Role Of Emotion Regulation Strategies Research Articles

The effect of justice sensitivity on malevolent creativity: the mediating role of anger and the moderating role of emotion regulation strategies

Backgroundthe AMORAL model emphasizes the close connection of individuals’ belief system and malevolent creativity. Belief in a just world theory (BJW) states that people have a basic need to believe that the world they live in is just, and everyone gets what they deserve. Therefore, justice matters to all people. Justice sensitivity, as one of individual trait, has been found associated with negative goals. However, relevant studies have not tested whether justice sensitivity can affect malevolent creativity and its psychological mechanisms. Additionally, researchers have found that both anger and emotion regulation linked with justice sensitivity and malevolent creativity, but their contribution to the relationship between justice sensitivity and malevolent creativity remained unclear. The current study aims to explore the influence of justice sensitivity on malevolent creativity, the mediating effect of trait anger/state anger on the relationship between justice sensitivity and malevolent creativity, and the moderating effect of emotion regulation on this mediating effect.MethodsA moderated mediating model was constructed to test the relationship between justice sensitivity and malevolent creativity. A sample of 395 Chinese college students were enrolled to complete the questionnaire survey.ResultsJustice sensitivity positively correlated with malevolent creativity, both trait anger and state anger partly mediated the connection between justice sensitivity and malevolent creativity. Moreover, emotion regulation moderated the indirect effect of the mediation model. The indirect effect of justice sensitivity on malevolent creativity through trait anger/state anger increased as the level of emotion regulation increased. The results indicated that justice sensitivity can affect malevolent creativity directly and indirectly through the anger. The level of emotion regulation differentiated the indirect paths of justice sensitivity on malevolent creativity.ConclusionsJustice sensitivity and malevolent creativity was mediated by trait anger/state anger. The higher sensitivity to justice, the higher level of trait anger/state anger, which in turn boosted the tendency of malevolent creativity. This indirect connection was moderated by emotion regulation, individuals with high emotion regulation are better able to buffer anger from justice sensitivity.

The mediation role of emotion regulation strategies on the relationship between mindfulness effects, psychological well-being and distress among youths: findings from a randomized controlled trial

AbstractThe Gaia program is a 12-week mindfulness intervention based on cultivating body, emotional, and ecological self-awareness, which has been shown to be effective in reducing children’s and adolescents’ internalizing problems, and improving psychological well-being, and psychological distress in early adolescents. To clarify the psychological processes underlying mindfulness effects on mental health among adolescents, the present study aimed to examine whether emotion regulation strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) may be considered as key processes linking the Gaia program effects to improvements in psychological distress and well-being. A total of 361 adolescents (mean age 14 years) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the Gaia program (i.e., experimental group; N = 210) and waiting list (i.e., control group; N = 151). Measures were administered at three time points, approximately every three months: one week before treatment, one week after treatment, and three months after treatment. Using a structural equation model (SEM), we found that the Gaia Program had a positive and significant indirect effect on psychological well-being only via cognitive reappraisal as measured at follow-up [B = 0.181, 95% C.I. (0.012; 0.395)], whereas no significant indirect effects were found on psychological distress through cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Findings from this study provide evidence of key emotional processes underlying the effects of a mindfulness intervention on positive but not negative psychological outcomes.

Mindfulness trait and the potential mediating role of emotional regulation strategies in bipolar disorder.

Mindfulness trait and the potential mediating role of emotional regulation strategies in bipolar disorder.

INVESTIGATING LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ EMOTION REGULATION STRATEGIES VIA ACHIEVEMENT EMOTIONS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING CONTEXTS

This study investigates the role of emotion regulation strategies on achievement emotions among tertiary-level English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students. It also explores the strategies employed by students to regulate these emotions. Employing a mixed-method sequential explanatory design, data was collected from forty-nine language learners attending prep-classes at the Department of Foreign Languages in a state university in Türkiye. The participants were categorized based on their utilization of cognitive reappraisal (CR), expressive suppression (ES), or a combination of both emotion regulation strategies (ERSs). They completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Academic Emotions Questionnaire-Foreign Language Classroom to assess differences in achievement emotions among groups. Subsequently, the participants provided narratives regarding their perceptions and regulation of emotions. Thematic analysis using MAXQDA (Version 2020) was conducted. Results revealed significant variations in emotions among groups, with the ES group reporting lower levels of positive emotions and higher levels of negative emotions compared to others. The study underscores the importance of evaluating emotion regulation strategies to foster sustainable and enjoyable language learning environments.

The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation in the Relationship Between Sexual Mindfulness and Relational Quality in a Sample of Iranian Women

Mindfulness during sex has shown many positive relational and sexual outcomes. However, little is known about the ways in which sexual mindfulness works to improve an individual’s experience. This study investigated the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between sexual mindfulness and relational quality in a sample of Iranian women. Using a multi-stage cluster sampling method, we examined data from 265 women aged 19 to 50 years (M = 31.76, SD = 8.47). Results showed a significant positive relationship between relational quality and sexual mindfulness (p < .001, β = .13), sexual mindfulness and reappraisal strategy (p < .001, β = .65), and relational quality and reappraisal strategy (p < .001, β = .78). The reduction of the path coefficient in the full mediation model compared to the direct model indicating a partial mediation role of the reappraisal strategy was confirmed in relation to sexual mindfulness and relational quality. These findings may help identify one path, emotion regulation, through which sexual mindfulness works. This study provides psychologists and counselors evidence that both sexual mindfulness and emotion regulation are positive skills that likely improve the quality of their clients’ relationships.

Affect and mental health across the lifespan during a year of the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of emotion regulation strategies and mental flexibility.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in common mental health problems compared to prepandemic levels, especially in young people. Understanding the factors that place young people at risk is critical to guide the response to increased mental health problems. Here we examine whether age-related differences in mental flexibility and frequency of use of emotion regulation strategies partially account for the poorer affect and increased mental health problems reported by younger people during the pandemic. Participants (N = 2,367; 11-100 years) from Australia, the UK, and US were surveyed thrice at 3-month intervals between May 2020 and April 2021. Participants completed measures of emotion regulation, mental flexibility, affect, and mental health. Younger age was associated with less positive (b = 0.008, p < .001) and more negative (b = -0.015, p < .001) affect across the first year of the pandemic. Maladaptive emotion regulation partially accounted for age-related variance in negative affect (β = -0.013, p = .020), whereby younger age was associated with more frequent use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, which, in turn, was associated with more negative affect at our third assessment point. More frequent use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies, and in turn, changes in negative affect from our first to our third assessment, partially accounted for age-related variance in mental health problems (β = 0.007, p = .023). Our findings add to the growing literature demonstrating the vulnerability of younger people during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest that emotion regulation may be a promising target for intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for The Moderating Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies on Asian American Parents’ Discrimination Experiences and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Supplemental Material for The Moderating Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies on Asian American Parents’ Discrimination Experiences and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Association between Body-Image Satisfaction and Anxiety, Depressive Symptoms among Women with PCOS: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies

Anxiety and depressive symptoms are prevalent in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and there is a great need for culturally relevant interventions to improve anxiety and depressive symptoms in women with PCOS. The current study aimed to analyze the factors influencing body-image satisfaction, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in Chinese women with PCOS. It also aimed to clarify the association between body-image satisfaction and anxiety and depressive symptoms in women with PCOS, and whether this association was mediated by cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. A total of 477 women with PCOS were recruited from the Department of Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine Center of one university-affiliated tertiary hospital in China. They completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Body Image States Scale, and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. The study found body-image satisfaction showed significant associations with anxiety and depressive symptoms. This association was mediated by cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The findings of this study offer new insights into the relationship between body image and anxiety and depressive symptoms in women with PCOS. They also emphasize the potential value of promoting body-image satisfaction and enhancing cognitive reappraisal abilities to improve the mental health of women with PCOS.

Solidarity‐based collective action among third parties: The role of emotion regulation and moral outrage

AbstractSocietal injustice can trigger moral outrage, an important predictor of solidarity‐based collective action (CA). The present work investigated whether the impact of emotion regulation strategies on feelings of moral outrage shapes solidarity‐based CA intentions in the context of two recent examples of environmental injustice—water crises of 2015–2016 and 2021 in Flint, Michigan, and Benton Harbor, Michigan. Three studies investigated the effect of engaging in distancing compared with immersion when processing information about the events on feelings of moral outrage among people who did not live in either city. The studies also investigated the downstream effect of moral outrage on people's willingness to engage in CA in solidarity with those affected. Processing the injustice by engaging in distancing compared with immersion resulted in less moral outrage, which reduced interest in engaging in CA. This research highlights the important role of emotion regulation strategies in influencing solidarity‐based collective action among people not directly targeted by an injustice.

Body and appearance-related self-conscious emotions, emotional regulation strategies, and disordered eating in adult men

Eating disorders (ED) in men are the great unknown. Although several studies have been carried out, it is still understood how men develop these disorders. In this regard, this paper explores the relationship between body and appearance-related self-conscious emotions and ED symptoms and the mediating role of emotional regulation strategies in this association. Participants were 127 (S1) and 163 (S2) adult men who responded to an online questionnaire at two different times and were classified into risk groups (general, high, and low) and healthy groups. Body shame and body guilt were positively related to ED symptoms and maladaptive strategies, whereas they were negatively associated with adaptive strategies. In contrast, authentic and hubristic body pride were negatively associated with ED symptoms (except for authentic body pride in S1), maladaptive strategies such as emotional suppression (S1), psychological withdrawal (S2) and upward social comparison (S2), and positively with adaptive strategies. Likewise, those at risk, compared to the healthy, presented more body shame and body guilt and less hubristic body pride (S2) and used more maladaptive and less adaptive strategies. Finally, maladaptive strategies partially mediated the effect of body shame and body guilt on ED symptoms (in the case of BG also adaptive ones), whereas in the case of the relationship between body pride and ED symptoms, only adaptive strategies and emotional suppression mediated. Our findings show the importance of reducing risk factors (e.g., maladaptive strategies) as well as enhancing protective factors (e.g., adaptive strategies) in prevention and intervention programs.

The Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies for Sexual Function and Mental Health: A Cluster Analytical Approach

We investigated distinct profiles in emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal and suppression) and their associations with sexual function and mental health. The online survey sample consisted of 5436 adult participants. The gender stratified cluster analysis resulted in a four-cluster solution for both men and women. Better sexual function and mental health scores were found for participants with high cognitive reappraisal and low expressive suppression. High expressive suppression was associated with higher anxiety and depression and worse sexual function. Sexological care should take into account the assessment of emotion regulation abilities and emotion regulation training interventions to support reappraisal strategies.

Cognitive reappraisal and empathy chain-mediate the association between relative deprivation and prosocial behavior in adolescents.

Relative deprivation is one of the factors that influences the development of personality and behavior. However, it is still unclear whether and how relative deprivation decreases the prosocial behavior in adolescents. This study aimed to examine the association between relative deprivation and adolescent prosocial behavior and the role of emotion regulation strategies and empathy in modifying this association. The present study included 609 secondary school students (M = 15.42 years, SD = 0.653) in Fujian Province, China. All participants completed the Relative Deprivation Questionnaire, Emotion Regulation Scale, the Basic Empathy Scale, and Prosocial Behavior Scale. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and Mplus 7.4. Relative deprivation was negatively correlated with cognitive reappraisal, but positively correlated with expressive suppression. Cognitive reappraisal was positively correlated with empathy and prosocial behavior, but expressive suppression was not. Empathy was positively correlated with prosocial behavior. Relative deprivation decreased prosocial behavior through (a) cognitive reappraisal, (b) empathy, and (c) chain mediation of cognitive reappraisal and empathy. No significant mediating effect of expressive suppression was found. The results indicate that relative deprivation decreases adolescent prosocial behavior, and that cognitive reappraisal and empathy are the potential psychological mechanisms that affect the association between relative deprivation and adolescent prosocial behavior.

Exploring the relationship between dysfunctional metacognitive processes and orthorexia nervosa: the moderating role of emotion regulation strategies

BackgroundDysfunctional metacognitive processes and emotional dysregulation have been widely documented in the eating disorder literature. Despite numerous research and recent consensus suggesting the categorization of orthorexia nervosa as a form of eating disorder, no previous study has examined whether aberrant metacognitive processes also correlate with orthorexia nervosa tendencies. This paper investigates potential associations between symptoms of orthorexia nervosa and dysfunctional metacognitive processes while also exploring whether such relationships may be influenced by adaptive/maladaptive emotion regulation strategies.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study in all Lebanese governorates. In total, 423 Lebanese adults completed an online questionnaire including the Teruel Orthorexia Scale, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale – 16 Item Version, and the Metacognitions Questionnaire – Short Form.ResultsHigher physical activity, expressive suppression, emotion regulation difficulties, positive metacognitive beliefs about worry, and need to control thoughts were significantly associated with higher orthorexia nervosa. Additionally, the emotion regulation strategies moderated the relationships between two dysfunctional metacognitive processes and orthorexia nervosa. Specifically, cognitive self-consciousness was negatively related to orthorexia nervosa only in individuals with low (versus higher) emotion suppression (maladaptive emotion regulation strategy). In contrast, negative beliefs about worry uncontrollability and danger positively predicted orthorexia nervosa only in individuals with lower (versus high) cognitive reappraisal (adaptive emotion regulation strategy). Lower socio-economic status and having a university level of education compared to secondary level were significantly associated with lower orthorexia nervosa.ConclusionOur study provides the first empirical evidence for the existence of significant associations between dysfunctional metacognitive processes and orthorexia nervosa. It also highlights that these pathways are considerably modulated by individuals’ ability to regulate their emotions adaptively versus maladaptively. Our findings thus suggest that therapies aimed at improving thought monitoring and emotional regulation may be beneficial for individuals with symptoms of orthorexia nervosa.

A prospective study on body image disturbances during pregnancy and postpartum: the role of cognitive reappraisal.

During pregnancy, body size rapidly modifies over a relatively short period. Literature emphasizes the need to identify the factors that influence body image during peripartum as the extent of women's adaptation to these changes has significant repercussions on both mother's and newborn's health. Emotion regulation strategies (i.e., expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal) were linked to body image in the general and clinical population, but no studies were conducted in the peripartum. The present study aims to investigate the longitudinal impact of prepartum body image disturbances on postpartum body image disturbances and to evaluate the mediational role of emotional regulation strategies. A total of 133 pregnant women completed a three-phase longitudinal study. Women answered online questionnaires during the second (T1) and the third (T2) trimesters of pregnancy, and at about 6 months postpartum (T3). Findings indicated that body image disturbances at T1 were a significant predictor of body image disturbances in the postpartum (1 year after the first assessment). Moreover, cognitive reappraisal measured at T2 partially mediated this relationship: body image disturbances in the second trimester of pregnancy were linked to less use of cognitive reappraisal in the third trimester of pregnancy, and this, in turn, was associated with worse body image disturbances at 6 months after birth. Findings of this longitudinal study highlight the importance of assessing body image disturbances during pregnancy to early identify women at risk, and suggest cognitive reappraisal as a possible target intervention.

Supplemental Material for Affect and Mental Health Across the Lifespan During a Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies and Mental Flexibility

Supplemental Material for Affect and Mental Health Across the Lifespan During a Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies and Mental Flexibility

Impact of campus living conditions on Chinese medical school students' mental health during the COVID-19 campus lockdown: the chain mediating role of cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression.

To investigate the effect of changes in campus living conditions related to the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on medical school students' mental health status, to explore the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies, and to provide effective suggestions for promoting medical school students' mental health. A self-report questionnaire, an emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ), and psychological questionnaires for emergent events of public health (PQEEPH) were used to interview 998 medical school students who experienced campus lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mean total PQEEPH score was 3.66 ± 3.06. The degrees of inconvenience in daily life and change in routine and expression suppression as an emotion regulation strategy were significantly positively correlated with all PQEEPH dimensions. Cognitive reappraisal was significantly negatively associated with depression, neurosis, obsessive-compulsive anxiety, and hypochondriasis (ps < 0.05). Cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression demonstrated a chain mediating role between the degree of inconvenience in life and mental health and between the degree of change in routine and mental health (F = 32.883, 41.051, ps < 0.05). Campus lockdown management significantly impacts medical school students' mental health. Extensive use of cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression can reduce students' adverse psychological reactions during campus lockdowns to an extent.

Attachment, emotion regulation, and burnout among university students: a mediational hypothesis

The prevalence of burnout among university students is increasing with consequences for their academic performance. Attachment theory, as a theory of affect regulation and interpersonal relationships, may be an important framework that helps to explain why some students experience academic burnout while others do not. This study aims to examine the links between attachment orientations and levels of academic burnout and to explore the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies in this relationship. This cross-sectional study included 205 students from different Portuguese universities. Multiple mediation models conducted in PROCESS showed that both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were associated with higher levels of personal and academic-related burnout. Additionally, rumination and suppression mediated the association between attachment anxiety and burnout while putting into perspective and suppression mediated the association between attachment avoidance and burnout. Results are discussed in the light of attachment theory and clinical implications are provided to prevent academic-related burnout.

Understanding the role of emotion regulation strategies in cybervictimization and cyberaggression over time: It is basically your fault!

Adolescents involved in experiences of cybervictimization and cyberbullying are at increased risk of psychological maladjustment and ill-being. However, not all adolescents involved in cyberbullying roles experience similar consequences and cognitive emotion regulation (CER) might be a key factor. Despite growing interest in the role CER strategies play in cyberbullying behaviours, little is known about the predictive utility of these strategies in predicting cybervictimization and cyberbullying over time. Therefore, the aim of this prospective study was to test the incremental predictive validity of specific CER strategies in cybervictimization and cyberbullying in a sample of adolescents. To this end, data were collected in two waves four months apart from a sample of 841 adolescents (466 females) aged 12 to 18 (MageT1 = 13.77, SDT1 = 1.34; MageT2 = 13.71, SDT2 = 1.31). Participants filled out a set of questionnaires measuring cybervictimization, cyberbullying, and CER strategies. Main results showed blaming others as the unique strategy showing incremental predictive value to both cybervictimization and cyberbullying four months later, above and beyond previous cybervictimization and cyberbullying experiences. Overall, the results highlighted the need to account for CER strategies, such as blaming others, in relation to the potential initiation and development of cyberbullying and cybervictimization behaviours. These findings suggest possible future avenues for intervention efforts targeting the maintenance of online aggressive behaviours and victimization across time.

The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies in the Relationship of Beliefs about Emotion and Emotion Regulation Self-Efficacy with Social Anxiety

Objective: According to cognitive models, maladaptive beliefs play a major role in social anxiety disorder and can lead to dysfunctional behavioral reactions and emotion dysregulation. This study examines the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies in the relationship of beliefs about emotions and emotion regulation self-efficacy with social anxiety. Method: 650 college students from Yazd University (Iran) were selected by cluster sampling and filled out the Implicit Theories of Emotion Scale (ITES; 2007), Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy scale (RESE; 1999), Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS; 1992), and the short-form Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ; 2002). Results: The initially hypothesized model had a poor fit. By merging the manifest variables of refocus on planning with reappraisal, refocusing with putting into perspective (for adaptive emotion regulation), and combining rumination and catastrophizing (for maladaptive emotion regulation), the fit of the model became optimal, and all the direct paths became significant. The final model was a partial mediation model, confirming the mediating role of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship of beliefs about emotions and emotion regulation self-efficacy with social anxiety. Conclusion: The results showed that beliefs about emotions affect the utilization of efficient emotion regulation strategies and can be a risk factor for social anxiety.

The mediating role of emotion regulation strategies between symptoms and anxiety problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

To study the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies between symptoms and anxiety problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Convenience cluster sampling was performed to select 435 eligible children with ADHD from 10 211 students in 10 elementary schools in Kashgar of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. SNAP-IV Assessment Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents, and Conners Parent Symptoms Questionnaire were used to obtain relevant information. The Spearman correlation analysis and the moderated mediation method were used for data analysis. For the children with ADHD, the score of cognitive reappraisal was negatively correlated with the scores of symptoms and anxiety problems (rs=-0.254 and -0.270 respectively, P<0.001), and the score of symptoms was positively correlated with the score of anxiety problems (rs=0.329, P<0.001). The analysis of mediating effect showed that cognitive reappraisal played a partial mediating role between symptoms and anxiety problems, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.008-0.027, and the mediating effect accounted for 16.10% of the total effect. In addition, sex played a regulatory role in this mediation model (P<0.001). Cognitive reappraisal plays a mediating role between symptoms and anxiety problems in children with ADHD, while sex regulates the relationship of symptoms with cognitive reappraisal and anxiety problems in these children.