Emotion regulation motives in adolescence shape regulatory strategy use

Emotion regulation (ER) motives (i.e., the reasons individuals regulate their emotions) are key factors influencing the development of adolescents' ER abilities. However, age- and gender-related trends in adolescents' ER motives, as well as their impact on the use of ER strategies, remain unclear.

We recruited 5629 participants from two schools in Southwest China (M = 15.18, SD = 1.73; 45.11% male) to complete the Emotion Regulation Goals Scale and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Linear and polynomial regression analyses were conducted to examine age- and gender-related differences in ER motive patterns. We then tested whether different patterns of ER motives were also associated with participants' habitual use of two common ER strategies.

This study revealed nonlinear and diverse age-related differences in adolescents' contra-hedonic and pro-social motives, with notable fluctuations in contra-hedonic motives. Boys exhibited higher levels of contra-hedonic motives, while girls showed higher levels of performance motives. Moreover, ER motives were significantly and broadly associated with individuals' habitual use of reappraisal and suppression. More specifically, pro-hedonic motives were associated with greater use of reappraisal, while contra-hedonic motives were linked to higher levels of suppression. Furthermore, instrumental motives (i.e., performance, pro-social, and impression management) were positively related to both reappraisal and suppression.

These findings enhance our understanding of how adolescents' ER motives vary by age and gender, as well as the crucial role different ER motives play in shaping patterns of ER strategy use.