Differential Associations between Strategies of Emotion Regulation and Facets of Grit in College Students and Adults

Abstract

According to socioemotional selectivity theory, motivation influences emotion regulation. Grit is a motivation orientation defined by the passionate pursuit of long-term goals. We conducted two studies to determine the relation between facets of grit and two emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. In Study 1, we examined the relation between these variables in college students (20–24 year olds), and Study 2 focused on community adults (25–72 year olds). Facets of grit were assessed using the Short Grit Scale and habitual use of emotion regulation strategies was assessed using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. We combined data from both studies and conducted regression analyses to examine the role of each facet of grit, participant’s age, and the interaction between age and facets of grit in the habitual use of either reappraisal or suppression as strategies to regulate emotions. The regression analyses revealed that both facets of grit were positively associated with reappraisal regardless of age. However, the facets of grit differed in their associations with expressive suppression. Grit-Consistency was negatively associated with expressive suppression, regardless of age. But, a significant interaction effect with participant’s age emerged for Grit-Perseverance. Specifically, Grit-Perseverance was positively associated with expressive suppression only in individuals below the age of 31. Overall, the data suggest that the relations between facets of grit and habitual use of emotion regulation strategy may vary with age. Additionally, our work indicates adults with high levels of grit may experience healthy emotional functioning, particularly later in adulthood.