Comparison of cognitive emotion regulation strategies, attachment styles, self-expression and locus of control in runaway and normal girls

Dissertation for receiving a master's degree in the field of general psychology

Abstract:

The purpose of this research was to compare cognitive emotion regulation strategies, attachment styles, self-expression and locus of control in runaway and normal girls. The research method in this study was causal-comparative. The subjects included 36 girls (18 runaway girls and 18 normal girls). The group of runaway girls were selected as available and normal girls were selected by cluster method and they answered the questions of the short form tests of cognitive emotion regulation strategies, Collins and Reed attachment styles, Schering's self-expression and Rother's locus of control. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance, independent t and chi-square tests. The results showed that there is a significant difference between the strategies of positive refocusing, refocusing on planning, and blaming others in runaway and normal girls, but there is no significant difference in the strategies of self-blame, rumination, acceptance, positive reappraisal, perspective taking, and catastrophizing. The results showed that runaway girls have lower self-expression compared to normal girls. Also, runaway girls often have an external source of control and normal girls often have an internal source of control. It can be said that the type of cognitive strategy that girls use to regulate emotions can be a preventive factor in the behavior of running away from home. The ability to express thoughts and feelings can also reduce the risk of running away. On the other hand, the type of evaluation of a person is effective in influencing life events in the behavior of girls running away from home. Keywords: cognitive emotion regulation strategies, attachment styles, self-expression, source of control, runaway girls. Sudden and widespread changes that occur in all aspects of adolescent life create a critical stage, which will naturally bring problems and inconsistencies. Adolescence is the time of hairdressing, risk-taking and opportunism. Although most young people pass the transition from adolescence successfully and without facing significant problems, many risky behaviors such as delinquency, drug use, sex, etc. increase during this period. Teenagers from the second decade of their lives are potentially at risk of delinquent behavior, which sometimes causes them to deviate from the right path of life and turn to deviant actions; Therefore, identifying factors that prevent juvenile delinquency has an important impact on improving the education of competent youth. Running away from home is a crime, which is done for various reasons and motivations. The phenomenon of girls running away from home, which has been increasing in society in recent years, is one of the categories of social damage, which requires strong social management and interventionist presence in the process of social damage. Dealing with the issue of social damages, especially regarding girls and women, requires the use of an attitude that has the ability to identify the fabric of social inconsistencies. Regarding the causes of social damage phenomena, sociologists have considered most of the social factors, they believe that if a healthy social environment and a thriving culture are created, considerable immunity and prevention can be created to reduce social damage, so social, economic and other factors. It has a significant effect in creating them. But in addition to these factors, personality traits and individual motivation also play a very important role in creating this problem, which has been investigated in this research. Entering this new stage makes the teenager face many problems. Now, if the factors affecting the formed personality are such that they help him in finding his identity, acute problems will not arise, but if these factors intensify the crisis, the susceptible and vulnerable teenager will be pushed towards abnormality or delinquency (Ahadi, Mohseni, 1370).

Running away from home is a type of uncompromising behavior that a child or teenager, in order to get rid of problems at home or attractions outside the home, without the permission of parents or legal guardians.

     The important issue in this process is that a runaway teenager is not someone who secretly leaves the house at night to be with his friends. In running away, the person leaves the house to never return. The escape of these people can be short, temporary or permanent and continuous (Connor [1], 2001). As long as these children live in the homes of their own friends and relatives, the danger is not very deep. But when they choose the street as their home, the matter enters a complicated and dangerous phase. Because 75% of these people turn to theft, drugs and abnormal behavior within 2-3 weeks (Lin[2], 2002).

family culture, parenting methods, divorce, death and poverty, rejection, inconsistency with values, escape from physical and sexual injuries, addiction, relationships, sexual unrestrainedness and other risky behaviors, leave their homes (Connor, 2001). The researches conducted in this field are mostly from a sociological perspective, so that the answer to many questions remains unclear and the basic question in this field is that What role do psychological factors play in the escape of girls? The psychological factors investigated in this research are: cognitive emotion regulation strategies, attachment styles, self-expression and control source. The first variable investigated in this research is the cognitive emotion regulation strategies. The general concept of cognitive regulation of emotion implies a cognitive method of manipulating the input of emotion-invoking information. In other words, cognitive emotion regulation strategies refer to the way people think after a negative experience or a traumatic event (Hosni, Azad Fallah, Rasulzadeh Tabatabai and Eshairi, 2017). Researchers have introduced 9 cognitive strategies in regulating emotions: self-blame, acceptance, rumination, positive refocusing, refocusing on planning, positive re-evaluation, perspective taking, catastrophizing and blaming others (Yousefi, 2015). Emotion regulation plays an important role in our adaptation to stressful life events (Gross [4], 1998). Also, research results show that people's ability to effectively regulate emotions affects psychological happiness, physical health, and interpersonal relationships and social interactions (Gross, 1999). Van Oden Heerne and Vanderzee [5] (2002) in examining the ability to adapt positively to situations, considered the ability to regulate emotions in the face of conflicts and pressures to be the most important factors of intercultural adaptation. Many evidences prove that people with emotional skills; That is, those who know their emotions well, regulate them, and understand the emotions of others and deal with them effectively, are successful and efficient in various areas of life (Yariari, Moradi, Yahyazadeh, 2016).   

    Disturbance in emotional regulation is also a predictor of a person's psychological damage in the future (Abbott [6], 2005), and a key and important factor in the emergence of depression and anxiety (Beauregard, Lusko and Bargun [7], 2001), interpersonal sensitivities and social isolation (Isenberg, 2001; quoted by Ahmadi, Baghban, Bahrami and Salehi, 2013), delinquency, violence and behavior is aggressive (Beauregard et al., 2001).

Abdi, Babapour and Fathi (2009) showed that there is a direct correlation between adaptive cognitive emotion regulation styles (positive refocusing, positive reappraisal, and refocusing on planning) and general health, and there is an inverse correlation between maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation styles (catastrophizing, blaming others, and rumination) and general health.

  Another variable that is examined in this research is attachment styles. There is no doubt that a child's early experiences affect the broad dimensions of his future life. Mother and child are two beings whose lives are wonderfully connected. A connection so close that strangely it can be the origin of two completely opposite influences on the formation of human personality. On the one hand, it can turn the child into a complete, developed and normal human being, and on the other hand, if this relationship is destroyed, it can lead to all kinds of mental disorders and then all kinds of mental suffering for oneself and others.