Effects of a Brief Emotion Regulation Intervention with Biofeedback in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder: A Quasi-Experimental Study Based on Gross's Emotion Regulation Theory

Purpose: This study assessed the impact of a brief emotion regulation program incorporating biofeedback, grounded in Gross's Emotion Regulation Theory, on psychological and physiological outcomes in patients with Alcohol Use Disorder. Key variables included abstinence self-efficacy, perceived stress, anger rumination, alexithymia, and physiological attention concentration. Methods: Utilizing a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest quasiexperimental design, 42 inpatients with Alcohol Use Disorder were recruited from two psychiatric hospitals and divided into an experimental group (n=21) and a control group (n=21). The intervention consisted of weekly sessions lasting 60 minutes over four weeks, combining biofeedback-based attention training with emotion regulation strategies, including situation modification, emotional awareness, cognitive reappraisal, and emotional expression. Outcome variables were assessed before and after the intervention, and data were analyzed using appropriate parametric and non-parametric tests in SPSS 27.0. Results: Following the intervention, the experimental group exhibited significant improvements in perceived stress (z=-3.91, p<.001), anger rumination (t=-8.25, p<.001), alexithymia (t=-2.80, p=.008), and abstinence self-efficacy (t=2.73, p=.011). Additionally, physiological attention concentration showed significant enhancement (t=-2.61, p=.017). Conclusion: This Gross theory-based program has the potential to inform effective psychiatric nursing interventions aimed at reducing relapse risk in individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder.