Emotion regulation during adolescence: Antecedent or outcome of depressive symptomology?

Abstract

Consistently, moderate to strong correlations between emotion regulation and depressive symptomology are well documented. This relationship is most often conceptualized as unidirectional, in that poor emotion regulation acts as a pre-existing risk factor for depressive symptomatology. However, explicit examinations of the direction of this relationship have been limited, and support for a directional relation between emotion regulation and psychopathology has been inconsistent. Moreover, the majority of the research exploring these associations relies on adult participants and the studies that have examined emotion regulation and depression in adolescents have relied almost exclusively on cross-sectional data. As a replication and extension of work that has been done by others, the current study assessed Suppression and Reappraisal use and Depressive Symptoms in 1343 adolescents (Mean age = 12.9 years, SD = 0.85) who completed assessments of emotion regulation and depressive symptoms four times over two years. Results indicated that only Suppression but not Reappraisal was concurrently correlated with Depressive Symptoms. Moreover, a correlated slopes analysis showed that within-subject changes in use of Suppression, but not Reappraisal, were associated with within-subject changes in Depressive Symptoms over time. Finally, a cross-lag panel analysis showed that while Depressive Symptoms were predictive of future Suppression use, Suppression use did not predict later Depressive Symptoms. Therefore, while Suppression and Depressive Symptoms seem to be associated during adolescence, associations between reappraisal and depressive symptomology were not present in the current study. Moreover, despite previous evidence supporting emotion regulation as a risk factor for depression, suppression may be the outcome, rather than the antecedent, of depressive symptoms during adolescence.

A longitudinal model of rejection sensitivity and internalizing symptoms: Testing emotion regulation deficits as a mechanism and outcome of symptoms

“…In exploring a mediating process in which RS exerts flowon effects to internalising symptoms via ER-deficits, critical additional questions come to light. That is, within this RSinternalizing dynamic, bidirectional effects are possible, and indeed likely, as suggested by previous research (Compas et al, 2017;De France, Lennarz, Kindt, & Hollenstein, 2019;Masters, Zimmer-Gembeck, & Farrell, 2019). Specifically, ER-deficits and increased internalizing symptoms likely reciprocally influence each other over time, and so a full exploration of a longitudinal RS model includes testing these reciprocal effects.…”

“…However, much of the literature focused on child, adolescent and young adult ER and adjustment specifies this relationship as unidirectional (i.e., an ER-deficit direction of effects), indicating deficits in the habitual use of adaptive ER strategies, and overuse of maladaptive strategies, as risk factors for emotional maladjustment (Compas et al, 2017;Nolen-Hoeksema & Aldao, 2011;Perry-Parrish & Zeman, 2011;Thompson, 1994). That said, more recent longitudinal models underscore that the links between ER strategies and emotional maladjustment are likely to be bidirectional (De France et al, 2019;Larsen et al, 2013;McLaughlin et al, 2011), though a clear direction of effect remains unclear. For example, among one study assessing early adolescents over the course of 1 year (Larsen et al, 2013), and another over 2 years (De France et al, 2019), both found that depressive symptoms significantly predicted increases in expressive suppression over time, but not vice versa.…”

“…That said, more recent longitudinal models underscore that the links between ER strategies and emotional maladjustment are likely to be bidirectional (De France et al, 2019;Larsen et al, 2013;McLaughlin et al, 2011), though a clear direction of effect remains unclear. For example, among one study assessing early adolescents over the course of 1 year (Larsen et al, 2013), and another over 2 years (De France et al, 2019), both found that depressive symptoms significantly predicted increases in expressive suppression over time, but not vice versa. In another study examining early to mid-adolescents, emotion dysregulation predicted increases in symptoms of anxiety, aggression, and eating pathology over the course of 7 months, with no support found for converse associations (McLaughlin et al, 2011).…”

“…Specifically, ER‐deficits and increased internalizing symptoms likely reciprocally influence each other over time, and so a full exploration of a longitudinal RS model includes testing these reciprocal effects. This examination is also relevant as constantly changing affective and interpersonal experiences during adolescence and young adulthood can give rise to heightened risk for emotional symptoms (De France et al., 2019; Larsen et al., 2013; McLaughlin, Hatzenbuehler, Mennin, & Nolen‐Hoeksema, 2011; Perry‐Parrish & Zeman, 2011). These symptoms are typically shown as outgrowths of deficits in ER, defined as the processes involved in monitoring, evaluating, and modulating one's emotional reactions, including their temporal and intensive features, to accomplish one's goal (Thompson, 1994).…”

Emotion regulation in action: Use, selection, and success of emotion regulation in adolescents’ daily lives

“…Internalizing disorders are related to deficits in ER (Allen & Sheeber, 2009), and ER is often assumed to underlie mental health problems, but the direction of effects is not clear yet. Recent research showed some evidence that insufficient ER strategies precede depressive symptoms: habitual use of suppression preceded depressive symptoms in two adolescent samples (DeFrance, Lennarz, Kindt, & Hollenstein, 2016; Larsen et al, 2013). Knowledge about the short-term influence of ER strategies may contribute to resolving this important question by showing the (mal)adaptive effects of specific ER strategies in the short-term.…”