Poster #217 - The Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies on Self-Esteem in Turkish Adolescents

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Social, Emotional, Personality

Integrative Statement

Introduction: Previous research investigated the link between maternal warmth and adolescents’ self-esteem. The aim of the present study was to examine the underlying mechanism of the relationship between maternal warmth and self-esteem in Turkish adolescents. Adolescence is characterized by an increased need to regulate affect and they develop various emotion regulation strategies. Also, they start to develop more abstract characterizations of themselves and start to view themselves in terms of personal beliefs and standards with an attainment of a more fully conscious and self-directed mind. Thus, self development and development of emotion regulation strategies are two milestones of adolescence period. Therefore, the present study evaluated whether a mediation model tested the relationship between maternal warmth and self-esteem with a mediator of reappraisal.
Method: The sample consisted of a total of 310 Turkish mothers (Mage= 43.35, SDage= 5.59) and their children (121 boy, 189 girl; Mage= 15.61, SDage= .49). Mothers completed a family demographics form.
Adolescents completed child version of parenting behaviors scale (EMBU; Castro, Toro, Van Der Ende, and Arrindell, 1993), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965), Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ; Garnefski, Kraaij, & Spinhoven, 2001) and Suppression Subscale of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERC; Gross & John, 2003).
Results: Factor analysis was conducted on Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. The first composite scale was “reappraisal-focused” regulation strategy and included items from three subscales with high loadings: positive refocusing, focus on planning and putting things into perspective. The second composite scale was “worry-focused” regulation strategy with items from the two subscales: rumination and catastrophizing. The third emotion regulation strategy was “suppression” from the Suppression Subscale of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. The results revealed that reappraisal-focused strategies positively predicted self-esteem (β =.29, t(309) = 5.37, p< .001), whereas worry-focused regulation strategies negatively predicted self-esteem (β = -.27,t(309) = -5.27, p< .001). Suppression did not predict self-esteem (β = -.22, t(309) = -.55, p=n.s.).
Secondly, adolescents’ perceived maternal warmth was positively related to adolescents’ reappraisal and self-esteem, r = .22 and r = .35, respectively. Moreover, adolescents’ reappraisal was positively related to their self-esteem, r = .29. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analysis was used to investigate that reappraisal mediated the effect of perceived warmth on self-esteem. Results indicated that warmth was a significant predictor of reappraisal, β = .25, SE = .06, p < .05, and reappraisal was a significantly predictor of self-esteem, β =.23, SE = .05, p < .05. Also, adolescents’ reappraisal mediated the relation between perceived warmth and self-esteem, β=.39, SE = .06, p < .05. In general, 35% of the variance in self-esteem was accounted for by the predictors (R2= .35). It was indicated that the indirect effect coefficient was significant, β=.05, SE= .02, 95% CI = .0183, .0920.
Discussion: In conclusion, the relationship between adolescents’ emotion regulation strategies and self-esteem was investigated in Turkish sample and the results were interpreted considering the cultural variations in the literature. Since it was a cross-sectional sample, the directionality of the mediation models need to be tested with a longitudinal sample too.

Authors

• BİLGE GENÇOĞLU, BOĞAZİÇİ UNIVERSITY
  Presenting Author

• FEYZA ÇORAPÇI, BOĞAZİÇİ UNİVERSITY
  Non-Presenting Author