Adaptive and Maladaptive Regulation of Positive and Negative Affect: Specific Associations With Anxiety, Depression, and Posttraumatic Stress

Emotion regulation (ER) has been found to contribute to psychological symptoms. Previous studies have mostly examined various aspects of ER in isolation. Comprehensive knowledge regarding the relative influence of distinct aspects of ER is lacking. Also, it is not clear whether distinct aspects of ER are associated with specific psychological symptoms. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the relative association of six ER indicators (adaptive/maladaptive regulation of negative affect [NA], adaptive/ maladaptive regulation of positive affect [PA], and adaptive/ maladaptive ER repertoire) with three psychological symptom clusters (anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress [PTS]). A sample of 759 university students completed measures for these ER indicators and symptoms. Results revealed that taking into account six ER indicators, maladaptive regulation of NA and PA were associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression and PTS. Adaptive regulation of NA and adaptive ER repertoire were unrelated to psychological symptoms. In addition, a larger maladaptive ER repertoire was uniquely associated with increased anxiety. Higher adaptive regulation of PA was specifically associated with less depression. These findings underscore the importance of considering different ER strategies when addressing the role of ER in different psychological symptoms.