Symposia
Health Psychology / Behavioral Medicine - Adult
Daniel Moriarity, Ph.D.
UCLA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mora Grehl, MA
PhD Student
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rachel Walsh, MA
PhD student
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lauren B. Alloy, Ph.D.
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Immunopsychiatry has posited inflammation as a potential mediator between stress and psychopathology (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD). Further, it has been suggested as a potential biological mechanism of psychosocial interventions. Given that inflammatory biology is reactive to psychological stress, many researchers have investigated the influence that various emotion regulation characteristics might have on inflammatory biology. This body of literature can provide insight in developing maximally comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment plans for individuals with elevated inflammation (e.g., people with high-fat diets, individuals with problematic substance use, patients with HIV or other chronic medical conditions) and highlight the potential benefit of anti-inflammatory adjunctive treatments (diet, exercise, medication) to mitigate risk for individuals with poor emotion regulation as they work to develop new skills. The present literature review includes articles found via PsycInfo and PubMed identified using a variety of emotion regulation strategies along with the terms “inflammation” or “cytokine”. To be included, each study needed to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, available in English, and featuring empirical data in human samples. Of 760 unique articles identified, 46 were determined to be eligible for the review. Pre-registration is available at: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021253574. Results indicated that cognitive response styles to negative affect (e.g., rumination, distraction), traits related to self-criticism (e.g., self-blame), and emotion regulation strategies associated with expression vs. suppression were the most consistent predictors of inflammatory biology. In addition to overall trends of which emotion regulation characteristics are most frequently related to inflammatory biology, this talk will focus on details considered critical for determining potential relevance for etiological theory and clinical utility (e.g., if emotion regulation was tested as an unconditional predictor of inflammation or as a moderator of stress, the extent to which published evidence uses observational vs. experimental designs). Discussion will end with an overview of an integrated immunocognitive framework of psychopathology and discuss future directions for this line of work to advance its clinical relevance.