The Impact of Emotion Regulation and Illness-focused Coping Strategies on the Relation of Illness-related Negative Emotions to Subjective Health

Abstract

In this study we examined whether emotion regulation and illness-focused coping strategies mediate and/ or moderate the relation of illness-related negative emotions to patients’ subjective health. One hundred and thirty-five cardiac patients participated in the study. Illness-focused coping strategies were found to mediate the relation of emotions to physical functioning, whereas emotion regulation strategies mediated the relation to psychological well-being. Moreover, an emotion regulation strategy (i.e. emotion suppression) and two illness-focused coping strategies (instrumental coping and adherence) moderated the two relationships. These findings suggest that both emotion regulation and illness-focused coping strategies are integral parts of the illness-related negative emotions—health relationship.