Adolescents’ Emotion Regulation Strategies, Self-Concept, and Internalizing Problems

Abstract

This study examined the relationships among adolescents’ emotion regulation strategies (suppression and cognitive reappraisal), self-concept, and internalizing problems using structural equation modeling. The sample consisted of 438 early adolescents (13 to 15 years old) in Taiwan, including 215 boys and 223 girls. For both boys and girls, suppression was negatively associated, and cognitive reappraisal was positively associated with self-concept. Self-concept negatively predicted adolescents’ internalizing problems. The findings support the hypothesis that self-concept mediates the relationship between emotion regulation and internalizing problems. These findings support generalization of one part of Cicchetti’s and Toth’s model of the development of internalizing problems to an Asian culture.