Is the negative always that bad? Or how emotion regulation and integration of negative memories can positively affect well‐being

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether coherent integration of negative memories into the self could positively predict well‐being over time, and whether certain emotion regulation strategies could facilitate this coherent integration. In turn, coherent integration of negative memories was expected to further facilitate adaptive emotion regulation strategies over time. Method A total of 303 participants took part in this longitudinal study. At Phase 1, they completed measures of emotion regulation and well‐being. Three months later, they described the memory of the most negative event they experienced since Phase 1, and completed measures assessing its integration. One month later, participants completed the well‐being measures again, and another month later, their emotion regulation was reassessed. Results Adaptive emotion regulation predicted adaptive memory integration, which in turn led to increases in well‐being and adaptive emotion regulation. Contrariwise, the incapacity to adaptively regulate emotions predicted poor memory integration, which in turn led to decreases in well‐being. Conclusion The way people regulate their negative emotions acts as an individual difference influencing how negative memories are integrated into the self, which can in return alter well‐being and emotion regulation capacity over time.

Freedom to feel: A self‐determination theory account of emotion regulation

“…For example, Roth et al (2014, 2018) found participants in an integrative emotion regulation condition displayed greater reduction in experienced fear and physiological arousal during a second exposure to a fear‐eliciting scene and recalled more details than participants in an expressive suppression condition (Roth et al, 2014) or an emotional distancing condition (Roth et al, 2018). Houle and Philippe (2020) recently showed that while participants high on integrative emotion regulation and those high on dysregulation both reported significant memories of a negative event, the former had higher acceptance of it, which, in turn, predicted increased well‐being. In another study of well‐being, Brenning, Soenens, Van Petegem, and Vansteenkiste (2015) found adolescents' integrative emotion regulation was positively related with self‐esteem, while suppressive emotion regulation and dysregulation were negatively associated.…”

Cognitive integration of personal or public events affects mental health: Examining memory networks in a case of natural flooding disaster

“…Six items assessed dysregulation, and a sample item was “I often behave under the influence of my negative emotions, even if I don't want to behave like that” ( α = .82). This scale has shown adequate evidence of reliability and validity in past research (Houle & Philippe, ; Roth et al, ).…”

“…We used the scale developed by Roth and colleagues (, , ), which taps into these three factors of emotion regulation styles, that they, respectively, labeled integrative regulation, controlling regulation, and dysregulation. We used a slight adaptation of this scale to assess the regulation of negative emotions in general (Houle & Philippe, ) instead of the regulation of a specific emotion (e.g., fear, anger), as assessed by the initial scale. Participants indicated their degree of agreement with each item, on a 7‐point Likert scale (1 = Disagree strongly , 7 = Agree strongly ).…”

“…The effect of negative life events on mental health has been vastly studied. Personally experienced negative events, such as traumatic events, but also less intense negative events, such as romantic breakups, work conflict, or unsuccessful achievements, are well known to disrupt mental health and increase psychological symptoms months after the event occurred (Crane et al, ; Houle & Philippe, ). Conversely, public events that are remembered over time (sometimes called flashbulb memories) are typically special emotional public events, but which are not personally experienced (Neisser, ).…”

Valuing Happiness is Not a Good Way of Pursuing Happiness, but Prioritizing Positivity is: A Replication Study

“…Several studies have suggested that experiencing negative and positive emotions is beneficial for well-being ( Dejonckheere et al, 2019 ; Quoidbach et al, 2014 ). Negative emotions are not always bad ( Houle & Philippe, 2020 ; Tamir, 2016 ). Experiencing both positive and negative emotions also means that individuals are attentive to their emotions and have emotional clarity to facilitate their thoughts.…”