The Use of Rumination and Reappraisal in Adolescents Daily Life: Links to Affect and Emotion Regulation Style

Abstract

This study explored the association between temperament—i.e., positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA)—and emotion regulation (ER), and what momentary factors influence the selection of rumination or reappraisal during adolescents’ daily life. The type of social situation in which negative events occurred, the self-rated degrees of discomfort, the types of predominant emotions experienced, and the use of reappraisal and rumination were assessed at 24 different times with an ecological momentary assessment approach given to 71 adolescents. PA, NA, and ER style were evaluated using self-reports. Bivariate Pearson correlations analysis revealed that NA and negative ER style correlated positively with the rumination use whereas PA correlated negatively with the rumination use. Negative ER style moderated the relationship between NA and the frequency with which rumination was used. The moderated function of positive ER style could not be tested due to its lack of association with the rumination use. Adolescents selected rumination more often during family-related events and when experiencing depression-like emotions. No interaction effects were shown between negative ER style and the momentary factors related with the type of social situation and the type of prevailing emotion during negative event. No associations between study variables and reappraisal were found. This study provides a better understanding of ER patterns in adolescence.

Daily life positive affect regulation in early adolescence: Associations with symptoms of depression.

“…Further, no a priori power analyses were conducted in order to inform the present study, representing a notable limitation of the present work. The present sample size is comparable to or exceeds that of similar studies in this area, particularly at the between-persons level (e.g., Aldrich et al, 2019; Stone et al, 2019; Waller et al, 2014; Zuzama et al, 2021); however, it is nevertheless possible that power in the present work was limited to detect associations of interest. Thus, future work should aim to replicate patterns of findings in larger samples in order to lend greater confidence in patterns of results.…”