Emotional Regulation and Risk of Eating Disorders in Adolescent Athletes.

Area of Science:

• Sports Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Eating disorders (EDs) are prevalent in athletes due to performance pressures and body image ideals.
• Emotional regulation is a critical factor influencing the development and maintenance of EDs.
• Understanding emotional regulation in adolescent athletes is crucial for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reliability and structural validity of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA) in Mexican adolescent athletes.
• To investigate the relationship between emotional regulation strategies (expressive suppression, cognitive reappraisal) and ED risk factors (drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, bulimia).

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional instrumental design with 295 Mexican adolescent athletes (mean age = 16.85 years).
• Utilized the ERQ-CA to measure emotion regulation strategies.
• Assessed ED risk factors including drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and bulimia.

Main Results:

• The ERQ-CA showed good psychometric properties, with acceptable reliability and excellent model fit.
• Emotional suppression was positively correlated with all measured ED risk factors.
• Cognitive reappraisal demonstrated a negative association with ED risk indicators.

Conclusions:

• Individual differences in emotion regulation strategies are significantly linked to eating disorder risk in adolescent athletes.
• Monitoring expressive suppression and encouraging cognitive reappraisal can support athletes' emotional flexibility.
• These strategies may help coaches, parents, and mental health professionals reduce ED risk in this population.