Evidence of broad deficits in emotion regulation associated with chronic worry and generalized anxiety disorder

This study examined the relationship between emotion regulation deficits and GAD-related outcomes in an analogue sample. Consistent with hypotheses, general emotion dysregulation was associated with reports of chronic worry and with analogue GAD status. Also, specific regulation deficits, including deficits in emotional clarity, acceptance of emotions, ability to engage in goal directed behaviors when distressed, impulse control, and access to effective regulation strategies, were associated with worry and analogue GAD above and beyond variance contributed by negative affectivity. These findings provide additional preliminary evidence for an emotion regulation deficit model of GAD and are discussed in terms of clinical implications and directions for future research.