Emotion Processes Predicting Outbursts and Functional Impact in Misophonia.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Misophonia is characterized by a reduced tolerance to specific sounds, often leading to distress and emotional dysregulation.
• Individuals with misophonia may experience aggressive outbursts and significant functional impairments in daily life.
• The interplay between misophonia-specific and general emotional processes in predicting these outcomes requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between misophonia-specific cognitive and emotional processes and misophonic outbursts and functional impact.
• To determine if non-misophonia-specific emotion processes mediate the relationship between misophonia and its outcomes.
• To explore the predictive roles of anxiety symptoms, disgust sensitivity, depression, and beliefs about emotions in misophonia.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 703 participants, with 315 self-reporting misophonia.
• Utilized validated measures for misophonia, depression, anxiety symptoms, anxiety and disgust sensitivity, interoception, and emotion beliefs.
• Employed exploratory correlation, regression analyses, and multiple linear regression to test mediation models.

Main Results:

• Externalizing appraisals were positively associated with misophonic outbursts, partially mediated by anxiety symptoms and disgust sensitivity.
• A sense of emotional threat in misophonia predicted functional impact, partially mediated by depression symptoms and negative emotion beliefs.
• Anxiety sensitivity and interoception did not emerge as significant independent predictors of outbursts or functional impact.

Conclusions:

• Emotional processes, both specific and general, play a crucial role in the manifestation of misophonia outbursts and functional impact.
• Findings underscore the importance of a multi-dimensional approach to understanding and potentially treating misophonia.
• Targeting cognitive appraisals and emotional regulation strategies may be beneficial for individuals with misophonia.