The inertia of anger and sadness among adolescents and adults: The role of self-efficacy in regulating negative emotions

Abstract

Emotional inertia (i.e., the resistance to change of emotional states) is an index of regulatory deficit linked to psychological maladjustment. Using ecological momentary assessment, we explored the role of Self-efficacy in Regulating Negative Affect (SRN), as a baseline measure, to buffer sadness and anger inertia, measured three times a day over 28 days in two samples from the UK: (1) adults ( n = 166 adults; Mage = 35.71, SD = 12.96; 73% women) and (2) adolescents ( n = 82 adolescents; Mage 14.88, SD = 1.34; 72% girls). Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling showed that both sadness and anger had significant levels of inertia. Importantly, the inertia of sadness was weakened by high levels of SRN among both adults and adolescents ( β = −.211, 95% CI [−.303, −.112]; and β = −.485, 95% CI [−.707, −.162], respectively). No buffering effect of SRN was found for the inertia of anger. These findings suggest the importance of strengthening adults’ and adolescents’ SRN to manage their sadness in everyday life.