The Role of Diferentiation of Self in Predicting Rumination and Emotion Regulation Difculties

Abstract

The present study examined the predictive power of diferentiation of self on rumination and emotion regulation difculties. The participants (n=300), all aged over 26, responded to a personal information form, the Diferentiation of Self Scale, a ruminative thought style questionnaire, and a difculties in emotion regulation scale. The sample consisted of 182 female and 118 male adults. The results indicated that the female participants were more emotionally reactive compared to their male counterparts and that parents had higher scores of emotional reactivity than childless participants. There was a non-signifcant relationship between diferentiation of self and age. Also, regarding diferentiation of self, there was no signifcant diference between participants who were in a relationship and those who were not. The diferentiation of self scores accounted for 24% of the variance in the ruminative thought style scores and 39% of the variance in the emotion regulation difculty scores. The results of the study indicated that diferentiation of self was a crucial in infuencing both rumination and emotion regulation difculties. These results suggest that clinicians working with clients who experience emotion regulation difculties in ruminative thinking or who demonstrate various symptoms due to it should treat these clients’ levels of diferentiation of self as a facilitating factor in the therapy and treatment process.