The normative development of emotion regulation strategy use in children and adolescents: a 2‐year follow‐up study

TLDR

Emotion regulation comprises intrinsic and extrinsic processes that manage emotions toward goal attainment, yet research on pre‑adult development has largely lacked a comprehensive theoretical framework. The study investigated the use of expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal in children and adolescents according to Gross’s process‑oriented model. Researchers administered the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents to 1,128 participants aged 9–15 across three yearly waves to assess norms and developmental trajectories of expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal. Results showed that expressive suppression decreased with age and over time, while cognitive reappraisal was lower in older participants but remained stable; additionally, males reported higher suppression use.

Abstract

Background: Emotion regulation involves intrinsic and extrinsic processes responsible for managing one’s emotions toward goal accomplishment. Research on emotion regulation has predominantly focused on early developmental periods and the majority of emotion regulation research examining the pre‐adult years has lacked a comprehensive theoretical framework. The current study examined the use of two strategies of emotion regulation during childhood and adolescents, as conceptualised within Gross’s (1998) process‐oriented model. Methods: To determine the use, norms and development of the Expressive Suppression and Cognitive Reappraisal strategies, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ‐CA) was administered to 1,128 participants aged between 9 and 15 years. Three data collection phases, each one year apart, enabled investigation of developmental patterns in the use of the two strategies. Results: As predicted, Suppression use was found to be lower for older participants compared to their younger peers, and over time participants reported less use of this strategy. Older participants also scored lower on Reappraisal but stability over time was found. Also as expected, males reported more Suppression use compared to females. Conclusions: By documenting the development and norms for Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression in a community sample of children and adolescents, the current study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of these two ER strategies during these developmental periods.