The Association of Emotion Regulation Flexibility and Negative and Positive Affect in Daily Life

In contrast to traditional classifications of emotion regulation (ER) strategies as either uniformly maladaptive or adaptive, recent theoretical models emphasize that adaptability is determined by greater ER flexibility (i.e., the ability to flexibly implement and adjust ER strategies based on the context). This study is the first to empirically test the two central perspectives of ER flexibility on affect. A sample of 384 adults (M _age=38.58 years, SD=13.82) residing predominantly in North America completed daily diaries for 14 days. We found evidence that theoretical components of ER flexibility, as defined by greater context sensitivity in the selection of ER strategies, greater ER strategy repertoire, enhanced responsivity to affective feedback, and ER-environmental covariation, were associated with adaptive affective outcomes (i.e., reduced negative affect and/or increased positive affect). This study highlights the importance of examining ER flexibility and its consequences as a critical component of ER.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-022-00132-7.