| Summary: | Background: Study of emotion regulation strategies used by youth becomes necessary in the background of the high prevalence of emotional disorders in this population. This study examined emotion regulation and psychological problems among college youth as well as the relationship between the two. Methodology: Four hundred and nineteen students, who were divided into two groups (older adolescents, aged 16-17 years - group 1, n = 217; young adults aged 18-25 years - group 2, n = 202) participated in this exploratory study. Results: Predominantly positive emotion regulation strategies were used by group 1 (positive refocusing, refocus on planning, and positive reappraisal, respectively). The sample as a whole used more positive strategies (positive refocusing: 82% and 64% and refocus on planning: 93% and 87% in groups 1 and 2, respectively). Significant correlations between emotion regulation strategies (CERQ) and psychological problems (YSR/YASR) were found, thereby indicating that negative emotion regulation strategies were associated with psychological problems and vice versa. Females were found to have more of anxiety problems as opposed to males with more of conduct problems. However with increase in age, increase in the percentage of psychological problems and usage of negative emotion regulation strategies was observed. Conclusion: The findings of the present study contribute to understanding the patterns of emotion regulation in various emotional disorders. Findings could also contribute to developing an intervention program to help students having difficulty in regulation of their emotions.
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