Emotion Regulation Self-efficacy And Depressive Mood:the Mediating Role Of Emotion Regulation Strategy

Depression will affect people's quality of life. The recent studies have found that one's depressive emotion is correlated with his emotion regulation. Emotion regulation self-efficacy is an effective predictor of one's depressive mood. The use of emotion regulation strategies is the essential factor to influence one's depressive symptoms.Our study aims to test the mediating effect of emotion regulation strategies between emotion regulation self-efficacy and depressive mood. 1405 high school students, 14 to 18 years old, participated. Self-report measures such as the Scale of Regulatory Emotional self-efficacy, Beck Depression Inventory II, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire were used to access emotion regulation self-efficacy, depressive mood, emotion regulation strategies and cognitive emotion regulation strategies.The result indicated that the mediating effect of cognitive reappraisal strategy in the relationship between perceived self-efficacy in expressing positive affect and depressive mood was significant, cognitive reappraisal strategy was the mediator in the relationship between perceived self-efficacy in managing negative affect and depressive mood. The mediating effect of expression suppression strategy was found in the relationship between perceived self-efficacy in expressing positive affect and depressive mood.The mediating effect of rumination, positive refocusing, refocus on planning, positive reappraising, putting into perspective, catastrophizing strategies occurred in the relationship between perceived self-efficacy in expressing positive affect and depressive mood. The mediating effect of acceptance, rumination, positive reappraisal also existed in the relationship between perceived self-efficacy in managing negative affect and depressive affect.Result in our study emphasized the importance to enhance the emotion regulation strategies and some of the cognitive emotion regulation strategies among the adolescents experiecing negative life events.