Cognitive Reappraisal Experimental Task: Replica in Mexican University Student

Abstract

Background and Depression and anxiety, the most common mental disorders, have had a recent increase in prevalence in university students. The use of emotion regulation strategies and regulation success, which is predictive of mental health, have been primarily assessed through self-report, especially in Latin American samples. The present study sought to test a computerized emotion regulation experimental task in Mexican students samples. Method: Two Mexican samples of undergraduate and graduate students (Sample I: n = 49 and Sample II: n = 40) completed an experimental task (in-house Mexican Spanish translation). Participants were asked to decrease negative affect (reappraise) or react naturally in response to negative or neutral images and to self-report affect immediately after. Results: We found a significant decrease in negative affect when adopting a reappraisal strategy (decrease instruction) in the experimental task when participants were given verbal training instructions. However, these differences were not as strong when they were given in written form. Conclusions: Given that most disorders begin in the early decades of life and the current high prevalence of depression and anxiety in university students, as well the importance of emotion regulation in the onset or prevention of psychopathology, it is important to study these strategies worldwide. The current study presents evidence of reduced negative affect after using reappraisal during an experimental task in Mexican university students. Further, our results highlight the importance of matching processes and replicating results in different cultural contexts.