5 - (SYM 36) Lab-based Interpretation Flexibility Predicts Longitudinal Emotion Regulation Variability and Less Intense Daily Affect

Abstract Body
When faced with social situations that are often dynamic and ambiguous, people need to integrate new information and revise existing interpretations. The capacity to update existing interpretations as new information becomes available is termed interpretation flexibility and is related to overall psychological well-being, alterations in emotions and emotion regulation (ER). While interpretation flexibility is often assessed with lab-based cognitive tasks, the dynamic nature of emotions and ER calls for study methods with greater ecological validity, such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA), to capture the daily fluctuation of emotions and variability in ER. This mixed-method study pairs lab-based flexibility measure at baseline (i.e., the Interpretation Inflexibility Task) with daily diary data on affect and ER over a 14-day period. Participants (n = 110) were asked to report daily ER strategy use (selecting from 11 common ER strategies such as distraction, rumination and savoring), positive and negative affect. Demographic information, along with chronic stress exposure and perceived discrimination are also measured at baseline. Results showed that baseline interpretation flexibility predicts ER variability over time, whereas both interpretation flexibility and ER variability relate to less intense affect (i.e., lower means of positive and negative affect over the 14 days). Chronic stress (especially identity-based stress) exposure and discrimination relate to less interpretation flexibility, calling attention to internalized stress as related to inflexible thought patterns. Our findings draw connections between the flexibility in updating social interpretations and that in implementing ER strategies variably based on shifting situational demands. The focus on ER variability has important clinical implications, highlighting the need to not only encourage specific ER strategies, but also consider the contextual factors (e.g., daily stressors) and how individuals can adjust their ER strategy use to cope with shifting situational demands.