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.两项实验探讨了青少年期情绪调节领域内与年龄相关的差异及情绪特异性模式。实验1针对14岁青少年（N=50），考察了认知重评（reappraisal）与分心（distraction）两种情绪调节策略的有效性所呈现的情绪特异性模式。实验要求青少年在观看负性图片前，可选择自发做出反应，或通过分心、认知重评策略下调自身情绪反应，并在图片呈现后对自身情绪状态进行评分。结果显示，认知重评的有效性受情绪内容调节，而分心策略的有效性则无此特征。在调节恐惧或焦虑相关情绪（对应威胁性图片）时，认知重评的效果优于分心；而针对其他情绪类型，两种策略的有效性并无显著差异。实验2沿用相同实验范式，针对12岁（N=56）、13岁（N=49）及15岁（N=54）青少年，从两个维度考察与年龄相关的差异：a）实施认知重评与分心策略时的有效性差异；b）通过认知情绪调节问卷（Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire）评估的日常情绪调节策略使用情况差异。结果表明，12岁青少年的两种调节策略有效性无显著差异，而13岁与15岁青少年的认知重评有效性则出现显著提升。研究未发现认知重评的日常使用存在年龄差异，但年长青少年报告的分心策略使用频率更低，反刍思维（rumination）策略的使用频率更高。综上，两项实验为青少年期认知调节策略的使用情况与有效性，在年龄差异及情绪特异性维度上提供了全新研究发现。