A Limited Repertoire of Emotion Regulation Strategies is Associated with Internalizing Problems in Adolescence

The present study was designed to test whether the beneficial effects of emotion regulation (ER) have less to do with the use of singular, adaptive strategies and more to do with using a range of strategies. Using a community sample of adolescents (N = 177, M = 13.6 years), groups based on five measures of ER (reappraisal, suppression, concealing, emotional engagement, and adjusting) were created through latent profile analysis. A six-group model was the best fit. As hypothesized, ER profiles with high scores on one or two indicators were associated with higher levels of internalizing problems, whereas profiles with average to high scores on several indicators and high scores on adjusting were associated with lower levels of internalizing problems (depression, general anxiety, and social anxiety). Results highlight the importance of having different ER strategies to use and that a limited ER repertoire in adolescence may be associated with internalizing problems.