Evaluating interactions between emotion regulation strategies through the interpersonal context of female friends

Introduction: There is a growing interest in examining how interpersonal relationships may shape associations between emotion regulation (ER) strategies and psychopathology. Methods: We used multilevel modeling to test if respondents’ self-reported intrapersonal ER, friends’ self-reported intrapersonal ER, and their interaction were associated with psychopathology in a sample of 120 female friend dyads. Results: Respondents’ use of brooding rumination, expressive suppression, and worry were positively associated with respondent psychopathology. Friend reappraisal moderated the association between respondent reappraisal and respondent psychopathology. Consistent with an interference hypothesis, respondent cognitive reappraisal was only associated with respondent psychopathology when friend cognitive reappraisal was low. Consistent with a compensatory hypothesis, respondent reappraisal was primarily associated with respondent psychopathology when friend repetitive negative thought was high. Discussion: Results support the extension of models of ER strategy interactions from intrapersonal to interpersonal contexts. Future research is needed to replicate the interference and compensatory interactions observed in the data.