Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Strategies Research Articles

The development of a novel scale to assess intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies: The Emotion Regulation Strategy Scale (ERSS).

Existing emotion regulation research focuses on how individuals use different strategies to manage their own emotions-also called intra-personal emotion regulation. However, people often leverage connections with others to regulate their own emotions-interpersonal emotion regulation. The goal of the present studies was to develop a comprehensive and efficient scale-the Emotion Regulation Strategies Scale (ERSS)-to assess nine specific emotion regulation strategies that individuals use both intra-personally and interpersonally. These emotion regulation strategies were cognitive reappraisal, distraction, situation selection, problem solving, acceptance, calming, savoring, rumination, and expressive suppression. Data were collected between 2020 and 2022. Study 1 adopted a qualitative approach to establish original scale items. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis in Study 2 confirmed a nine-factor solution for both the intra- and the interpersonal scales and finalized scale items. A second confirmatory factor analysis in Study 3 found the ERSS for both the intra-personal and interpersonal scale models to possess good model fit. Correlations from Study 3 showed the ERSS subscales to be related in expected ways to existing emotion regulation scales, yet not redundant with these scales. The degree to which individuals used the range of intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies assessed on the ERSS also related to the levels of clinical symptoms. The ERSS represents a comprehensive novel scale that can flexibly assess a range of specific emotion regulation strategies used both intra- and interpersonally. Future work should be conducted using the ERSS cross culturally and in clinical samples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

"Let's go over it again": Examining the intra- and interpersonal processes that perpetuate co-rumination in close relationships.

Co-rumination is an interpersonal emotion regulation strategy characterized by extensive, cyclical conversations regarding the causes and consequences of problems and associated negative emotions. Theory posits that over time, interpersonal benefits of co-rumination such as emotional intimacy reinforce the behavior, outweighing the resulting negative impacts on mental health. However, our understanding of how co-rumination is perpetuated within conversations is limited. This study (conducted in 2019-2020) aims to assess perceptions of partner co-rumination and responsiveness as factors that perpetuate co-rumination to better understand the intra- and interpersonal processes that influence how co-rumination unfolds within conversations. To do this, we utilized an observational paradigm with primarily White, female, young adult friendship dyads wherein one individual (the discloser) disclosed and discussed an extradyadic problem with a close friend (the responder). Using an empathic accuracy paradigm, participants reported their own and their partner's co-rumination and responsiveness for every 30-s epoch. Results revealed biased estimations of partner co-rumination that may facilitate reciprocity of co-ruminative conversation within the dyad. Additionally, while greater perceptions of partner co-rumination were perceived as responsive by disclosers and elicited responsive behavior from responders, perceived partner responsiveness did not perpetuate co-rumination within the conversation. Together, these findings enhance our understanding of the intra- and interpersonal processes that influence how co-rumination unfolds within conversations between close friends, but they also draw attention to unanswered questions in the field regarding partner contributions to co-rumination, the nature of problems discussed, and generalizability of these findings as well as those of other extant co-rumination research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Difficulties in Interpersonal Regulation of Emotions Scale (DIRE): Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance across Gender and Two Chinese Youth Samples.

Effective interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) strategies have been found to be meaningful predictors for positive psychological functioning. The Difficulties in Interpersonal Regulation of Emotions Scale (DIRE) is a measure developed to assess maladaptive IER strategies. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of DIRE using two college student samples (Sample 1: n = 296; Sample 2: n = 419). The two-factor structure of DIRE (venting and excessive reassurance-seeking) was confirmed through an exploratory structure equation modeling approach. Our results demonstrated that the Chinese version of DIRE exhibits a similar factor structure (in both samples) as the original DIRE. Measurement invariance across gender and samples was also achieved. Latent mean analyses demonstrated that females more frequently reported excessive reassurance-seeking (in both samples) and venting (in Sample 1) than males. Furthermore, venting and excessive reassurance-seeking were significantly related to intrapersonal emotion regulation and well-being indicators. Although in Chinese culture DIRE performs somewhat differently from the original DIRE, the current findings suggest that DIRE is a reliable and valid scale with which to measure the IER strategies in Chinese culture and the use of this measure in clinical practice may allow for an accurate assessment of emotion regulation deficits in clients from other diverse cultures.

Influencing a nation: How a leader's interpersonal emotion regulation influences citizen compliance via trust and emotions during a global pandemic.

During crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary for political leaders to influence citizens to comply with public health measures and restrictions. These health measures (e.g., physical distancing, staying at home) had substantial negative effects on individuals' lives and thus were sometimes met with defensive, noncooperative responses. To influence citizens' compliance with public health guidance and nationally imposed restrictions, political leaders needed to effectively motivate them through their public communications. We argue that while negative emotions may have discouraged citizens from deviating from public health restrictions, other factors such as citizens' trust in political leaders played a role as well. We investigated whether the perception of the interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) strategies used by government leaders in ministerial briefings impacted citizens' compliance intentions via either negative affect or perceived trustworthiness. Across three studies based in Western Europe (Studies 1 and 2 survey, Study 3 experimental), we consistently found that a leader's affect-improving IER strategies increased compliance intentions via perceived trustworthiness but not via negative affect. Affect-worsening IER strategies demonstrated either no effect or an indirect worsening effect on the compliance intentions of citizens. Our findings highlight the importance of IER strategies in ministerial briefings and perceived trustworthiness of political leaders in motivating citizens to comply with public health restrictions during a pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

May I Help You? The Relationship Between Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Emotional and Relational Wellbeing in Daily Life

People often get support from others in regulating their emotions, a phenomenon known as interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). However, the relative effectiveness of specific IER strategies for improving emotional and relational wellbeing in daily life is unclear. Here, we report two preregistered, ecological momentary assessment studies, in which we examined how the use of six key IER strategies relates to emotional and relational wellbeing among romantic couples in daily life. Study 1 focused on enacted IER as reported by the regulator, whereas Study 2 focused on perceived IER as reported by the regulated partner. Using a dyadic experience sampling design (6 beeps/day for 7 days), Study 1 (N = 136) showed that when people reported to have given advice or encouraged their partner to suppress their emotions, their partners experienced impaired emotional wellbeing. When people reported to have distracted their partner, their partner experienced enhanced positive affect and felt closer to their partner. The use of interpersonal reappraisal, acceptance and ignoring was unrelated to partners’ momentary wellbeing. Using a dyadic daily diary design (1 beep/day for 12 days), Study 2 (N = 361) showed that perceptions of one’s emotions being ignored by the partner were associated with impaired emotional and relational wellbeing on the same day. The perceived use of other IER strategies was unrelated to momentary wellbeing. Taken together, the present set of studies illuminates how IER processes shape people’s emotions and relationships in ecologically valid settings. Our findings indicate that enacted and perceived regulatory behaviors are associated with differential outcomes, highlighting the complex nature of interpersonal emotion dynamics.

Attachment orientations and emotion regulation: new insights from the study of interpersonal emotion regulation strategies.

A crucial point for the understanding of the link between attachment and emotion regulation concerns the individual tendency in turning to others to alleviate distress. Most previous studies in this field have considered almost exclusively intra-personal forms of emotion regulation, neglecting the role of social interaction in emotion regulation processes. In the present study, instead, we focused on interpersonal emotion regulation. 630 adults were assessed for their attachment orientations, general difficulties in emotion regulation, and habitual intra-personal and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies. Results showed that the imbalance between the hyper-activation and deactivation of the attachment system, which characterize unsecure attachment, reflects a correspondent imbalance in the use of emotion regulation strategies, with an exaggerated dependence on other associated with attachment anxiety and pseudo-autonomy associated to attachment avoidance.

Communication modality matters: Co-rumination via in-person versus digital modalities has different prospective associations with depression and friendship quality.

Co-rumination is an interpersonal emotion regulation strategy in which negative feelings and problems are discussed perseveratively with another person. Although co-rumination is salient in adolescence, research to date has focused on co-rumination occurring in person and has not kept pace with the surge in digital communication that begins in adolescence. This study examined the degree, associations among, and consequences (i.e., depressive symptoms, and friendship quality) of adolescents' co-rumination via in-person, text, social media, and phone modalities. Adolescents (n = 109; 51 girls, 57 boys, 1 nonbinary; Mage = 12.83 years) residing in Canada, completed self-report questionnaires on co-rumination, depressive symptoms, and friendship quality for up to 2 years. Adolescents engaged in co-rumination across all modalities, particularly in-person. Findings indicated a negative association between in-person co-rumination at baseline and in-person co-rumination over time. Whereas less text co-rumination was associated with increased depressive symptoms over time, greater phone co-rumination was associated with increased depressive symptoms over time. Although greater in-person co-rumination was positively associated with friendship quality concurrently, it was negatively associated with friendship quality prospectively. Taken together, co-rumination outcomes may vary depending on communication modality. Implications for adolescents' mental and social wellbeing are discussed.

“It’s essential”: practicum supervisees’ emotion regulation challenges and their doctoral supervisors’ responses

ABSTRACT Novice supervisees inevitably experience intense emotional challenges during their practicum experience. Their supervisors often must help them manage their emotional reactions, suggesting the relevance of emotion regulation (ER) theory to supervision practice. Five doctoral supervisors described examples of their counseling practicum supervisees’ client-based (e.g. countertransference, trauma-related responses) and supervision-based (e.g. constructive feedback) ER challenges and how they responded. Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) analysis revealed supervisors responded in line with process model of ER, including individualized other-focused and interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) strategies. Findings suggest further investigations could advance supervision research and practice as well as inform ER theory.

Exploring the contribution of interpersonal emotion regulation to pre-service EFL teachers' sustainable professional development and wellbeing

There is a large body of research endorsing the role of interpersonal skills and emotion regulation in English as a foreign language teachers’ professionalism and psychological states. However, scant research has been done on pre-service EFL teachers’ interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) and the way it can contribute to their sustainable professional development (SPD) and sense of wellbeing. To bridge the gap, this qualitative study examined the perceptions of 34 Chinese pre-service EFL teachers regarding such an interplay using a semi-structured interview. The results of content and thematic analysis revealed that IER strategies used by pre-service EFL teachers had different contributions to their SPD and wellbeing by establishing ‘a supportive learning environment’, ‘strong classroom rapport’, ‘interpersonal communication’, and ‘emotional literacy’. Furthermore, it was indicated that the participants used different activities and practices to regulate and balance their IER strategies to gain SPD and wellbeing including ‘self-oriented’, ‘other-oriented’, and ‘professional development’ activities. The study ends in a discussion of the findings and presents a number of conclusions and future lines of research considering the impact of interpersonal emotions and their regulation on EFL teachers’ professionalism and wellbeing.

‘Being happy means doing it together’: Exploring the interpersonal emotion regulation of kindergarten principals

The interpersonal emotion regulation of principals has rarely been examined as an independent issue, although it has been widely recognized that educational leadership is an emotional endeavour situated in an interpersonal context. This study aimed to understand how kindergarten principals engage in interpersonal emotion regulation by examining their strategy use. A case study approach was used to collected data, and a thematic coding analysis was conducted to generalize the specific strategies adopted by 12 kindergarten principals from Hong Kong. The findings showed that the principals mainly used four types of strategies to regulate the emotions of self and others, namely, intrinsic emotion-improving, extrinsic emotion-improving, extrinsic emotion-worsening, and extrinsic emotion-suspending. Comparatively, emotion-improving strategies for both intrinsic and extrinsic regulation are the preferred choices of these kindergarten principals. This study identified a new category of interpersonal emotion regulation strategies for kindergarten principals, namely, extrinsic emotion-suspending which has rarely been examined in the literature. With these findings, this study offers fresh insights into kindergarten principals’ emotion regulation and leadership practices and extends the understanding of the role of emotions in educational leadership.

Psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in a community sample of the Portuguese population.

Intrapersonal aspects of emotion regulation have been at the forefront of research, while interpersonal aspects have received less attention. The Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ) was developed to address this issue. However, this scale was neither adapted nor validated for European Portuguese. The present study aims to adapt the IERQ to European Portuguese and explore the preliminary psychometric properties of the IERQ in a community sample, through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Construct validity was further supported by examining convergent validity with ERQ subscales. Using a cross-sectional design, individuals were recruited online. Self-report questionnaires were used, namely the IERQ and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). The four-factor structure was confirmed through CFA. IERQ subscales correlated positively with the dimensions of the ERQ of cognitive reappraisal and correlated negatively with experiential suppression. This preliminary study showed that the IERQ has adequate psychometric properties in a Portuguese sample and supports that this instrument can be used to assess interpersonal emotion regulation strategies in non-clinical samples.

Chronic tinnitus: An interplay between somatic and psychological factors

Chronic tinnitus is acommon, sometimes highly distressing phenomenon that can be triggered and maintained by an interplay of physical and psychological factors. Partnering with clinical psychology and psychosomatic medicine, modern otolaryngology integrates both medical (e.g., hearing loss) and psychological influences (e.g., interactions between biographical experiences, personality traits, subjective evaluation of intrapsychic and interpersonal stimuli, emotional states, and intrapsychic or interpersonal emotion regulation strategies). Both groups of variables can influence the intensity and course of chronic tinnitus symptomatology both directly and indirectly, whereby the quality and relative degrees of psychological and physical components in aperson's self-experience can fluctuate. With this in mind, the present article distinguishes between chronic tinnitus symptomatology with or without hearing loss-and strongly advocates for an integrated understanding of the symptomatology within aholistic psychological frame of reference. After abrief introduction to the principles of psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy, the article discusses psychological case conceptualization using avulnerability-stress-coping (VSC) model as an example, outlines clinical aspects and diagnostics of chronic tinnitus symptomatology, and concludes with aconceptualization of chronic tinnitus-related distress as afunction of person-centered VSC interactions.

Social feedback promotes positive social sharing, trust, and closeness.

Positive social sharing is an interpersonal emotion regulation strategy that enhances positive affect and social belonging, particularly when met with positive social feedback. Despite the ubiquity of positive social sharing both in person and online, what drives this behavior is not well understood. We hypothesized that positive social feedback serves as a reward that reinforces sharing behavior and strengthens social bonds. Participants made trial-by-trial choices about whether to share social media photos with peers who returned positive ("likes") or negative ("dislikes") feedback. Unbeknownst to participants, peer conditions were manipulated to yield varying amounts of positive and negative feedback. Social bonding was subsequently measured using a trust game and subjective closeness ratings. Participants shared more with peers who provided greater rates of positive feedback. This effect generalized to trust decisions and subjective feelings of closeness and varied individually as a function of interpersonal emotion regulation in daily life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Supportive Interpersonal Interactions and Affective Experiences during Exam Periods

Examinations, a salient stressor for undergraduates, arouse negative emotions that can hinder performance. Supportive social relationships may be advantageous during exam periods given that social baseline theory proposes that strong social relationships help one manage stressors effectively and efficiently. This experience sampling study examined the roles of two facets of supportive relationships, emotional closeness and interpersonal emotion regulation (ER), in daily affect around exam days and in perceived exam performance. A sample of 191 Canadian undergraduates completed baseline measures and daily prompts for one month. Baseline measures gauged emotional closeness and interpersonal ER; daily prompts assessed perceived emotional closeness, negative affect (NA), positive affect (PA), and perceptions of performance. Students demonstrated a pattern of worse affect when exams approached and an improvement of affect in the days that followed exams. Specifically, they reported higher daily NA on the two days before exam days compared to days with no recent or upcoming exams. Further, students reported lower daily NA post-exams compared to before exams. Additionally, we found lower self-reported daily PA on the two days before exams compared to days with no recent or upcoming exams, and higher daily PA post-exams compared to before exams. Notably, trait use of some interpersonal ER strategies interacted with exam period: students who reported higher use of these strategies demonstrated smaller differences in PA across the days before and after exams (e.g., smaller dip in PA before exams) compared to students who reported lower use of these strategies. We found some evidence of interpersonal ER serving a more limited role in NA during exam periods. Furthermore, most interpersonal ER strategies at baseline and emotional closeness before an exam predicted perceiving exam performance less negatively. The present findings suggest that prosocial interpersonal processes may help students better manage their subjective experiences during stressful midterm exam periods.

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Emotional Dysregulation in Male and Female Young Adults: A Qualitative Study.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been theoretically, clinically, and empirically associated with emotional dysregulation. NSSI is a means of regulating emotional states, particularly negative emotions. However, empirical studies on this topic are scarce and the literature lacks qualitative research on individuals' perceptions and comprehension of the function of self-injury. Thus, this qualitative study aimed to provide novel insights into the relationship between NSSI and emotional dysregulation in young adults. Twelve participants (mean age=22.7 years, 9 females and 3 males) from different support groups and a healthcare center participated in semi-structured interviews on NSSI-related emotional processes. Three aspects were investigated: reasons for NSSI, function of NSSI, and emotions. Each interview was voice recorded and typically lasted between 20 and 40 minutes. All responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four major themes were identified. The results showed that NSSI had both intrapersonal and interpersonal functions, within which emotional regulation played a significant role. NSSI was also used to regulate positive emotions. The results also showed a sequence of emotions among the participants, going from feeling overwhelmed to feeling relatively calm but guilty. NSSI has several functions for the same individual. Thus, it would be interesting to provide integrative therapy, such as emotion-focused therapy, which focus on improving intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation skills and strategies.

Interpersonal emotion regulation flexibility: Effects on affect in daily life.

Although the emotion regulation (ER) literature is vast, two emerging areas are particularly noteworthy. First, as opposed to the traditional blanket characterization of ER strategies as adaptive or maladaptive, theoretical models have highlighted the adaptability of greater ER flexibility (i.e., flexibly implementing ER strategies based on the context). Second, instead of focusing on how individuals independently regulate emotions, researchers are increasingly examining how ER can occur with the help of another person, a process known as interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). This study is the first to integrate these two emerging areas of research and to apply the two main theories of ER flexibility to investigate the effect of IER flexibility on negative and positive affect. A sample of 384 adults (Mage = 38.58 years, SD = 13.82) residing predominantly in North America completed this 14-day daily diary study. As expected, greater repertoire and greater responsivity to feedback were associated with more adaptive affective outcomes (i.e., less negative affect and/or more positive affect). However, unexpected findings also emerged: Greater context sensitivity did not significantly predict affect, and the covariation of within-strategy variability and environmental variability predicted higher negative affect. Findings provide initial evidence that IER adaptiveness is influenced by one's ability to flexibly implement IER strategies (i.e., IER flexibility). The results also highlight the components of IER flexibility (namely greater repertoire and responsivity to feedback) that predict daily adaptive affective consequences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

How to Improve Others’ Emotions: Reappraise and be Responsive

People often try to improve others’ emotions. However, it is unclear which interpersonal emotion regulation strategies are most effective and why. In 121 candid dyadic conversations between undergraduate students via video conferencing, target participants recounted a stressful event to regulator participants. Three strategies used by regulators during these conversations to change targets’ emotions were obtained from the regulator after the conversation: extrinsic reappraisal, extrinsic suppression, and extrinsic acceptance. Perceived regulator responsiveness was obtained from targets to examine the social consequences of extrinsic emotion regulation and its mediating role in successful extrinsic emotion regulation. We found that regulators’ extrinsic reappraisal use was associated with improved target emotions measured across two distinct classes of outcomes: targets’ emotions during the conversation and targets’ perception that the regulator improved their emotions. Regulators’ extrinsic suppression and acceptance, in contrast, were not related with improved target emotions or perceptions of improvement. Instead, all extrinsic regulatory strategies were associated with improved targets’ emotions when mediated by targets’ perceptions of regulator responsiveness. Finally, observer-ratings of regulators’ extrinsic reappraisal and suppression use were found to be consistent with regulators’ self-ratings and follow the same pattern of results on the outcome measures. These findings provide insight into why the social regulation of emotions can succeed or fail and hold implications for interventions aimed at guiding people toward more successfully improving others’ emotions.

Emotions and Emotion Regulation in Family Relationships

Research shows that emotions and emotion regulation strategies are important variables for family functioning. The aim of the present article was to review the literature on the role of emotions and emotion regulation in couple relationships and parent-child interaction. The paper presents the most important theoretical models on emotions and family functioning and provides an overview of research investigating the association of positive emotions, negative emotions and emotion regulation with family relationships outcomes. First, we provided an overview on the functionality and social function of positive and negative emotions. Second, we investigated the role of positive and negative emotions in couple relationship and parent-child interaction. Third, we emphasized the role of specific intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies in couple relationships. Finally, we outlined the role of parents in child’s emotional development. The conclusions of our review support the importance of including emotions and emotion regulation strategies in counselling programs for couples and families.

How do we regulate emotions of others in the here and now? Interpersonal emotion regulation strategies and nonverbal behaviors in immediate social interaction

How do we regulate emotions of others in the here and now? Interpersonal emotion regulation strategies and nonverbal behaviors in immediate social interaction

MOMENTARY INTERPERSONAL EMOTION REGULATION IN AN ADULT LIFESPAN SAMPLE

Abstract Older adults are theorized to maintain emotional well-being by drawing on their available resources, such as social partners who support their emotional goals. In the present study, adults (N = 290) age 25-85 completed an experience sampling procedure (6x/day for 10 days) in which they reported their current emotions and use of interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) strategies. Unexpectedly, older age was associated with lower overall use of IER strategies. Results from multilevel models indicate that within-person associations between IER strategy use and positive affect were strongest among older adults, with older adults experiencing highest positive affect on occasions where they report engaging in IER. Between-person associations between IER strategy use and negative affect were only present among younger and middle-aged adults, indicating that younger individuals who use IER more on average tend to have higher negative affect. Findings highlight the role of social partners in older adults’ emotional wellbeing.