EXPLORING THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG HUMOR STYLES, ATTACHMENT INSECURITY, EMOTION REGULATION, AND DEPRESSIVE EXPERIENCES A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the College of Education University of Houston In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by George William Poncy III March 2016 EXPLORING THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG HUMOR STYLES, ATTACHMENT INSECURITY, EMOTION REGULATION, AND DEPRESSIVE EXPERIENCES A Dissertation for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by George William Poncy III Approved by Dissertation Committee: ______________________________________ Dr. Frederick G. Lopez, Chairperson ______________________________________ Dr. Andrea Burridge, Committee Member ______________________________________ Dr. Susan X. Day, Committee Member ______________________________________ Dr. Kimberly Schoger, Committee Member ____________________________ Dr. Robert H. McPherson, Dean College of Education March 2016 EXPLORING THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG HUMOR STYLES, ATTACHMENT INSECURITY, EMOTION REGULATION, AND DEPRESSIVE EXPERIENCES An Abstract of a Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the College of Education University of Houston In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by George William Poncy III March 2016 Poncy III, George. “Exploring the interrelationships among humor styles, attachment insecurity, emotion regulation, and depressive experiences.” Unpublished Doctor of Education Dissertation, University of Houston, March 2017. Abstract Sense of humor is often considered a positive coping mechanism for the challenges of daily life. Recent research has shown not all styles of humor are adaptive; some styles are associated with positive indicators of mental health whereas others are associated with negative mental health outcomes like depression. The limited body of research in this area could benefit from a more theory-guided approach (e.g., attachment theory), as it has yielded some mixed findings. Additionally, research on the psychological correlates of humor styles has traditionally focused on unidimensional conceptualizations of depression, and has yet to focus on the possible role of emotion regulation. To address these gaps, the current study examined the interrelationships between adult attachment insecurity, internalized or externalized depressive experiences, humor styles, and dimensions of emotion regulation. Maladaptive humor styles partially mediated the relationship between attachment avoidance and self-criticism, and the relationship between attachment anxiety and dependency-related depression. Additionally, several models indicated that factors of emotion regulation moderated the partial mediation effects of maladaptive humor styles (e.g., cognitive reappraisal moderated the indirect effect of aggressive humor in the relationship between attachment anxiety and dependency). Results have important implications for future research and clinical practice. iv Table of Contents Chapter Page Chapter I Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 The Relationship Between Humor Styles and Depression ............................................. 7 An Attachment-Based Theoretical Perspective on the Relation of Humor Styles and Depression .................................................................................................................... 14 Emotion Regulation as a Moderator of the Relationships Between Adult Attachment Orientations, Humor Styles, and Depressive Experiences ........................................... 21 The Present Study ......................................................................................................... 30 Chapter II Methodology .................................................................................................... 39 Participants and Procedure ............................................................................................ 39 Measures ....................................................................................................................... 40 Design and Analysis ..................................................................................................... 44 Chapter III Results ............................................................................................................ 46 Correlational Analyses .................................................................................................. 46 Mediation Analysis: The Relationship Between Avoidance and Self-Criticism-Related Depression .................................................................................................................... 47 Mediation Analysis: The Relationship Between Anxiety and Dependency-Related Depression .................................................................................................................... 48 Moderated Mediation Analysis: Expressive Suppression as a Moderator ................... 49 Moderated Mediation Analysis: Cognitive Reappraisal ............................................... 51 Moderated Mediation Analysis: Attitudes Toward Expressive Suppression ............... 55 Chapter IV Discussion ...................................................................................................... 58 Correlational Analyses .................................................................................................. 58 Mediational Analyses ................................................................................................... 59 Moderated Mediation Analysis ..................................................................................... 62 Overall Implications ..................................................................................................... 68 Limitations, Clinical Implications, and Directions for Future Research ...................... 70 References ......................................................................................................................... 74 Appendix A Tables ........................................................................................................... 84 Appendix B Figures .......................................................................................................... 86 Appendix C Questionnaires .............................................................................................. 89 Demographic Questionnaire ......................................................................................... 90 Experiences in Close Relationships .............................................................................. 91 The Humor Styles Questionnaire .................................................................................. 93 Depressive Experiences Questionnaire ......................................................................... 95 Attitudes Toward Emotional Expression Scale ............................................................ 99 The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire ..................................................................... 101 Appendix D Final Approval for Human Subjects Research ........................................... 102 v List of Tables Table Page 1. The Mediation Effects of Maladaptive Humor Styles on the Relationship Between Attachment Avoidance and Self-criticism ................................................................ 48 2. The Mediation Effects of Maladaptive Humor Styles on the Relationship Between Attachment Anxiety and Dependency ...................................................................... 48 3. The Conditional Indirect Effects of Self-defeating Humor in the Relationship Between Attachment Avoidance and Self-criticism at Values of Expressive Suppression ..... 50 4. The Conditional Indirect Effects of Aggressive Humor on the Relationship Between Attachment Avoidance and Self-criticism at Values of Cognitive Reappraisal ....... 52 5. The Conditional Indirect Effects of Aggressive and Self-defeating Humor on the Relationship Between Attachment Anxiety and Dependency at Values of Cognitive Reappraisal ................................................................................................................ 55 6. The Conditional Indirect Effects of Aggressive Humor on the Relationship Between Attachment Anxiety and Dependency at Values of AEE ......................................... 57 vi List of Figures Figure Page 1. The interaction effect of attachment avoidance and expressive suppression on self- defeating humor ........................................................................................................ 49 2. The interaction effect of attachment avoidance and cognitive reappraisal on aggressive humor ........................................................................................................................ 52 3. The interaction effect of attachment anxiety and cognitive reappraisal on aggressive humor ........................................................................................................................ 53 4. The interaction effect of attachment anxiety and cognitive reappraisal on self-defeating humor ........................................................................................................................ 54 5. The interaction effect of attachment anxiety and AEE on aggressive humor ............... 56 vii Chapter I Introduction A common American expression is that “laughter is the best medicine.” Among both the