The Protective Effect of Emotion Regulation on Child and Adolescent Wellbeing

Although research on emotion regulation (ER) has historically tended to focus on its association with developmental outcomes as a risk factor, within the last several years there has been a surge of studies focused on the promotive and protective effects of ER for children and adolescents. The purpose of the current review is to summarize this work. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify papers focused on the promotive and protective effects of ER on psychological and behavioural outcomes among children and adolescents. Of the papers identified, 50 met selection criteria and were included in the current review. Results indicated that there is good evidence that ER functions as both a promotive and protective factor for psychological and behavioural outcomes for children and adolescents. Specifically, the current review suggests that ER promotes positive outcomes in terms of reduced internalizing and externalizing difficulties, and improved mental health outcomes, such as reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. In summary, the majority of published studies available indicated that ER is beneficial in a variety of contexts and for diverse samples in terms of psychological and behavioural outcomes. These results are important because ER is a relatively modifiable skill, and evidence of the positive impact of ER supports the design and use of interventions that foster ER skills. Based on the literature reviewed, implications for future ER research are discussed.