Title: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation During a Speech Task Delivered in a VR Environment in Individuals with Public Speaking Anxiety (2023-2024)

Funding source: The project was supported by a postdoctoral grant from Babeș-Bolyai University, Starting Research Grants. Grant Number: SRG-UBB No. 32965/23.06.2023.

Host Institution: Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, through the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy / International Institute for the Advanced Study of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health.

Project duration: June 2023 – June 2024

Principal Investigator: Assistant professor Răzvan Predatu

Project Summary:

The current study aimed to investigate individuals’ ER difficulties in an ecologically valid emotion induction situation – a speech task. This study focused on ER difficulties that have been neglected by empirical research, such as emotional awareness, negative beliefs about emotional nonacceptance, and emotional control. Specifically, we examined the mediating role of ER difficulties in the relationship between social anxiety (such as public speaking anxiety) and individuals’ emotional responses during a speech task that simulates a public speaking situation.

Overall emotion dysregulation mediates the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and state negative emotions experienced at each phase of the task. Additional mediation analysis indicated a significant indirect association between social anxiety symptoms and state negative emotions at each phase through limited access to effective emotion regulation strategies. Therefore, the results have highlighted the relevance of ER difficulties in relation to emotional functioning, the most central process being that of limited access to effective emotion regulation strategies.

The current project has provided a series of new insights into the three basic processes of emotion regulation, namely: emotional awareness, beliefs about emotions, and emotional control, in relation to emotional functioning. Through this project, we have offered a clearer understanding of the ER construct, capturing the interrelationships between the three processes as well as their relationship with emotional functioning.

These advances will impact mental health professionals by offering a clinically relevant perspective on the ER construct and informing them about the most relevant types of difficulties in ER in relation to emotional functioning in speech situations and beyond.