Emotion regulation strategy use and daily levels of affective arousal, affective valence and dissociation in a clinical sample

Abstract

Clinical models and cross-sectional research suggest that habitual use of disengagement-oriented emotion regulation strategies is associated with high levels of affective arousal, negative valence, and dissociation, whereas engagement-oriented strategies show the opposite effect. However, intensive longitudinal evidence remains scarce. This study examined whether habitual use of 10 emotion regulation strategies, assessed using the Process Model of Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (PMERQ), predicts affective arousal and valence, and dissociation in daily life. We analysed ecological momentary assessment data from 88 individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, and dissociative disorders. Baseline PMERQ scores did not robustly predict daily levels of affective arousal and valence, and dissociation. The overall null findings of our study could reflect either a true absence of meaningful effects, insufficient sample size, or a mismatch between trait-level emotion regulation measures and momentary affect/dissociation. Future studies should prioritise momentary assessments of emotion regulation to disentangle state and trait effects.