Fears of Evaluation and Emotion Regulation in Adolescents’ Daily Life – An Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) Study

Background: Adolescents frequently experience heightened social fears, including fear of positive evaluation (FPE), which has recently been recognized as a distinct contributor to social anxiety and emotion regulation difficulties. However, little is known about how these fears unfold in daily life. This study investigated how FPE and fear of negative evaluation (FNE) relate to affect, reactions to positive feedback, and emotion regulation in adolescents' everyday experiences. Methods: Eighty adolescents from the general population (14 – 18 years) completed baseline measures of social anxiety, FPE, and FNE, followed by a 14-day ecological momentary assessment with 4 daily assessments (k = 3,423). Participants reported on praise experiences, affect, and ER strategies including acceptance, suppression, and rumination.Results: Multilevel structural equation models showed that FPE was associated with greater negative affect in general, as well as increased negative affect stemming from positive feedback. It also predicted greater use of suppression of positive and negative emotions, reduced acceptance of positive and negative emotions, as well as rumination. Acceptance of positive and negative emotions mediated the effects of FPE on positive affect, whereas suppression of positive emotions and rumination mediated its effects on negative affect. After controlling for FPE, FNE did not emerge as a significant predictor of affect or ER difficulties.Conclusions: FPE plays a distinct and pervasive role in adolescents’ affective and regulatory functioning. Addressing FPE in assessment and treatment may be essential for improving outcomes in socially anxious youth.