Building Coherence and Increasing Emotion Regulation Flexibility Towards Resilience: An Experimental Study in Singapore

Although numerous agencies in Singapore have recently taken active steps in promoting the importance of emotion regulation and resilience building, there is a paucity of publication on such intervention programs. The purpose of this quantitative experimental study, the first in Singapore, was to examine the effectiveness of the HeartMath System (HMS). Thirty-four healthy participants from all walks of life in Singapore participated and were randomly assigned to the intervention group and the wait-list group. All participants completed the pre- and post- assessments, and the intervention group received a 2.5-h workshop and practiced the HMS for 13 days. The findings were examined with a 2 × 2 mixed factorial MANOVA, univariate analyses, paired sample t-tests, and a Pearson correlational coefficient analysis between heart rate variability (HRV) measurements, personal and organization quality assessment (POQA-R4), sense of coherence (SOC-13), and Zimbardo time perspective inventory (ZTPI). Results showed significant multivariate interactions in HRV (p < .001), SOC-13 (p < .05), and ZTPI (p < .05) measures, all with very large effect sizes. Significant condition x time univariate interactions were observed in five 5-min resting HRV, three 3-min stress-preparation HRV, Relational Tension, Total SOC, SOC (Manageability), BTP (Balanced Time Perspective), PF (Present Fatalistic), and PN (Past Negative), all with very large effect sizes. There were noticeable directional changes and very large effect sizes observed in POQA-R4. Correlational analyses revealed that participants with higher HRV, SOC, and BTP experienced reduced stress and increased resilience. The current findings support the use of the HMS, a research-based resilience-building program consisting of simple, practical techniques that Singaporeans can use "in-the-moment" and "on-the-go," to help them build coherence and increase emotion regulation flexibility towards resilience.