| This study of 725 adolescents, from both 6th and 12th grades, focuses on two core questions: (a) is the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), a self-report questionnaire developed by Gross, a valid measure with the adolescent population, and (b) is the emotion regulation strategy of reappraisal associated with better mental health outcomes in adolescents than the strategy of suppression?; This study focuses on adolescents' self-reported usage of the emotion regulation techniques of reappraisal and suppression. To address the first goal, a factor analysis was conducted in order to determine whether the measure, the ERQ, replicates the factor structure obtained with adults in the adolescent population. The second goal was investigated using linear regressions including the two emotion regulation strategies, reappraisal and suppression, and several outcome variables. Dependent variables were measured using additional self-reported data as well as teacher-reported data. These outcome variables included: depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, substance use, externalizing symptoms, learning problems, task orientation, acting out, and frustration tolerance. Findings from the factor analysis concurred that the ERQ is a valid measure with adolescents. In addition, the strategy of reappraisal was associated with more positive outcome variables while the strategy of suppression was correlated with more negative outcome variables. The strategy of reappraisal was significantly correlated with less self reported depressive symptoms, less anxiety symptoms, less substance use, and less externalizing symptoms; for the teacher reported variables, reappraisal correlated with less acting out behaviors, higher levels of frustration tolerance, lower levels of learning problems, and higher levels of task orientation. The emotion regulation strategy of suppression was significantly correlated with higher levels of depression symptoms, higher levels of anxiety symptoms, and more externalizing symptoms. Suppression was associated with higher rates of learning problems, according to teachers, as well as lower levels of the adaptive scores of frustration tolerance and task orientation. For the variable of task orientation, there was a significant interaction between suppression and grade. Implications for future research and limitations are discussed. |
