Predicting Emotion Regulation Strategies by Reinforcement Sensitivity in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is a pathological process in the coronary arteries that deserves special attention. This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to predict the emotion regulation strategies, i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, adopted by patients with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) using reinforcement sensitivity components, namely Behavioral Approach System (BAS), Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), fight, flight, and freeze.

To this end, 322 patients with CHD were recruited from three medical centers in Tehran, Iran. Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and Jackson-5 scales of revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory were administered to the patients, and the data were analyzed by regression analysis.

The results revealed that BAS significantly predicted cognitive reappraisal strategy and also made the strongest contribution to the explanation of expressive suppression strategy; furthermore, flight and freeze were both equally the second most significant predictors of expressive suppression.

Therefore, the interaction between emotion regulation and reinforcement sensitivity components should be considered in patients with CHD.Keywords: Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), emotion regulation, reinforcement sensitivity, patients, behavioral activation