3 - (SYM 120) Emotion Regulation and Discrimination: Exploring the Dynamic Relationship Between Emotion Regulation and Identity-based Stressors

Cognitive reappraisal (CR) is the most studied adaptative emotion regulation strategy and is a cornerstone of empirically supported treatments like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CR requires an individual to examine a situation from different perspectives to reduce negative emotions. However, there is mounting evidence to suggest that reappraisal is not effective in all contexts. For instance, CR may be ineffective when individuals are faced with discrimination due to the unchangeable nature of one’s identity. A sample of college students (n=366) recruited from 2021-2023 with a sexual minority identity (i.e., identifying as lesbian, gay, and bisexual) participated in a 2x2 within-subjects design experiment involving four vignettes simulating identity-based stress and non-identity-based stress. Participants were instructed to engage in emotion regulation (i.e., reappraisal via perspective-taking or experiencing emotions naturally). Participants reported their negative affect before and after engaging in emotion regulation. The experimental paradigm successfully increased negative affect (d = -0.51, 95% CI = -0.72, -0.30). Identity-based stressors (vs. non-identity-based) led to higher negative affect after engaging in emotion regulation (d = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.54, 0.98), whereas reappraisal (vs. experiencing emotions naturally) resulted in significantly lower negative affect (d = -0.55, 95% CI = -0.76, -0.34). We found no interaction between identity basis, emotion regulation, and time when negative affect was measured. However, even after reappraising, when individuals were presented with identity-based scenarios, they still experienced moderate levels of discrimination. These findings suggest that reappraisal may be an adaptive strategy regardless of the identity basis of the stressor.