Looming cognitive style: how it mediates the association of harm avoidance with trait and state emotion regulation difficulties

Abstract

Understanding the factors that are associated with individual differences in emotion regulation (ER) difficulties, which is one of the common transdiagnostic factors underlying many psychological disorders, is crucial for understanding and treating psychological disorders. The aim of the two investigations was to examine the mediator role of looming cognitive style (LCS) in the relationship of harm avoidance (HA) with both state and trait forms of ER difficulty. A total of 362 adults participated in Study 1 and 236 adults in Study 2. They completed measurements of HA, LCS, and ER. In Study 2, participants were induced into an anxious mood state and filled out a scale measuring ER in that process. Path analysis demonstrated that social looming between HA and trait ER and physical looming between HA and state ER had mediator roles. Finally, the alternative models which included HA and ER as the outcomes yielded poor fit. The results revealed that LCS significantly mediated the relationship of HA with both trait and state forms of ER difficulty, providing support for the model that aimed to explain how LCS contributes to the development and maintenance of psychological disorders.