Investigation of the Relationships Between Sensitivity to Reinforcement Traits and Emotion Dysregulation

Background and Aim: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between RST traits and emotion dysregulation include social anxiety, general anxiety, and depression in a student. Materials and methods: 189 students studying at one of the public universities in Tehran were selected by convenience sampling method and then the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and Punishment Sensitivity Questionnaire and Reward sensitivity were distributed among them to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS-26 software using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. Results: Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there is a significant relationship between punishment and reward sensitivity and symptoms of emotional dysregulation. Also, multiple regression analysis showed that reward and punishment sensitivity can predict emotion dysregulation. Conclusion: Punishment hypersensitivity and reward hyposensitivity was found to be a higher-order, shared factor for emotion dysregulation include depression, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety. These results, emphasizing the role of behavioral activation as a technique that increases reward pursuit by the individual, suggest that this technique can increase reward-seeking and thus improve emotional regulation.