Longitudinal Examination of Emotion Regulation and Adolescent Anxiety: The Moderating Role of Family Functioning and Gender
Summary
Introduction: Adolescence is a critical developmental stage during which many adolescents
experience heightened anxiety symptoms. Emotion regulation (ER) is a crucial factor in the
development and maintenance of anxiety symptoms. Little research has examined whether
contextual factors like family functioning (FF) moderate this relationship, or whether gender
plays a moderating role. Instead, previous studies focused on interpersonal moderating factors
or the direct role of gender on anxiety. The present longitudinal study investigated whether FF
and gender moderate the association between ER and anxiety symptoms in adolescents.
Methods: Data were used from the TRacking Adolescent Individuals Lives Survey (Trails).
The sample included 1818 adolescent at T3 (Mage = 16.3 (SD = 0.7); 52% female) and 1881
adolescents at T4 (Mage = 19.1 (SD = 0.6); 52% female). Hierarchical regression analyses were
conducted, controlling for baseline anxiety (T3) and SES. Results: ER was negatively related
with anxiety symptoms (H1 confirmed). Both FF and gender did not moderate this relationship
(H2 and H3 not confirmed). However, poor FF did independently predict higher anxiety levels.
Discussion: Findings highlights the importance of strengthening ER abilities and promoting
good FF, through early, targeted interventions, especially among girls. Future research should
explore more specific ER strategies and the potential moderating role of peer influence.