Data from: The regulation of emotions in adolescents: age differences and emotion-specific patterns

Two experiments addressed the issue of age-related differences and
emotion-specific patterns in emotion regulation during adolescence.
Experiment 1 examined emotion-specific patterns in the effectiveness of
reappraisal and distraction strategies in 14-year-old adolescents (N =
50). Adolescents were instructed to answer spontaneously or to
downregulate their responses by using either distraction or cognitive
reappraisal strategies before viewing negative pictures and were asked to
rate their emotional state after picture presentation. Results showed that
reappraisal effectiveness was modulated by emotional content but
distraction was not. Reappraisal was more effective than distraction at
regulating fear or anxiety (threat-related pictures) but was similar to
distraction regarding other emotions. Using the same paradigm, Experiment
2 examined in 12-year-old (N = 56), 13-year-old (N = 49) and 15-year-old
adolescents (N = 54) the age-related differences a) in the effectiveness
of reappraisal and distraction when implemented and b) in the everyday use
of regulation strategies using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation
Questionnaire. Results revealed that regulation effectiveness was
equivalent for both strategies in 12-year-olds, whereas a large
improvement in reappraisal effectiveness was observed in 13- and
15-year-olds. No age differences were observed in the reported use of
reappraisal, but older adolescents less frequently reported using
distraction and more frequently reported using the rumination strategy.
Taken together, these experiments provide new findings regarding the use
and the effectiveness of cognitive regulation strategies during
adolescence in terms of age differences and emotion specificity.