Teens who can describe negative emotions can stave off depression

Teens who can describe negative emotions can stave off depression

Sandra Knispel

Teenagers who can describe their negative emotions in precise and nuanced ways are better protected against depression than their peers who can't. That's the conclusion of a new study about negative emotion differentiation, or NED—the ability to make fine-grained distinctions between negative emotions and apply precise labels— published in the journal Emotion.

"Adolescents who use more granular terms such as 'I feel annoyed,' or 'I feel frustrated,' or 'I feel ashamed'—instead of simply saying 'I feel bad'—are better protected against developing increased depressive symptoms after experiencing a stressful life event," explains lead author Lisa Starr, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Rochester.

Those who score low on negative emotion differentiation tend to describe their feelings in more general terms such as "bad" or "upset." As a result, they are less able to benefit from useful lessons encoded in their negative emotions, including the ability to develop coping strategies that could help them regulate how they feel.