Emotional Distress Research: A Narrative Review

In this review of 2024-2025 literature on emotional distress, the prevalence of emotional distress has ranged from 26% of adolescents in the U.S. to 28% in Zimbabwe adolescents to more than half the population in 20 countries and has been said to be increasing. Negative effects of emotional distress have included decreased emotional stability, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, mental and physical changes, mental disorders, cannabis use, non-suicidal self-injury and suicidality. External risk factors/predictors of emotional distress have included parents’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors, adverse childhood experiences and pandemic problems. Internal problems have included less self-compassion, eco-anxiety, negative views about aging, negative perceptions about death and death anxiety. Negative behaviors include emotion regulation problems, excessive social media use and gaming. fMRIs have shown decreased activation in the anterior cingulate cortex, the insula and the parietal area in those experiencing emotional distress. Emotional intelligence and resilience have buffered the negative effects of emotional distress, and mindfulness and emotion-focused interventions have reduced emotional distress. Methodological limitations of this literature include the almost exclusive appearance of cross-sectional, self-report studies.