The Assessments of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies and Emotional Schemas in Spouses of People with Substance Abuse and Spouses of Normal People

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Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to assess the cognitive emotion regulation strategies and emotional schemas in spouses of people with substance abuse and spouses of normal people.
Method: 30 spouses of patients with substance abuse selected by available sampling method and were matched with 30 spouses of normal people. Two groups completed cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (Garnefski, Kraaij & Spinhoven, 2001) and emotional schemas questionnaire (Leahy, 2002). In order to analysis data Multiravriat Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used.
Results: The results indicated that the maen of score of spouses of people with substance abuse in self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing and other blame maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and rumination, guilt, uncontrollable, blame and demands for rationality emotional schemas were more than spouses of normal people. In positive refocusing, refocus on planning, positive reappraisal and putting into perspective adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and expression, acceptance of feeling and comprehensibility emotional schemas spouses of normal people aquired more scores than spouses of people with substance abuse.
Conclusion: Spouses of people with substance abuse in order to manage emotions come from stressful situations use from maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and emotional schemas. Using these maladaptive strategies can put them at risk of mental problems and marital conflicts.

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