The DOI matches its Crossref record.
EMOTION REGULATION: A THEME IN SEARCH OF DEFINITION
Abstract
Contemporary interest in emotion regulation promises to advance important new views of emotional development as well as offering applications to developmental psychopathology, but these potential contributions are contingent on developmentalists' attention to some basic definitional issues. This essay offers a perspective on these issues by considering how emotion regulation should be defined, the various components of the management of emotion, how emotion regulation strategies fit into the dynamics of social interaction, and how individual differences in emotion regulation should be conceptualized and measured. In the end, it seems clear that emotion regulation is a conceptual rubric for a remarkable range of developmental processes, each of which may have its own catalysts and control processes. Likewise, individual differences in emotion regulation skills likely have multifaceted origins and are also related in complex ways to the person's emotional goals and the immediate demands of the situation. Assessment approaches that focus on the dynamics of emotion are well suited to elucidating these complex developmental and individual differences. In sum, a challenging research agenda awaits those who enter this promising field of study.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cited by
Items 201–245 of 245
Mark Cummings, E., El-Sheikh, M., Kouros, C. D., & Buckhalt, J. A. (2009) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-009-0042-7 · Cited by 57
Continuous Traumatic Stress and the Life Cycle: Exposure to Repeated Political Violence in Israel
Pat-Horenczyk, R., & Schiff, M. (2019) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-019-1060-x · Cited by 59
Emotional instability, poor emotional awareness, and the development of borderline personality
Cole, P. M., Llera, S. J., & Pemberton, C. K. (2009) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579409990162 · Cited by 53
Emotional Competence During Childhood and Adolescence
Denham, S. A. (2019) · Handbook of Emotional Development · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-17332-6_20 · Cited by 52
De Witte, N. A. J., Sütterlin, S., Braet, C., & Mueller, S. C. (2016) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164615 · Cited by 47
Feliu-Soler, A., Reche-Camba, E., Borràs, X., Pérez-Aranda, A., Andrés-Rodríguez, L., Peñarrubia-María, M. T., Navarro-Gil, M., García-Campayo, J., Bellón, J. A., & Luciano, J. V. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02075 · Cited by 49
Using temporal distancing to regulate emotion in adolescence: modulation by reactive aggression
Ahmed, S. P., Somerville, L. H., & Sebastian, C. L. (2018) · Cognition and Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2017.1358698 · Cited by 48
Hébert, M., Langevin, R., & Charest, F. (2020) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.02.032 · Cited by 48
Shapero, B. G., Stange, J. P., McArthur, B. A., Abramson, L. Y., & Alloy, L. B. (2019) · Cognition and Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2018.1462148 · Cited by 46
Alkoby, A., Pliskin, R., Halperin, E., & Levit-Binnun, N. (2019) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000461 · Cited by 45
Coping and emotion regulation: A conceptual and measurement scoping review.
Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Boucher, G., Morin, C., Mondragon, P., Guimond, A.-J., Nishimi, K., Choi, K. W., & Denckla, C. (2024) · Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne · doi:10.1037/cap0000377 · Cited by 44
Yaroslavsky, I., Rottenberg, J., Bylsma, L. M., Jennings, J. R., George, C., Baji, I., Benák, I., Dochnal, R., Halas, K., Kapornai, K., et al. (2016) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/abn0000149 · Cited by 43
Emotional development through the lens of affective social competence
Camras, L. A., & Halberstadt, A. G. (2017) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.07.003 · Cited by 43
Emotion regulation and executive function: Associations with depression and anxiety in autism
Conner, C. M., Elias, R., Smith, I. C., & White, S. W. (2023) · Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102103 · Cited by 43
Prenatal maternal mood entropy is associated with child neurodevelopment.
Howland, M. A., Sandman, C. A., Davis, E. P., Stern, H. S., Phelan, M., Baram, T. Z., & Glynn, L. M. (2021) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000726 · Cited by 40
Maternal and adolescent distress tolerance: the moderating role of gender
Daughters, S. B., Gorka, S. M., Rutherford, H. J. V., & Mayes, L. C. (2014) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0034991 · Cited by 40
College Student Binge Eating: Insecure Attachment and Emotion Regulation
Han, S., & Pistole, M. C. (2014) · Journal of College Student Development · doi:10.1353/csd.2014.0004 · Cited by 38
McVey, A. J., Schiltz, H. K., Coffman, M., Antezana, L., & Magnus, B. (2022) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-021-05018-4 · Cited by 37
Cassidy, A. R. (2016) · Child Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/09297049.2014.994484 · Cited by 37
Dynamics of Positive Emotion Regulation: Associations with Youth Depressive Symptoms
Fussner, L. M., Luebbe, A. M., & Bell, D. J. (2015) · Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10802-014-9916-3 · Cited by 34
How People Emotionally Respond to the News on COVID-19: An Online Survey
Hamidein, Z., Hatami, J., & Rezapour, T. (2020) · Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Journal · doi:10.32598/bcn.11.covid19.809.2 · Cited by 32
Suicide attempts and emotion regulation in psychiatric outpatients
Harris, L., Chelminski, I., Dalrymple, K., Morgan, T., & Zimmerman, M. (2018) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.02.054 · Cited by 34
del Río-Casanova, L., González, A., Páramo, M., Van Dijke, A., & Brenlla, J. (2016) · Reviews in the Neurosciences · doi:10.1515/revneuro-2015-0045 · Cited by 32
Chanen, A. M., Betts, J. K., Jackson, H., Cotton, S. M., Gleeson, J., Davey, C. G., Thompson, K., Perera, S., Rayner, V., Chong, S. Y., et al. (2022) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0706743721992677 · Cited by 30
The impact of attachment security and emotion dysregulation on anxiety in children and adolescents
Bender, P. K., Sømhovd, M., Pons, F., Reinholdt-Dunne, M. L., & Esbjørn, B. H. (2015) · Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties · doi:10.1080/13632752.2014.933510 · Cited by 31
Vines, L., Bridgwater, M., Bachman, P., Hayes, R., Catalano, S., & Jalbrzikowski, M. (2022) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.13212 · Cited by 30
From children’s expressive control to emotion regulation: Looking back, looking ahead
Cole, P. M., & Jacobs, A. E. (2018) · European Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17405629.2018.1438888 · Cited by 29
Keil, V., Asbrand, J., Tuschen-Caffier, B., & Schmitz, J. (2017) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-017-0942-x · Cited by 28
The Effects of Mentoring Programs on Emotional Well-Being in Youth: a Meta-analysis
Claro, A., & Perelmiter, T. (2022) · Contemporary School Psychology · doi:10.1007/s40688-021-00377-2 · Cited by 28
Burckhardt, R., Manicavasagar, V., Shaw, F., Fogarty, A., Batterham, P. J., Dobinson, K., & Karpin, I. (2018) · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · doi:10.1080/02673843.2017.1292927 · Cited by 26
“Emotion regulation is defined as the ability to monitor, evaluate and modify emotional experiences in order to accomplish one’s goals (Thompson, 1994).”
BackgroundPatterns of Adolescent Regulatory Responses During Family Conflict and Mental Health Trajectories
Koss, K. J., Cummings, E. M., Davies, P. T., & Cicchetti, D. (2017) · Journal of Research on Adolescence · doi:10.1111/jora.12269 · Cited by 25
Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire
Fujisato, H., Ito, M., Takebayashi, Y., Hosogoshi, H., Kato, N., Nakajima, S., Miyamae, M., Oe, Y., Usami, S., Kanie, A., et al. (2017) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.08.064 · Cited by 23
Childhood and adolescent psychologic development
Culbertson, J. L., Newman, J. E., & Willis, D. J. (2003) · Pediatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/s0031-3955(03)00080-4 · Cited by 23
Kang, J.-H., Ahn, H. M., Jeong, J. W., Hwang, I., Kim, H. T., Kim, S. H., & Kim, S.-P. (2012) · NeuroReport · doi:10.1097/wnr.0b013e32835a6475 · Cited by 18
Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, and Performance
Moore, Z. E. (2016) · Mindfulness and Performance · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139871310.003 · Cited by 20
Examining a model of anxiety in autistic adults
Riedelbauch, S., Gaigg, S. B., Thiel, T., Roessner, V., & Ring, M. (2024) · Autism · doi:10.1177/13623613231177777 · Cited by 19
“Emotion regulation (ER) comprises all the strategies people use to modulate their emotions in order to reach personal goals (Thompson, 1994).”
BackgroundThe temporal association between emotional clarity and depression symptoms in adolescents
Blöte, A. W., & Westenberg, P. M. (2019) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.01.005 · Cited by 17
Soares, L. S., Alves, A. L. C., Costa, D. D. S., Malloy-Diniz, L. F., Paula, J. J. D., Romano-Silva, M. A., & Miranda, D. M. D. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.593150 · Cited by 17
Buckholdt, K. E., Weiss, N. H., Young, J., & Gratz, K. L. (2015) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-014-0528-5 · Cited by 14
Zobel, S. B., Bruno, S., Torru, P., Rogier, G., & Velotti, P. (2023) · Psychiatry Investigation · doi:10.30773/pi.2022.0338 · Cited by 13
Collaborative Irrationality, Akrasia, and Groupthink: Social Disruptions of Emotion Regulation
Szanto, T. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02002 · Cited by 12
“According to whether ER concerns modulating the primarily situative 5See on emotion regulation in different developmental, social and non-social settings (Thompson, 1994; Campos et al., 2011; Varga and Krueger, 2013; Levenson et al., 2014; Krueger, 2016; Taipale, 2016).”
BackgroundRodríguez-Sabiote, C., Ibáñez-Cubillas, P., López-Rodríguez, S., & Álvarez-Rodríguez, J. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.695147 · Cited by 11
The Emotional Experience and Expression of Anger: Children’s Perspectives
Oolup, C., Brown, J., Nowicki, E., & Aziz, D. (2016) · Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal · doi:10.1007/s10560-015-0423-3 · Cited by 11
Mazefsky, C. A. (2012) · Perspectives on Language Learning and Education · doi:10.1044/lle19.2.38 · Cited by 8
Martín-Bozas, F., Escolano-Pérez, E., & Bestué-Laguna, M. (2025) · Contemporary Educational Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2025.102364 · Cited by 3
Metadata
- Authors
- Thompson, R. A.
- Venue
- Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1994-02
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 2-3
- Pages
- 25-52
- ISSN
- 0037-976X (ISSN-L)
- 1540-5834
- OpenAlex
- W1966905618
- Cited by
- 2,963
- References
- 0
- FWCI
- 15.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.
