مصطفی عسکری

The dynamism of emotion regulation and the role of context in its effectiveness have been the subject of recent research. The present study also aims to highlight the importance of context in the field of emotion regulation, with the goal of examining flexibility and exploring emotion regulation strategies in individuals with major depressive disorder and comparing them to the control group or non-depressed individuals. In general, the present study was of an analytical-descriptive nature and utilized a mixed-methods approach. In the first section, three emotionally charged scenarios were developed using an exploratory sequential method, based on the lived experiences of depressed (۳ individuals) and non-depressed (۴ individuals) participants. Subsequently, the validity (assessed by ۸ experts) and reliability (assessed by ۲۶ individuals) of the scenarios were confirmed for eliciting negative emotions of anger and sadness with various contextual features. In the second section, using a convergent approach, the emotional regulation efforts and strategies of two groups depressed (۴۳=N) and non-depressed (N=۵۲) individuals were collected through free writing. After allocating the strategies to the open-ended texts of the participants and translating qualitative data into quantitative features, the flexibility and emotion regulation strategies of the two groups were compared. For descriptive and inferential data analysis, the research utilized the jmv package in R software. Given the non-normal distribution of the data, the Mann-Whitney test was used to examine differences in emotion regulation between the two groups. The results indicate that the depressed group significantly has lower flexibility (p<۰.۰۱) and a more limited availability of coping strategies (p<۰.۰۰۱). Additionally, the depressed group reported less effort in emotion regulation - (p<۰.۰۵)-. Furthermore, in at least two scenarios, the non-depressed group used more cognitive reappraisal strategies (p<۰.۰۱), cognitive reassessment (p<۰.۰۰۱), problem-solving (p<۰.۰۰۱), and emotion labeling (p<۰.۰۵) compared to the depressed group. In addition, cognitive reappraisal (p<۰.۰۱) and avoidance (p<۰.۰۱) strategies were used to a greater extent by the depressed group. From the present findings, it can be concluded that emotional regulation flexibility and strategic repertoire may play a role in depression. Furthermore, in addition to flexibility, learning and utilizing various adaptive strategies can be effective in preventing depression.