Emotion dysregulation in misophonia: Findings from a nationally representative sample

Abstract

A core feature of misophonia is the emotional distress that occurs in response to specific sounds (e.g., slurping, pen clicking). Despite the theorized connection between emotion dysregulation and misophonia, there is very little research on this topic. Examining emotion dysregulation and identifying the specific emotion regulation deficits that are associated with worse misophonia symptoms would advance our understanding of potential transdiagnostic factors central to misophonia symptoms; thereby informing the development of more targeted interventions. The current study sought to: 1) characterize emotion dysregulation among individuals with misophonia, 2) compare emotion dysregulation between individuals with clinical and subclinical misophonia, and 3) examine the unique role of emotion dysregulation across three domains of misophonia symptoms. This study included a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (N = 4005; 51.5% female; 62.5% White, non-Hispanic). Participants completed self-report questionnaires to assess misophonia symptoms (i.e., misophonia sounds, emotional and behavioral reactions to misophonia sounds, and misophonia-related impairment), stress, and emotion dysregulation. The results revealed participants with misophonia reported significantly worse emotion regulation abilities compared to individuals with subclinical levels of misophonia. In addition, emotion dysregulation was significantly associated with sensitivity to misophonia sounds, reactions to misophonia sounds, and misophonia-related impairment, even after accounting for covariates. Results support emotion dysregulation as an important element in misophonia and suggest certain dimensions of emotion dysregulation should be considered in future research and in the evaluation of treatment strategies used to reduce misophonia symptoms.