Cognitive flexibility and emotional autonomy in adolescents: The mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies

The main aim of this present study is to examine the relationship between cognitive flexibility, emotional autonomy and cognitive emotion regulation strategies and the mediator role of using adaptive or maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between cognitive flexibility and emotional autonomy in adolescents. In this respect, the study was conducted with the participation of 528 students attending 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade from eight high schools in Ceylanpınar district of Şanlıurfa. Data about some of the personal information of adolescents obtained by using "Personal Information Form" which prepared by the researcher, data on the level of cognitive flexibility in adolescents were obtained by using "Cognitive Flexibility Scale" (Bilgin, 2009), data on the level of emotional autonomy were obtained by using "Emotional Autonomy Scale" (Steinberg and Silverberg, 1986), data related to emotion regulation strategies which using by adolescents to cope with situations on daily life in cognitive meaning were obtained by using "Cognitive Emotion Regulation Scale" (Garnefski, Kraaij and Spinhoven, 2001). Firstly, the findings from the result of Pearson's Correlation were examined in order to reveal the relationship between the variables and then several regression and multiple regression analyzes were applied to datas obtained from the research results. Significance on the difference of regression coefficients obtained from these analyzes, was examined by using "bootstrapping" method. According to the results which obtained from this present study, it was found that the total score of cognitive flexibility has positive significant relationship with total score of emotional autonomy. Similarly total scores obtained from the choose of adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies has a positive and significant relationship with total score of emotional autonomy. Oppositely, total scores obtained from the choose of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies has negative and significant relationship with total score of emotional autonomy. As a result of the regression analyzes, it was found that level of cognitive flexibility significantly predicted the level of emotional autonomy. As a variable, choosing one of adaptive or maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies were found significantly predicted by the level of cognitive flexibility and these variables significantly predicted level of emotional autonomy. It was found that the relationship between cognitive flexibility level and emotional autonomy level remained significant when these different total scores related to these choosing styles obtained by using adaptive or maladaptive coginitive emotion regulation strategie variables were included but cognitive flexibility level's standardized regression coefficients had significant decrease. Findings about the decrease on values were being statistically significant according to the result of bootstrapping method. Findings has shown us that, as a variable, choosing one of adaptive or maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies plays a partial mediating role on relationship between cognitive flexibility and emotional autonomy.