Executive Functioning and Emotion Regulation Contributions to Social Interaction and Communication

The extent to which cognitive and emotional factors impact Adaptive Functioning (AF) among individuals in transitional living programs remains unexplored. This study examined whether Emotion Regulation (ER) mediates the relation between Executive Functioning (EF) and AF using the Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and Scales of Independent Behavior-Revised (SIB-R). Forty-three participants were recruited from a transitional independent living facility. Thirty-one participants (72.1%) were male and age ranged from 18 to 43 years [mean (SD) = 22.6 (5.0)]. EF and the Lack of Awareness subscale of the DERS were independently associated with the Social Interaction and Communication cluster of the SIB-R. Poorer performance on the WCST was significantly associated with a greater Loss of Awareness, suggesting that the ability to adopt successful cognitive strategies might improve awareness of emotional responses. Performance on the WCST was significantly positively associated with Social Interaction and Communication, indicating that perceived Social Interaction and Communication is associated with EF. Lack of Awareness did not significantly mediate the relation between EF and Social Interaction and Communication. Improving EF may contribute to better awareness of emotional experiences and better Social Interaction and Communication, particularly in individuals experiencing difficulty living independently. Future studies should further delineate relationships among EF, ER, and AF, so that neuropsychological measures can identify strengths and weaknesses in daily functioning. This could lead to more nuanced recommendations for successful Adaptive Functioning based on neuropsychological evaluations.