University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Affect regulation strategies, resilience, and neural mechanisms: evidence from cross-sectional and intervention studies

Hohl, Kelly Marie

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130205

Description

Title
Affect regulation strategies, resilience, and neural mechanisms: evidence from cross-sectional and intervention studies
Author(s)
Hohl, Kelly Marie
Issue Date
2025-07-17
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
  • Dolcos, Florin
  • Dolcos, Sanda
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Dolcos, Florin
Committee Member(s)
  • Fairbairn, Catharine
  • Berenbaum, Howard
  • Kwapil, Thomas
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • resilience
  • emotion control
  • affect regulation
  • cognitive flexibility
  • coping
  • training
Abstract
Adverse experiences and emotional challenges are inherent aspects of life. Importantly, people vary in how they respond to such challenges, faring across outcomes that are either better or worse than expected. The ideal outcome is resilience, which emphasizes one’s ability to overcome or positively adapt to adverse circumstances and is linked to mental health benefits. Therefore, I am interested in investigating and advocating for ways in which individuals can protect themselves against distress and achieve resilience. The present research consists of a series of studies aimed to: a) identify helpful affect regulation strategies and psychological mechanisms for resilience in the context of a unique stressor – the COVID-19 pandemic (Chapter 2); b) consider the operationalization and measurement of cognitive flexibility as an important component of resilience (Chapter 3); and c) assess the effectiveness of a cognitive-emotional training intervention incorporating the flexible use of affect regulation strategies (Chapter 4). As this is an evolving field of research, these studies contribute to the field by providing novel findings, integrating coping and emotion regulation approaches, and implementing a combination of methodologies. Findings from the current research have important implications for identifying protective affect regulation strategies, utilizing cognitive flexibility, and informing the development of targeted interventions to enhance resilience.
Graduation Semester
2025-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130205
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2025 Kelly Hohl

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