Emotion Dynamics Lab at UBCO

Community-based sports and recreation programs can support youth in learning many physical, emotional, and interpersonal skills. Specifically, these kinds of programs can help foster many social-emotional skills including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and decision-making skills.

Research suggests that recreation programs can act as a safe environment for youth to gain key developmental skills which may act as protective factors against mental health challenges. These environments are particularly important for youth who experience marginalization (i.e. racialized youth, youth who experience family instability, youth living in poverty, etc.).

Researchers asked youth about their experiences in after-school recreation and sports programs. The youth expressed that these programs allowed them to acknowledge their feelings and regulate their emotions, recognize their own strengths and limitations, and built confidence in themselves. After-school programs can also expose youth to a diverse range of people encouraging youth to have empathy and consideration of their peers.

Overall, community-based sports and recreation programs can provide youth with a safe environment to develop social-emotional skills and build community

Son, H., & Berdychevsky, L. (2026). Recreation and sport programs for social-emotional development among socially vulnerable youth. *Journal of Leisure Research*, *57*(1), 62–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2024.2429540

Emotion regulation refers to how people manage their emotions, and one way this may occur is through exposure to nature. Specifically, research suggests that natural environments increase positive mood (e.g., awe, joy, happiness) and shape how people experience their surrounding environments.

Absorption is the feeling of being fully engaged and immersed in one’s surroundings. People who spent just 15 minutes in a natural setting reported significantly greater absorption than those in built environments. Absorption may help explain why nature influences emotional experiences. Specifically, rather than simply being outside, it is the extent to which people feel captivated by natural features, such as sounds and visual details, that is central to these emotional benefits.

Importantly, not all positive emotions are influenced by nature in the same way. Nature may have a stronger effect on awe, a feeling of wonder and amazement, than on more neutral feelings such as contentment. Natural environments may have a stronger influence on more euphoric positive emotions. Additionally, increases in awe might help us with focusing on the present moment, higher life satisfaction, improved perspective-taking, and increased meaning in life. Together, these patterns suggest that awe may support effective emotion regulation.

Overall, emotion regulation is not only a process that happens internally, but is also influenced by the environments people are in. Natural settings in particular may increase positive emotions such as awe by helping people feel more present and engaged. Therefore, even brief moments, such as sitting in a park, can lead to noticeable increases in positivity.

Ballew, M. T., & Omoto, A. M. (2018). Absorption: How nature experiences promote awe and other positive emotions. *Ecopsychology*, *10*(1), 26–35. doi: 10.1089/eco.2017.0044

When people think about managing anger, they often focus on traditional methods such as taking deep breaths. However, recent research suggests that companion animals can also help us manage anger. Trait anger refers to a consistent tendency to experience anger more frequently and intensely, making it harder to control. This relates to emotion regulation, which refers to how people manage and respond to their emotions. Specifically, people with higher levels of trait anger often struggle more with regulating their emotions.

Research suggests that forming a strong bond with a companion animal (e.g., cat, dog) may help people manage anger more effectively. Specifically, when people with higher trait anger have a strong bond with a companion animal, the link between anger and emotional difficulties lessens. One explanation for this is that, unlike some human relationships the involve conflict or judgement, relationships with animals are often entirely accepting. This acceptance can create a sense of comfort that supports emotional processing.

Importantly, research shows that simply interacting with or owning a pet will not have the same effect because having a strong bond is essential. Additionally, trait anger does not impact how strong of a bond someone can form with a companion animal, meaning that people who are more prone to anger are still able to form meaningful relationships with their pets. The type of pet does not appear to make a difference, as similar results were found for both cat and dog owners. Furthermore, younger people tend to experience greater benefits from having a strong bond with a companion animal, as they tend to have greater difficulties with emotion regulation.

Overall, strong bonds with companion animals can help reduce the emotional impact of trait anger and support emotion regulation.

Bochicchio, V., Scandurra, C., Dolce, P., Scandurra, A., Freda, M. F., & Mezzalira, S. (2024). Affective regulation and trait anger personalities: The buffering effect of the companion animal bond. *European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education*, *14*(8), 2377–2389. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14080157

The emotional tone that a mother uses at home can play an important role in how twins interact with each other. This is because family relationships are deeply interconnected, meaning that parent interactions spill over into other relationships. Specifically, how mothers interact with their children predicts how siblings interact with each another.

For instance, when mothers express more positive emotions to their children such as warmth and praise, and fewer negative or critical comments, their twin children were more likely to have a close and positive relationship. Particularly, when positivity was more common than criticism, twin children spent more time together, showed more affection towards one another, and got along better.

However, research suggests that simply reducing critical comments may not be enough to foster positive sibling relationships. Instead, warm relationships must be modelled so children can learn how to interact cooperatively rather than competitively. Therefore, modelling is key to developing strong sibling relationships.

Research also shows that mothers often speak to twins in different ways. These differences suggest that children within the same family may not receive the same emotional responses. Surprisingly, however, greater differences in mothers’ emotional expression toward their children was not associated with poorer sibling relationships. Rather, greater differences in emotional expression toward each child was associated with more positive sibling relationships.

Overall, these findings shift the focus from simply reducing negativity to demonstrating warm relationships within the home, as strong sibling relationships are built through positive modeling. However, differences in treatment do not seem to matter as long as interactions remain positive.

Mark, K. M., Pike, A., Latham, R. M., Oliver, B. R. (2017). The maternal emotional climate predicts twin sibling relationship quality. *Twin Research and Human Genetics* *20* (2), 150–160. https://doi.org/10.1017/thg.2017.8

Maladaptive perfectionism refers to setting extremely high standards, while being very critical of oneself, especially when those standards are not met. People who struggle with perfectionism tend to experience emotion dysregulation. Research suggests that people with perfectionism often experience stronger and more negative emotional reactions compared to others.

For example, when people with perfectionism experience stress or failure, they tend to feel more negative emotions such as anxiety and disappointment. These emotional responses can also last longer, as people with perfectionism tend to experience negative emotions even after the situation has ended. Interestingly, perfectionism is also associated with emotion dysregulation in response to positive experiences. For instance, some people with perfectionism report feeling dissatisfied or negative even after achieving a goal.

Additionally, experiencing frequent and intense negative emotions can limit the different ways people cope with their emotions. For instance, they may begin to rely on less effective ways of managing emotions, such as self-blame. Over time, this can contribute to emotional distress and dysregulation. Moreover, people with perfectionism may also find it hard to identify and express their emotions. Low emotional awareness can make it harder to respond to emotions in effective ways. Therefore, these challenges suggest that perfectionism may substantially impact emotion regulation.

Overall, maladaptive perfectionism is not only about having high standards, but also about how individuals experience and manage their emotions. Specifically, maladaptive perfectionism is associated with more intense and long-lasting emotions, as well as fewer ways of coping with these emotions.

Malivoire, B. L., Kuo, J. R., Antony, M. M., & Department of Psychology, Ryerson University. (2019). An examination of emotion dysregulation in maladaptive perfectionism. In *Clinical Psychology Review* https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2019.04.006

Emotion regulation refers to an individual modifying or altering their emotional experience. However, improving our mood through emotion regulation requires mental effort, and this effort uses up a limited amount of energy in the body. Specifically, blood glucose provides the energy the brain needs to control our thoughts and emotions, meaning that our ability to change how we feel depends on how much blood glucose is available.

In particular, when individuals try to alter their emotions, especially when attempting to make their emotions more positive, blood glucose levels can decrease. However, the degree to which this energy is used can differ between people. For instance, people who believe they are good at controlling their emotions are able to improve their mood without showing a decrease in blood glucose levels. In contrast, people who believe they have poor emotion regulation skills do show a decrease in blood glucose levels.

Importantly, both groups are still able to successfully improve their mood, meaning that the differences in blood glucose levels reflect the amount of energy used rather than the effectiveness of emotion regulation. This suggests that people can achieve the same emotional outcome, but with different impacts on the body. Moreover, it also shows that using a lot of energy is not always a necessary part of regulating emotions.

One explanation for this is that emotion regulation may become more automatic with practice. Therefore, when people regularly control their emotions, these processes may begin to feel easier and require less energy. In contrast, people who do not frequently regulate their emotions may need to use more effort, which increases the use of blood glucose.

Overall, emotion regulation is not always equally demanding, and its effects on the body can vary depending on how much effort people need to regulate their emotions.

Niven, K., Totterdell, P., Miles, E., Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2012). Achieving the same for less: Improving mood depletes blood glucose for people with poor (but not good) emotion control. *Cognition & Emotion*, *27*(1), 133–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2012.679916

Emotional creativity refers to the ability to experience and express emotions in novel ways, allowing people to respond to challenges with more flexibility. Because of this, research suggests that emotional creativity plays an important role in how people cope with stress and maintain their mental health.

Specifically, emotional creativity is reflected in the types of coping strategies people use. For example, research has found that people with higher emotional creativity are more likely to use problem-solving strategies, seek social support, or reinterpret situations in more positive ways. These approaches can help people manage negative emotions and navigate challenging situations more effectively, which has been linked to better mental health. In addition, people with higher emotional creativity tend to feel more confident in their ability to manage their emotions and report higher levels of perceived social support, both of which have been identified as potential pathways linking emotional creativity to mental health outcomes.

Emotional creativity has also been associated with long-term mental health benefits. For instance, people with higher emotional creativity are more likely to experience personal growth following stressful or traumatic situations. This suggests that emotional creativity not only helps people cope with challenges, but it is also associated with positive changes in their lives following these situations.

Overall, emotional creativity may shape mental health by influencing how people respond to challenges and the outcomes that follow. Specifically, emotional creativity may support mental health by helping people respond in more flexible and novel ways, while also feeling more supported by others and more confident in their ability to manage their emotions. Therefore, emotional creativity plays an important role in shaping mental health outcomes.

Zhai, H., Li, Q., Hu, Y., Cui, Y., Wei, X., & Zhou, X. (2021). Emotional creativity improves posttraumatic growth and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. *Frontiers in Psychology*, *12*, 600798. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.600798

Fathers matter during adolescence too, but most research on fatherhood focuses on the early years. We wanted to know whether how fathers think and feel about their role still shapes how they parent once their kids reach adolescence.

We surveyed 214 BC fathers of adolescents about their experience of fatherhood and their parenting behaviours. We asked about three things: the joy fatherhood brings them, how meaningful and central it feels to who they are, and how much stress or burden it carries. We then looked at whether those feelings were linked to more supportive or more controlling parenting, and whether the picture changed depending on fathers’ jobs, cultural backgrounds, and where they lived.

Fathers who found fatherhood personally meaningful reported warmer, more supportive parenting with their teens. Fathers who felt more stressed by their role were more likely to use controlling behaviors, especially among European-background fathers. Interestingly, among fathers who were not fully employed, a strong sense of meaning in their role was linked to more controlling behavior rather than less, which may reflect the pressure of caring deeply about parenting while facing financial stress. Fathers in smaller communities also reported less controlling behaviour than those in large cities.

How fathers experience their role shapes how they parent, even during adolescence. And context matters: the same belief can play out very differently depending on a father’s circumstances.

Marcus Gottlieb led this research as part of his recently-defended doctoral thesis— Congratulations, Marcus! And we are so grateful to all the fathers who participated and made this important work possible.

People often think first about attention problems, hyperactivity, and impulsivity when they think of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) However, ADHD also affects how people experience and manage their emotions. For instance, emotional difficulties are common in both children and adults who have ADHD.

Emotion regulation refers to how we influence our emotions, including when we feel them, how we feel them, and how we express them, helping us manage stress and challenges. Emotion regulation can include both automatic (unconscious) and intentional (conscious) strategies. However, for individuals with ADHD, these strategies are often less effective. If someone has emotion regulation difficulties, they may react more strongly to emotional situations, have difficulty calming down, or struggle to adjust their emotions when situations change.

ADHD and emotion regulation may be related because people with ADHD often struggle to self-regulate, which is an important part of managing emotions. Moreover, research has shown that the brain systems involved in self-regulation are also used to manage emotion. Therefore, when these self-regulation processes are less effective, emotions can become harder to control. Interestingly, research suggests that ADHD is linked to specific difficulties with emotion regulation. This is the case even though ADHD often occurs alongside other conditions, such as depression and anxiety, that can also make emotions harder to manage.

Overall, this research shows that ADHD is not only about attention and hyperactivity, but also about how people experience and regulate their emotions in everyday life, which can shape their mental health and ability to cope with stress and daily challenges.

Christiansen, H., Hirsch, O., Albrecht, B., & Chavanon, M. (2019). Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and emotion regulation over the life span. *Current Psychiatry Reports*, *21*(3), 17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1003-6

Experiencing emotions and regulating emotions may seem like different processes, however, they may be part of the same ongoing cycle. This paper explains that our thoughts, physiological reactions, and behaviours are constantly interacting in feedback loops that both increase and decrease emotional intensity. As a result, emotion and regulation occur at the same time, even if we are not aware of it.
One main framework within this paper is emotional flexibility, which refers to how easily we can shift between different emotions. people who are more flexible can shift their emotions depending on the situation, whereas individuals who are less flexible tend to be “stuck” experiencing certain emotions.

Additionally, there are two main types of flexibility 1) dynamic flexibility and 2) reactive flexibility. Dynamic flexibility is the ability to shift between emotions from moment-to-moment within a situation. For example, during a conflict, someone who is flexible can shift in and out of different emotional states as the interaction occurs. Reactive flexibility refers to adjusting emotions when the situation changes, for instance, being able to shift from negative to positive emotions after a conflict has ended. Importantly, flexibility is not just about shifting between emotions, but also about adjusting emotional responses depending on the situation. For instance, emotions may need to be expressed more strongly in some moments and less strongly in others.
Additionally, emotional responses are influenced by ongoing feedback from the environment. As situations change, people receive new information that can shape how they feel, meaning that effective emotion regulation involves continuously responding to this feedback. Overall, effective emotion regulation involves dynamic and reactive flexibility, meaning the ability to move between emotional states in real time and adjusting to changing situations. It’s a complex process that happens on a lot of different levels at the same time!