation in females attending residential SUD therapeutic community treatment.

METHODS: Cross-sectional design in which participants (N=50, all female) completed a questionnaire battery including the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A) was used. Participants also completed neuropsychological assessment of EF including the Working Memory Index (WMI; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), and measures of inhibition and task-switching (Color-Word Interference Test; Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System).

RESULTS: Executive dysfunction, as assessed by the Global Executive Composite (GEC; BRIEF-A), and personality disorder indicators (Standardised Assessment of Personality - Abbreviated Scale; SAPAS) were positively correlated with DERS scores. Sequential hierarchical regression indicated that task-switching, GEC, and SAPAS scores statistically predicted DERS scores, while working memory and inhibition did not. Mediation analysis indicated that there was a significant indirect effect of GEC scores and task-switching performance on DERS scores, through SAPAS scores.

CONCLUSIONS: Impairment of EF, particularly task-switching, is related to difficulties in emotion regulation in a female sample attending residential SUD treatment. Cognitive training interventions that improve task-switching performance may be beneficial in promoting effective emotion regulation and improved SUD treatment outcomes.

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The relationship between executive functions and emotion regulation in females attending therapeutic community treatment for substance use disorder

Abstract

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