Does emotion differentiation predict stress generation among adolescents?

Emotion differentiation (ED)-the tendency to identify and label one's emotions with specificity-has been linked to a wide range of well-being outcomes. However, it is unclear whether low ED predicts stress generation, or the process by which people create or select into contexts where they are more likely to experience dependent (self-generated) stressors, but not independent (fateful) stressors. This study tested whether ED prospectively predicts stress generation and whether ED amplifies the stress-generating effect of depression symptoms among adolescents. At baseline, 232 adolescents completed diagnostic interviews, then rated their negative and positive emotions four times per day for 7 days. Episodic stressors were assessed using a contextual threat interview at follow-up 1.5 years later. Analyses showed that adolescents with lower negative or positive ED (NED or PED, respectively) at baseline reported higher levels of dependent stress over follow-up, and effects remained when controlling for baseline depression symptoms or same-valence emotion means. However, effects of NED or PED on dependent stress were not significantly stronger than their effects on subsequent independent stress in our sample. Mean negative (but not positive) emotion also predicted subsequent stress, but similar effects were not unique to dependent stress. Neither NED nor PED interacted with depression to predict subsequent self-generated stressors. Although ED may play a role in stress generation among youth, the present findings suggest the link between ED and episodic stress is not specific to dependent stressors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).