COMPARISON OF COGNITIVE EMOTION REGULATION STRATEGIES AND UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONS IN OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE, GENERALIZED ANXIETY, AND SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDERS

The purpose of the present study was to compare the cognitive emotion regulation strategies and understanding emotions in obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and normal people. The research method was causal-comparative. The statistical population were all male and female patients with the disorders mentioned, in private psychiatric centers in Shiraz (2012 and 2013). 300 patients (100 patients in each disorder group) were selected through available sampling method. 100 people from those who accompanied patients considered as the normal participants. All participants completed the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski et al., 2001), the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby et al., 1994), and General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg & Hillier, 1979). The results of multivariate analysis of variance and Tukey post-hoc test showed that the three patient groups reported more maladaptive cognitive emotional regulation strategies, less adaptive strategies, and lower understanding of emotions than the normal group (P<0.001). There was a significant difference among the three patient groups in using adaptive strategies and low understanding of emotions (P<0.001). In general, cognitive emotion regulation strategies and understanding emotions appear differently in these disorders.