Comparing Indices of Emotion Regulation Variability across Culturally Diverse Samples: Associations with Negative Affect

This study aimed to refine the concept of emotion regulation (ER) variability by comparing five indices: standard deviation (SD), standard deviation controlling for mean (SDM), relative standard deviation (RSD), coefficient of variation (CV), and Bray-Curtis dissimilarity (BC-D). Using four culturally diverse Ecological Momentary Assessment datasets from Germany, Belgium, and China, we examined how well these indices predict negative affect (NA) both concurrently and prospectively. Multilevel modeling revealed that CV consistently predicted lower concurrent NA across datasets, while BC-D was the most consistent predictor of reduced NA at future time points. In contrast, variability measures that don’t account for individual mean differences, like SD, showed inconsistent associations with NA. These findings highlight the importance of considering relative and temporal variability in ER strategy use (as indicated by CV and BC-D) over absolute variability. Results suggest that better emotional outcomes are linked to the ability to selectively adapt ER strategies and deviate from one's typical regulatory level. This study enhances our understanding of adaptive ER processes and offers insights for developing interventions to promote emotional well-being.