What factors influence the relationship between emotion regulation strategies and the bipolar spectrum?

Theory suggests that appraisals of internal experiences that place personally significant meaning on current affect are central to mood dysregulation. Those vulnerable to mood dysregulation have mul-tiple, conflicting appraisals of both highs and lows. For example, positive emotion and high activation could be interpreted positively, with excessive expectations of goal attainment. The same state could also be appraised as indicating a loss of control. Low mood and energy may be seen as safety from losing control, while also being appraised as a sign of impending failure. The nature of the appraisal will then prompt emotion regulation strategies that either upregu-late or downregulate the current affective state. While rumination in response to low mood prolongs it, risk-taking in response to low mood could lead to escalating high mood. Similarly, tendencies to upregulate positive affect, such amplifying and impulsive respond-ing, may be counterproductive given the risk of mania, while height-ened tendencies to dampen positive affect are linked to depression.

Research demonstrates that unhelpful strategies that upregulate and downregulate both positive and negative affective states are important across the bipolar spectrum. The question of what factors influence this push and pull of affective states and attempts to regulate them remains unanswered. This talk will discuss why understanding moderators and mediators of the association between emotion regulation and bipolar dis-order is important for developing effective psychological interventions that can be personalised to individual beliefs and circumstances, in light of novel data, and the most up-to-date theory, research and practice.