Emotion regulation diversity and depressive symptoms in mid- to older adulthood: A longitudinal investigation

Depression is associated with emotion regulation (ER) impairments. ER diversity has been proposed as novel measure of the diversity of the ER repertoire and has been linked to clinical depression status cross sectionally. A more diverse ER repertoire, particularly under stressful circumstances, may protect against depressive symptom elevation longitudinally. This study used a longitudinal design to examine the within- and between-person associations between ER diversity, stress, and depression in mid- to later life adults. ER strategy use, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms were assessed. A series of linear mixed effects models were fit. As expected, ER diversity did not systematically change over the course of 10 years. Importantly, perceived stress moderated the ER diversity - depression association between individuals. Specifically, for individuals experiencing moderate to high levels of perceived stress, higher ER diversity was associated with lower depressive symptom levels. This moderation effect was observed consistently across baseline age and was not influenced by aging longitudinally. Thus, a diverse ER repertoire under stress may protect against depressive symptom elevation in mid- to later-life adults.