Investigation of the effect of emotion regulation psycho-education program in interpersonal relationships on the dimensions of interpersonal relationship and emotion regulation skills levels of young adults

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the Emotion Regulation Psychoeducation Program on the interpersonal relationship dimensions and emotion regulation skills of young adults. In this study, multiphase mixed methods design, one of the mixed research methods, was used. In the first phase of the study, the emotions that young adults often experience in their interpersonal relationships, their emotion regulation styles, the effects and consequences of emotion regulation or dysregulation, and their needs for emotion regulation were investigated using document analysis. Based on the findings obtained from the document analysis study, related approaches and research findings in the literature, a psychoeducation program for young adults was developed. The psychoeducation program was developed by the researcher by bringing different approaches and models together in an eclectic and systematic manner. In the second phase, a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test with control group, was used to investigate the effect of the psychoeducation program on the emotion regulation skills and interpersonal relationship dimensions of young adults. In the third phase, the long-term effects of the psychoeducation program on young adults were investigated through focus group interview, one of the qualitative research methods. In the first phase of the study, a convenience sampling method was used and a total of 71 young adults, 58 women (81,69%) and 13 men (18,31%), participated in the research. In the qualitative research at the first phase of the study, the online form for emotion regulation needs in interpersonal relationships was used. The criterion sampling method was used to determine the study group of the quantitative research in the second phase. This study was conducted with a total of 20 young adults, 8 in the experimental group and 12 in the control group. The data for the experimental research in the second phase, were collected with the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Scale of Interpersonal Relationships Dimensions and the Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire. The focus group interview at the third phase was conducted with 7 participants in the experimental group who participated the psychoeducation program. The focus group interview form was used in the last phase of the research. The qualitative data obtained from the qualitative researches carried out in the first and third phases of the study were analyzed through content analysis. Fridman test, Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and Mann Whitney U test, which are non-parametric tests, were used to test the hypotheses of the quantitative research in the second stage. The findings obtained from the document analysis in the first phase of the research are grouped under four categories namely: emotions experienced in interpersonal relationships, emotion regulation styles, effects and results of emotion regulation, and needs. As a result of the experimental research carried out in the second phase; it was determined that the psychoeducation program was effective on increasing the use of the cognitive reappraisal strategy, emotion regulation skills, the level of empathy and emotional awareness, and decreasing the level of expressive suppression strategy use. However, it was found that the psychoeducation program was not effective in reducing the level of approval-dependence in interpersonal relationships and increasing the level of trust in others. Results of the focus group interview showed that, the psychoeducation program had long-term effects on emotion regulation, interpersonal relationships and self. Keywords: Interpersonal relationships, emotion regulation, young adult, psychoeducation program, mixed method research.