Emotion regulation in relation with resilience in emerging adults: The mediating role of self-esteem

Abstract

The transitional period of emerging adulthood can cause a lot of stress to the individuals due to the multiple life changes and the social pressure. Efficient emotion regulation and resilience can be proven important qualities in the face of stressors during this period. The aim of the present study was to test a path analytic model accounting for emerging adults’ resilience that takes into account emotion regulation strategies (e.g., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and self-esteem. Also, two alternative models with reverse ordering of the variables to examine the theoretical possibility of reverse causation were formulated and tested. The sample consisted of 390 university students (70.8% females and 29.2% males) with mean age 20.64 years (± 1.83). The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) were used to assess emotion regulation, self-esteem, and resilience, respectively. The results indicated that resilience was correlated positively with cognitive reappraisal and negatively with expressive suppression. Self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and resilience, and fully mediated the association of expressive suppression with resilience. Thus, cognitive reappraisal had a positive direct and indirect effect on resilience through the mechanism of self-esteem, while expressive suppression had a negative indirect effect on resilience through the mechanism of self-esteem. Alternative directions of causality with reverse ordering of the variables were not supported. These findings suggest that efficient regulation of emotions can boost self-esteem, which in turn makes individuals capable of responding adaptively to stress. Implications for enhancing self-esteem among individuals experiencing multiple stressors during emerging adulthood are discussed.