Multimodal assessment of emotion regulation in children of parents with a mental illness

Emotion regulation (ER) is a relevant transdiagnostic mechanism for mental health, involving cognitive, behavioral, and physiological processes. Children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) are at increased risk for ER difficulties, yet the integration of state and trait ER assessments remains underexplored. This study employs a multimodal approach to assess ER in COPMI compared to children of parents without a mental illness (COPWMI). We examined trait ER via self-report in 195 children (96 COPMI/99 COPWMI) aged 4 - 16, cognitive state ER using an emotional Go/Nogo task in 243 children (96 COPMI/147 COPWMI) aged 7 - 16, and physiological state ER through heart rate and electrodermal activity responses during an emotional video task in 124 children (49 COPMI/75 COPWMI) aged 7 - 16. No significant group differences emerged in cognitive or physiological measures of state ER. Emotional stimuli affected physiological responses across all participants, but COPMI did not show heightened reactivity or diminished affective inhibitory control compared to COPWMI. Furthermore, trait ER did not significantly predict state ER responses across groups. These findings challenge the assumption of broad ER impairments in COPMI and highlight the importance of considering situational and environmental factors when assessing ER. The absence of universal state ER deficits suggests that some COPMI may compensate for potential vulnerabilities.