Emotion beliefs predict resilience via emotional reactivity: A multi-timepoint study in university students

Understanding resilience in tertiary students is important, as this developmental period is characterised by elevated stressor exposure and vulnerability to mental health difficulties. Although emotion beliefs and emotional reactivity are each linked to mental health, little is known about their role in resilient functioning following adversity. This study used a three-wave longitudinal design in undergraduate university students (N = 112) to examine whether maladaptive emotion beliefs predict resilient functioning and whether these associations operate through positive and negative emotional reactivity. Emotion beliefs were assessed at baseline (T1), while emotional reactivity, stressor exposure, and mental health were assessed at two follow-up timepoints (T2 and T3). Resilient functioning was indexed relative to stressor exposure, with higher scores indicating better-than-expected emotional functioning. Results showed that positive emotional reactivity was positively associated with resilient functioning, whereas negative emotional reactivity was negatively associated with resilient functioning. Stronger beliefs that emotions are uncontrollable were associated with poorer resilient functioning overall, with some evidence of an indirect pathway through greater negative emotional reactivity. No corresponding associations were observed for beliefs about the usefulness of emotions. However, associations involving emotion beliefs were no longer significant after accounting for baseline mental health. The pattern of structural relationships did not differ significantly across follow-up assessments. These findings highlight emotional reactivity as an important correlate of resilient functioning and provide preliminary evidence that beliefs about emotion controllability may also be relevant, although their unique contribution beyond pre-existing mental health requires further investigation.