Emotional regulation and dependencies: a study on university students.

• Grant number: 24/10144-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2024
• Effective date (End): August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Human Development Psychology
• Principal Investigator: André Luiz Monezi Andrade
• Grantee: Ana Claudia Fernandes Cardoso Lamas
• Host Institution: Escola de Ciências da Vida (ECV). Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas (PUC-CAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The use of drugs and behavioral addictions are psychopathologies strongly associated with both biological and social aspects. In this case, they share similarities with characteristics associated with the capacity for emotional regulation in different life contexts. This occurs because these characteristics are mediated by specific brain regions that are also part of the reward circuit and can be altered by an increase in the release of neurotransmitters (reward hypersensitivity). Especially during youth, these neurochemical changes can be exacerbated by these stimuli, which may increase the severity of both drug use and the intensity of behavioral addictions. In this sense, the study of aspects related to emotional regulation is relevant, as it can help explain an increase in the severity of these patterns.