Emotional regulation and friendship

Abstract

Previous literature has been shown that emotional regulation facilitates the establishment and maintenance of social relations (Dodge Garber, 1991; Saarni, 1999). The objective of the present study was to analyze the influence of emotional regulation (Gross y John, 2003) in positive friendship (Berscheid, 2003), specifically at the level of intimacy with friends. In addition, we examined the mediating role of positive emotions in the relationship between the emotional regulation and the level of intimacy with friends. The results of the study indicate that positive emotions mediate the relationship between emotional adjustment and the levels of intimacy that we maintain with our friends. These findings suggest that those people that use a reassessment as a form of emotional regulation strategy, generate more positive emotions, which then impact on a higher level of intimacy with his friends.