Emotion generation and emotion regulation: The role of emotion beliefs

Abstract

• People differ in their beliefs about how controllable and useful negative and positive emotions are. • Conceptually, these beliefs should impact progression from emotion generation to regulation. • We examined the direct and indirect effects among emotion beliefs, emotion generation, and emotion regulation. • As expected, problematic levels of negative or positive emotion were associated with emotion regulation difficulties. • These effects operated, in part, via stronger beliefs that emotions were uncontrollable or useless. Emotional dysfunction and dysregulation are defining features of affective disorders. People differ in their beliefs about how controllable and useful negative and positive emotions are, and the process model of emotion regulation postulates that such beliefs play a central role in determining how people progress from emotion generation to regulation. In this study, we aimed to examine the direct and indirect effects among emotion beliefs, emotion generation, and emotion regulation. We anticipated indirect effects between emotion generation and regulation, via beliefs about emotions. University students (N=509; 76.8% female; Mage=22.31) completed measures of emotion beliefs, generation, and regulation. Direct and indirect effects were modelled. Across both positive and negative emotions, all facets of emotion generation (reactivity, intensity, perseveration) demonstrated significant associations with emotion beliefs and/or regulation. As expected, perseveration of negative emotion was associated with difficulties regulating negative emotions, and this effect operated in part via stronger beliefs that negative emotions were uncontrollable and useless. Similarly, lower reactivity of positive emotion was associated with difficulties regulating positive emotions, and this effect operated in part via stronger beliefs that positive emotions were ncontrollable and useless. Our data were cross-sectional. Variables were assessed with trait questionnaires. These results lend preliminary support to the hypothesised role of emotion beliefs in facilitating (or hindering) the regulation of generated emotions, and highlight the importance of considering emotional valence. Case conceptualisations and treatment protocols for emotional disorders may benefit from considering beliefs about the controllability and usefulness of negative and positive emotions.