To reappraise or not to reappraise? Emotion regulation strategies moderate the association of loneliness during COVID-19 with depression and anxiety.

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in heightened feelings of loneliness due to lockouts and social restrictions.

OBJECTIVE

In the present study, we examined the association of loneliness during the pandemic with anxiety and depression, while exploring the moderating role of the tendency to use two emotion-regulation strategies (expressive suppression, cognitive reappraisal).

DESIGN

We chose to examine these associations in a sample of older adults, because they faced higher risk for loneliness and health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Specifically, 174 Israeli veterans and ex-prisoners of wars from the 1973 Yom Kippur war (mean age = 69) completed self-report scales tapping loneliness, depression, anxiety, and emotion regulation strategies at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak (April-May 2020).

RESULTS

Findings revealed a stronger association between loneliness and depression among participants who had a greater tendency of using suppression. The tendency to use suppression did not significantly moderate the link between loneliness and anxiety. Additionally, a weaker association between loneliness and depression was found among participants who has a greater tendency of using reappraisal. However, these participants showed a stronger association between loneliness and anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the complexity of reappraisal and adds to the growing body of work on emotion regulation.