Cognitive emotion regulation profiles and depressive symptoms in adolescents: A person-centered approach

Abstract

In adolescents who had experienced at least one stressful life event, it was studied if cognitive emotion regulation strategies could form distinct profiles, and whether these profiles were differentially associated with depressive symptoms. A total of 420 adolescents participated, including 342 typical and 78 clinically depressed adolescents. Data was collected in The Netherlands. A person-centered approach with Latent Profile Analysis was used, to identify underlying profiles of cognitive emotion regulation, based on the adolescents’ reports of their use of cognitive emotion regulation strategies when they were confronted with stressful life events. Nine different strategies, five purportedly adaptive and four maladaptive, were used as indicators. Four distinct profiles of cognitive emotion regulation strategies with distinct features were found: Low Regulators (n = 36), High Regulators (n = 174), Adaptive Regulators (n = 126) and Maladaptive Regulators (n = 84). Maladaptive Regulators endorsed higher levels of depressive symptoms, relative to Low, High and Adaptive Regulators. Clinically depressed adolescents made use of all profiles, but the Maladaptive Regulators profile was used most. Age differences showed that Low Regulators were younger than High Regulators and Adaptive Regulators. Maladaptive Regulators were younger than High Regulators. The findings underscore the utility of using a person-centered approach in order to identify patterns of cognitive emotion regulation deficits in psychopathology.