Handling the ups and downs of adolescence: The role of emotion regulation repertoires

Adolescence is a period of biopsychosocial change, where some youth thrive while others develop stress-related difficulties, making it crucial to understand the processes that may contribute to poor mental health. This study examined adolescents’ emotion regulation (ER) repertoires and their associations with indicators of mental health, using data pooled across three waves of ecological momentary assessment (EMA), each spaced six months apart. The final sample included 292 adolescents (M_age = 12.55 years, SD_age = 0.46; 41.48% female) who reported their use of seven ER strategies and affect five times daily over two weeks in each wave. In wave 3, participants completed questionnaires assessing depressive and anxiety symptoms, emotional eating, and loneliness. Multilevel latent profile analysis identified six occasion-level ER profiles that differed in size (from no strategy use to moderate use of all strategies) and composition (adaptive versus maladaptive strategies). At the person-level, three distinct classes emerged: a multi-ER class (moderate use with fewer adaptive strategies), a no-ER class (minimal strategy usage), and a high adaptive class (frequent use of adaptive strategies). Mental health outcomes differed across groups: adolescents in the no-ER class reported the most favorable outcomes (lower depressive and anxiety symptoms, higher daily positive affect), whereas those in the multi-ER class showed the poorest outcomes. The high adaptive class displayed a mixed pattern, with higher levels of daily positive affect similar to the no-ER group but higher levels of daily negative affect resembling the multi-ER group. These findings challenge the assumption that a larger ER repertoire is inherently beneficial, emphasizing the importance of repertoire composition and contextual fit. Interventions could focus on teaching adolescents context-sensitive combinations of strategies, and future studies should evaluate their effectiveness in improving mental health.