The mediating role of emotion regulation in the emotional complexity and subjective well-being relationship

BACKGROUND: Emotional complexity involves greater emotional awareness and understanding and associates strongly with adaptive emotion regulation. Similarly, regulation of emotion is vital for achieving, restoring, and sustaining subjective well-being. The present study, therefore, tested the mediatory role of emotion regulatory processes in the relationship between emotional complexity and subjective well-being. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: A total of 285 participants completed self-report measures of emotional complexity, emotion regulation, positive/negative affect, and life satisfaction, and the data were analyzed using correlations and structural equation modelling. RESULTS: Findings indicated that individuals high in emotional complexity experience greater subjective well-being. Moreover, the results revealed that reappraisal mediated the relationship of emotion differentiation with positive affect and life satisfaction whereas suppression mediated the relationship between the range of emotions and life satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the significance of emotion regulation in mediating the relationship between emotional complexity and subjective well-being.