The moderating role of the late positive potential in the link between attachment anxiety and emotion regulation difficulties

Introduction: Understanding how adults experience and regulate their emotions is strongly linked to attachment orientations. Numerous studies indicate emotional regulation difficulties in both attachment avoidance and anxiety. Additionally, emotional Event-Related Potentials (ERPs), such as the Late Positive Potential (LPP), reveal the process of emotional information at the cerebral level, and thus, LPP is commonly used in studies examining emotion regulation processes. For instance, when individuals are asked to use cognitive strategies to increase, maintain, or decrease their emotional responses to stimuli, changes in LPP amplitude can reflect the effectiveness of these regulation strategies. However, little is known about the potential moderating effect of the LPP during the implementation of emotional regulation strategies in the relationship between attachment dimensions and emotional dysregulation. To address this oversight, the purpose of the present study was to examine the association between both dimensions of attachment, anxiety and avoidance, and emotional dysregulation, as well as the moderating role of the LPP during the induced implementation of cognitive reappraisal. Methods: Brain activity was recorded using EEG from n = 63 adults while they performed a task in which they were instructed to either reappraise or suppress emotions elicited by unpleasant images. To assess the associations between LPP, emotional dysregulation, and attachment orientations, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Spanish version (DERS-E) and the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire (ECR-12) were used. Results: Interestingly, we found that greater LPP amplitudes during reappraisal implementation intensified the association between attachment anxiety and emotional regulation difficulties. Conversely, this relationship was non-significant under lower levels of LPP amplitude-Providing supporting evidence for the moderating role of LPP. Discussion: Our results highlight how attachment anxiety can influence the ability to regulate emotions. This study provides new insights into how variations in LPP contribute to the effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies.