(PS1-69) Using interpersonal behavior to regulate negative contrast experiences: A proof of concept

Abstract Text:

Introduction: The contrast avoidance model (CAM) has suggested that worry enhances and sustains negative affect to avoid negative emotional contrasts (less increase in negative affect and less decrease in positive affect). However, such research often has ignored the dynamic transactions between people and their environments as they move through their daily lives. Thus, the present study attempted to formulate tenets of the CAM that satisfied these demands and, at the same time, set out to examine the sequelae of interpersonal contrast avoidance (IPCA), a proposed coping strategy wherein interpersonal behavior is modulated to control emotional shifts during interpersonal situations.

Methods: Participants with generalized anxiety disorder and/or major depressive disorder (n = 31) and healthy controls (n = 20) completed ecological momentary assessments for eight days, randomly every hour from 10am to 10pm. At each prompt, individuals reported whether they had experienced a negative interpersonal situation and their degree of perseverative thought (worry, rumination) prior to the negative interpersonal situation, IPCA (affiliative, cold, dominant, and submissive styles) during the negative interpersonal situation, and both negative affect (anxiety, sadness) and positive affect (happiness, and calmness) from before to after the negative interpersonal situation. A four-step statistical procedure using a series of Fisher’s exact tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and linear mixed effect models was employed.

Results: Of 51 participants, the majority of the sample was White (38; 74.5%) and cisgender female (36; 70.6%); mean (standard deviation) age was 19.3 (3.1) years. A larger proportion of the clinical sample, as compared to controls, reported using psychiatric medication (Fisher’s exact test, p <.001; Cramer’s V = .783) and receiving counseling or therapy for mental health concerns (Fisher’s exact test, p <.001; Cramer’s V = .600). Clinical samples significantly engaged in higher submissive IPCA in negative interpersonal situations compared to controls (p = .02, r = .165). Individuals who worried more before an interaction tended to use affiliative IPCA (β = 0.63, 95% CI [0.28, 0.98], p <.001, d = 0.25) and submissive IPCA (β = 0.53, 95% CI [0.21, 0.85], p = .001, d = 0.23) during negative interpersonal situations. In clinical samples (but not controls), greater use of affiliative IPCA led to the avoidance of negative contrasts in anxiety from before to after negative interpersonal situations (p = .043, d = 0.20).

Conclusion: Findings corroborated the proof-of-concept for interpersonal contrast avoidance, a coping strategy hypothesized to contribute to the appraisal of environment, expression of interpersonal behavior, and regulation of affect in self and others as a means to prevent contrasting emotional experiences.