[Dysfunctional emotion regulation as a basic factor of anxiety and depressive disorders in adolescents].

OBJECTIVE: Depression and anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders in adolescents and show high comorbidity. The aim of the current study was to investigate emotion regulation as a conjoint as well as restricting factor.
METHODS: Matched samples of depressive and anxious adolescents and a control group (12-16 years; n = 60) were compared for their emotion regulation. Analyses of variance and t-tests were used to analyse group differences in emotion regulation. Individual differences in regulation strategies between the two types of disorders were analysed exploratorily.
RESULTS: Results indicate more dysfunctional emotion regulation in anxious and depressive adolescents compared to a control group. Neither dysfunctional emotion regulation in sum, nor single strategies differentiated between the two disorder groups.
CONCLUSION: Identification and modification of dysfunctional emotion regulation in anxious and depressive adolescents can support future prevention and intervention. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.