Abstract
A functionalist approach to emotion regulation (ER) emphasizes the strategies people use to regulate their emotions and their goals for doing so. In the present work 90 mother–young adult child dyads (51 daughters; 39 sons) reported on their perceptions about relationship quality and the extent to which they employed one ER strategy (expressive suppression) and two ER goals (self- and other-oriented) when controlling anger toward the partner. Suppression and both ER goals predicted one’s own reports of relationship quality; however, only the two ER goals predicted partner reports of relationship satisfaction. Relations between ER processes and relationship quality were comparable for both generations. Results are discussed from a functionalist perspective in which ER is conceptualized as an integrated interpersonal system.
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