Mood specific media use and emotion regulation: Patterns and individual differences

Abstract

The present study examines moods in which individuals are most likely to utilize various forms of entertainment media and the emotion regulation tendencies that are associated with such preferences. Results of a questionnaire study ( n = 229) show that mood specific media use may be captured by three factors: turning to media in a positive mood, in a negative mood or in a bored mood. Findings also show that various forms of difficulty regulating emotion (e.g., feeling out of control when upset) predict media use in negative or bored moods only. More specific analyses show that music use in negative moods is predicted by both positive indices (e.g., reflection tendencies) and negative indices of emotion regulation (e.g., rumination tendencies), while television use in negative moods is only predicted by negative indices of emotion regulation. Results are discussed in light of the psychological needs that selective media use may serve.