Emotion Regulation and Wellbeing: A Cross-Cultural Study During the COVID-19 Outbreak

The present study sought to address the relationship between emotion regulation and wellbeing. Prior research has mainly focused on a subset of emotion regulation strategies, typically manipulated in lab settings, and has largely been based on the study of individuals from a very limited range of cultural contexts. In the present study, we examined the contribution of the use and variability of six key emotion regulation strategies to wellbeing within one large-scale study in the context of a shared stressor: the COVID-19 pandemic. We tested the cross-cultural consistency of our findings in a large sample (N = 23,865) with participants from 51 countries, using a wide variety of cultural orientations. In line with our pre-registered hypotheses, we found that acceptance and reappraisal were predictive of higher wellbeing, while rumination and suppression were predictive of lower wellbeing. Social sharing and distraction yielded more mixed findings. Notably, acceptance and rumination were the strongest predictors of wellbeing, thus emerging as the promise and peril of emotion regulation. Except for suppression, these effects were replicated in two separate representative samples (N = 2000). Moreover, we found a small but inconsistent positive association between emotion regulation variability and wellbeing, pointing to the importance of flexibly attuning regulatory strategies to situational demands. Finally, cultural orientations did not moderate these relationships, demonstrating a great degree of cross-cultural consistency in both the use of emotion regulation strategies, and their associations with wellbeing. These findings demonstrate that, across cultures, several emotion regulation strategies, particularly acceptance and rumination, shape wellbeing.

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Emotion Regulation Strategies in Depression and Somatization Disorder

Psychological Reports ◽

10.1177/0033294118799731 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 122 (6) ◽

pp. 2119-2136 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Elham Davoodi ◽

Alainna Wen ◽

Keith S. Dobson ◽

Ahmad A. Noorbala ◽

Abolfazl Mohammadi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotion Regulation ◽

Adaptive Strategies ◽

Somatization Disorder ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Depression Symptom ◽

Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽

Cognitive Emotion Regulation ◽

Regulatory Strategies ◽

Difficulties In Emotion Regulation ◽

Regulation Strategies

Scant research has investigated emotion regulation strategies in somatization disorder, despite its high comorbidity with depression and the growing interest in this topic in depression. The present study investigated emotion regulation strategies in patients with major depression and somatization disorder using clinical samples to examine common vulnerability factors and to provide evidence for difficulties in emotion regulation as transdiagnostic factors in these disorders. Patients with major depressive disorder ( n = 30) and patients with somatization disorder ( n = 30) completed measures of putatively adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategy use. Patients with somatization disorder showed higher scores on measures of regulatory strategies, as measured by the sum of adaptive strategies in the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire as well as the following subscales: positive refocusing, positive reappraisal, and refocusing on a plan. After controlling for levels of current depression, the significant effects remained for positive refocusing. Depression symptom severity was significantly and negatively correlated with most adaptive strategies and positively correlated with most maladaptive strategies. The current results provide preliminary data for a similar pattern of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies usage in these two disorders. The results also contribute to theories of psychopathology and our understanding of critical cognitive and emotional processes.

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Children’s perceptions of the effectiveness of strategies for regulating anger and sadness

International Journal of Behavioral Development ◽

10.1177/0165025413515410 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 174-181 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Sara F. Waters ◽

Ross A. Thompson

Keyword(s):

Gender Differences ◽

Emotion Regulation ◽

Older Children ◽

Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽

Age And Gender ◽

Alternative Strategies ◽

Early Evidence ◽

Regulatory Strategies ◽

Regulation Strategies ◽

And Gender

Children may be capable of understanding the value of emotion regulation strategies before they can enlist these strategies in emotion-evoking situations. This study was designed to extend understanding of children’s judgment of the efficacy of alternative emotion regulation strategies. Children aged six and nine ( N = 97) were presented with illustrated storyboards of anger- and sadness-evoking situations and rated the effectiveness of eight emotion regulation strategies. Children endorsed some strategies on an emotion-specific basis: they rated problem-solving as more effective for anger, and seeking adult support and venting emotion as more effective for sadness. Younger children rated cognitively sophisticated emotion regulatory strategies comparably to older children, but they endorsed relatively ineffective strategies as more effective. Early evidence of gender differences was also apparent as girls reported emotion-focused strategies as more effective than boys did. These findings contribute to understanding children’s nuanced estimates of the value of alternative strategies of emotion regulation based on emotion context, age, and gender.

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Exploring Particular Facets of Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Their Relationships With Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Among Adolescents

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000566 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 280-286 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nir Madjar ◽

Nicole Segal ◽

Gilad Eger ◽

Gal Shoval

Keyword(s):

Emotion Regulation ◽

High School Students ◽

Analysis Of Covariance ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽

Cognitive Emotion Regulation ◽

School Students ◽

Self Injury ◽

Regulation Strategies ◽

Nonsuicidal Self Injury

Abstract. Background: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been found to be associated with poor emotion regulation. Aims: The goal of this study was to examine the association of multidimensional cognitive emotion regulation strategies with NSSI among adolescents and compare the different patterns of NSSI. Method: A sample of 594 high-school students (54.4% boys; mean age = 14.96 years), from five regional schools across Israel, were assessed for five facets of cognitive emotion regulation strategies (acceptance, refocus on planning, positive refocusing, putting into perspective, and positive reappraisal) and NSSI behaviors using validated scales. Participants were allocated into three groups: repetitive NSSI (more than six occasions of NSSI; 7.1%), occasional NSSI (at least one incident but less than six; 8.3%), and no NSSI (84.6%). Results: Analysis of covariance, controlling for gender and depression symptoms, revealed that students with NSSI reported higher levels of acceptance, but lower levels of refocus on planning and putting into perspective. Limitations: The study used a cross-sectional design, which was a limitation. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that particular cognitive emotion regulation strategies differ substantially in their relationship with NSSI. Adolescents who focus on planning and putting stressful situations into perspective may have increased resilience, whereas adolescents who are accepting of negative events that have happened may be more prone to maladaptive coping behaviors.

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