The Relationship between cognitive reappraisal and psychological well-being during early adolescence: A scoping review

During early adolescence, individuals can refine their use of cognitive reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy while experiencing instability of psychological well-being through changes to positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction. This scoping review aimed to identify and summarise the key findings from studies that have examined early adolescent cognitive reappraisal and psychological well-being. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology, this review yielded 63 studies; 58 studies found a positive relationship between cognitive reappraisal and psychological wellbeing. Most studies that examined age found no association between the frequency of reappraisal use and age. Findings connected to sex differences and contrasts between discrete emotions were inconsistent. The positive association between cognitive reappraisal and well-being indicates that cognitive reappraisal should be actively promoted in youth contexts. Future research should specify the direction of this relationship, how it develops and how effective the relationship is across sexes and discrete emotions.