Emotion regulation and affective experience among extremely low birth weight adult survivors in their 30's

Although emotion regulatory processes and affective experiences have been explored among extremely low birth weight (ELBW; < 1000 g) survivors in childhood, little is known about these processes among ELBW survivors in adulthood. Furthermore, still less is known about whether ELBW survivors with neurosensory impairments (NSI) differ in emotion regulatory processes than ELBW survivors without NSI. Participants comprised 100 ELBW survivors (80 without NSI and 20 with NSI) and 89 normal birth weight (NBW) controls matched on age, familial socioeconomic status, and sex in childhood who were prospectively followed into adulthood. At age 30-35 years, participants completed self-report measures, including the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and the Affective Styles Questionnaire. ELBW survivors reported significantly less positive affect than NBW participants. As well, ELBW survivors with NSI reported a higher tolerance of negative emotions and more concealment of emotions from others compared to ELBW individuals without NSI. These findings of differential emotion regulatory processes and affective experiences in ELBW and NBW may underlie increased rates of psychopathology observed among some ELBW adult survivors.