Abstract
This study aimed to assess the impact of both gender and age on cognitive emotion regulation strategies (CERS). Participants (N = 1585) divided into four age groups (young adults, middle-aged adults, older adults and oldest-old adults) completed the short version of the Cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire. Results indicated (1) a gender effect on CERS with higher rumination and catastrophizing scores associated to lower acceptance scores for women, and (2) different utilization of emotion regulation strategies according to age. The youngest group reported higher scores for rumination and self-blame and a lower score for positive refocusing compared to the three other age groups, while the oldest-old reported higher scores for planning but lower scores for self-blame and positive reappraisal compared to the three other age groups. Given the importance of CERS on mental health, future longitudinal studies are needed to examine further the life-span trajectories of CERS on both men and women.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Aldao, A., Sheppes, G., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation flexibility. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 39(3), 263–278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-014-9662-4
Aldao, A., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Schweizer, S. (2010). Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(2), 217–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.11.004
Blanchard-Fields, F. (2007). Everyday Problem Solving and Emotion: An Adult Developmental Perspective. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(1), 26–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00469.x
Blanchard-Fields, F., Jahnke, H. C., & Camp, C. (1995). Age differences in problem-solving style: The role of emotional salience. Psychology and Aging, 10(2), 173–180. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.10.2.173
Carstensen, L. L., Fung, H. H., & Charles, S. T. (2003). Socioemotional Selectivity Theory and the Regulation of Emotion in the Second Half of Life. Motivation and Emotion, 27(2), 103–123. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024569803230
Deaux, K., & Major, B. (1987). Putting gender into context: An interactive model of gender-related behavior. Psychological Review, 94(3), 369–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.94.3.369
Garnefski, N., Teerds, J., Kraaij, V., Legerstee, J., & van den Kommer, T. (2004). Cognitive emotion regulation strategies and Depressive symptoms: Differences between males and females. Personality and Individual Differences, 36(2), 267–276. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00083-7
Garnefski, N., & Kraaij, V. (2007). The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire: Psychometric features and prospective relationships with depression and anxiety in adults. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 23(3), 141–149. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.23.3.141
Garnefski, N., & Kraaij, V. (2006a). Relationships between cognitive emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms: a comparative study of live specific samples. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1659–1669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.12.009
Garnefski, N., & Kraaij, V. (2006b). Cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire – development of a short 18-item version (CERQ-short). Personality and Individual Differences, 41(6), 1045–1053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006b.04.010
Ghorbani, F., Khosravani, V., Ardakani, R. J., Alvani, A., & Akbari, H. (2017). The mediating effects of cognitive emotion regulation strategies on the relationship between alexithymia and physical symptoms: Evidence from Iranian asthmatic patients. Psychiatry Research, 247, 144–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.11.015
Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2, 271–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/2F1089-2680.2.3.271
John, O. P., & Gross, J. J. (2004). Healthy and unhealthy emotion regulation: Personality processes, individual differences, and life span development. Journal of Personality, 72(6), 1301–1333. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2004.00298.x
Martin, R. C., & Dahlen, E. R. (2005). Cognitive emotion regulation in the prediction of depression, anxiety, stress, and anger. Personality and Individual Differences, 39(7), 1249–1260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.06.004
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Aldao, A. (2011). Gender and age differences in emotion regulation strategies and their relationship to depressive symptoms. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(6), 704–708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.06.012
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2012). Emotion regulation and psychopathology: The role of gender. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 8, 161–187. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032511-143109
Nowlan, J. S., Wuthrich, V. M., & Rapee, R. M. (2016). The impact of positive reappraisal on positive (and negative) emotion among older adults. International Psychogeriatrics, 28(4), 681–693. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610215002057
Urry, H. L., & Gross, J. J. (2010). Emotion Regulation in Older Age. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(6), 352–357. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721410388395
Zelazo, P. D., & Cunningham, W. (2007). Executive function: Mechanisms underlying emotion regulation. In J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 135–158). Guilford.
Zimmermann, P., & Iwanski, A. (2014). Emotion regulation from early adolescence to emerging adulthood and middle adulthood: age differences, gender differences, and emotion-specific developmental variations. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 38, 182–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025413515405
Zlomke, K. R., & Hahn, K. S. (2010). Cognitive emotion regulation strategies: Gender differences and associations to worry. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(4), 408–413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.11.007
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
No conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bailly, N., Pothier, K., Ouhmad, N. et al. Effects of gender and age on cognitive emotional regulation. Curr Psychol 42, 27228–27231 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03557-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03557-2