The Interplay of Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Emotion Regulation Strategies in College Students

Emotion regulation (ER) is important for psychological well-being. While previous research has focused on intrapersonal ER, few studies address intrapersonal and interpersonal ER concurrently. Using a person-centered approach, this study aimed to identify subgroups of college students based on different intra- and interpersonal ER profiles and examine how ER profiles related to psychological well-being.

This cross-sectional study included 548 Chinese college students. Self-reported questionnaires were used to collect levels of intra- and interpersonal ER, and psychological well-being (i.e., valued living, depressive and anxiety symptoms, positive and negative affect). Latent profile analysis was conducted to identify different intra- and interpersonal ER profiles. We used three-step multinomial regression analyses to explore how socio-demographic variables related to ER profiles, and applied the Bolck–Croon–Hagenaars approach to examine how the ER profiles related to psychological well-being.

Five distinct profiles were identified: “low ER” (6.9%), “moderate intrapersonal ER” (14.4%), “average ER” (31.6%), “high ER with frequent expressive suppression use” (25.9%), and “adaptive high ER” (21.2%). Females and individuals in relationship were more likely to report “adaptive high ER” profile. People with an “adaptive high ER” profile reported best psychological well-being.

We identified five profiles with different combinations of six facets of intra- and interpersonal ER. People with distinct profiles differed in psychological well-being. An engagement in relationship may enhance adaptive emotion regulation. Future research should adopt a longitudinal design and explore factors predicting adaptive ER strategies.