Examining everyday emotion regulation as an ability: Emotion regulation monitoring,but not general strategy implementation ability,is significantly associated with affective well-being in daily life

Abstract

Research on everyday emotion regulation (ER) has primarily examined how the habitual use of ER strategies relates to affective well-being, categorizing ER strategies as generally adaptive or maladaptive. However, it remains unclear whether individuals have a general ability to regulate their emotions or whether distinctive ER strategies are differentially effective across individuals. We hypothesized that the prioritized use of those ER strategies that are individually most effective (ER monitoring ability) is key to an individual’s affective well-being and introduce a novel measure aimed at inferring ER monitoring ability from participants’ self-reported ER behavior. Analyzing 13 ambulatory assessment datasets (1,798 participants, 162,061 observations), we found no evidence for a general ER strategy implementation skill. Instead, ER monitoring ability emerged as an important predictor of affective well-being, explaining on average an additional 3.8% of the variance in affective well-being beyond ER strategy use. Importantly, a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model revealed that better ER monitoring ability was significantly associated with better overall affective well-being about half a year later, but not vice versa, suggesting a directional relationship. Taken together, the adaptiveness of ER for well-being depends on an individual’s inclination to use those ER strategies that are individually most effective for them.

Plain language summary

Research has primarily focused on how people manage their emotions, specifically using different emotion regulation strategies. These strategies are often categorized as either helpful or harmful for one’s emotions. However, it remains unclear whether people possess a general skill for managing their emotions or if certain strategies are more effective for certain individuals. We think that an important aspect is whether someone uses the strategies that work best for them in their everyday life, which is a form of monitoring one’s emotions. We developed a new way to measure this monitoring by inferring emotion regulation monitoring from participants’ ER behavior. Our analysis of data from 13 studies, where participants reported their emotions multiple times a day, included a large sample of 1,798 people and 162,061 observations. There was no evidence to suggest that people possess a general skill for successfully managing their emotions using multiple strategies. Rather, using strategies that one can successfully implement was linked to an overall improvement in affective well-being. In summary, the key to one’s affective well-being is utilizing the strategies that work best for the individual.