COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE PREDICTORS OF EMOTION REGULATION: EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY AND ATTENTIONAL CONTROL IN YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

Emotion regulation involves an interaction between cognitive processes and emotional responses, yet the relative contribution of these factors remains less clear during young adulthood. The present study examined the relationships of attentional control and emotional reactivity with cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression among 268 Indian university students aged 18 to 25 years. A cross-sectional design was used, and participants completed self-report measures of attentional control, emotional reactivity, and emotion regulation. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses were conducted. Emotional reactivity showed more consistent associations with emotion regulation strategies than attentional control. Positive emotional reactivity significantly predicted greater cognitive reappraisal, whereas negative emotional reactivity predicted lower cognitive reappraisal. The model explained 21.7% of the variance in reappraisalFor expressive suppression, negative emotional reactivity was the only significant predictor, and the model explained 6.2% of the variance. Attentional focusing and attentional shifting did not independently predict either regulation strategy when all predictors were considered simultaneously. These findings suggest that positive and negative emotional reactivity may have distinct relationships with habitual emotion regulation strategies in young adults.