Emotional Regulation and Resilience: Examining the Mediating Role of Rumination

The present study examined the mediating effect of rumination (brooding vs. reflective) in the correlation between emotional regulation (cognitive reappraisal vs. expressive suppression) and resilience. Three-hundred and twenty-five adult participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk to complete an online survey. A bivariate correlational analysis and four mediation analyses were conducted. In three of the four models, psychological rumination was found to have a significant indirect effect in the correlation between emotional regulation and resilience. The indirect effect of reflective rumination was not significant in the relationship between expressive suppression and resilience. A regression analysis was conducted in this case, and it was determined that expressive suppression and reflective rumination were significant predictors of resilience. The indirect effects were non-significant when positive and negative affect and perceived stress were included as covariates. Results are discussed with reference to necessary future directions of research into the underlying mechanisms of resilience and possible clinical interventions, as well as with reference to the limitations of the present study