The role of emotional control in the regulation of mood in parents of children with mucopolysaccharidosis.

The aim of our study was to evaluate whether, on the basis of variables related to emotional control, we can anticipate mood change in parents of chronically ill children. Fifty-four parents of children with diagnosed mucopolysaccharidosis participated in the study that was carried out during a rehabilitation programme for children with rare metabolic diseases. To assess emotional control, a Polish adaptation of the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale was used, and mood was measured with the UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist (UMACL). Mood was assessed twice, at an interval of 8 days, on the dimensions of hedonic tone, tense arousal and energetic arousal. The baseline level of each mood dimension accounted for about 30% of the mood variance measured after 8 days. After excluding the part of the mood variance associated with the baseline level, the variables related to emotional control appeared to be significant predictors of the mood assessed 8 days later. For hedonic tone, variables related to emotional control explained 15% of the variance; for tense arousal, it was 14% of the variance; and for energetic arousal, it was 10% of the variance. Depending on the type of emotion and the degree of control, differences in tendencies to respond with a particular mood were observed.