On the Trait Like Nature of Emotion Regulation Dynamics: Limited Evidence

Abstract

Measuring the variable and flexible use of emotion regulation (ER) has been increasingly viewed as a more nuanced approach to understanding ER than only assessing mean-level strategy use. However, it is unclear to what extent ER variability and flexibility are trait-like individual differences that show longitudinal consistency and validity across time. In the current study, we use data from an experience sampling study that uses a burst design, wherein the same participants were tested twice across an interval of one year (NW1 = 396, NW2 = 175). We test the extent to which ER tendency, variability, flexibility, and responsivity are stable across time and show consistent relationships with outcome measures. Tendency and, to some extent, responsivity showed consistency across time; variability and flexibility did not. Further, the associations with outcomes were inconsistent across time for tendency and few consistent patterns of associations emerged for variability, flexibility, or responsivity. These findings suggest that these dynamic measures of emotion regulation may not be best conceptualized as stable within-person traits.