The mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between emotional reactivity and emotion regulation

This study aims to examine the mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between emotional reactivity and emotion regulation in adults (18-65 years old) who live in Turkey. The study consists of 339 participants (Nfemale= 210, Nmale= 94, Nothers= 35). The data of the research was collected through the Demographic Information Form (DIF), Emotional Reactivity Scale (ERS), Difficulty in Emotion Regulation-Short Form (DERS-16), and Cognitive Distortion Scale (CDS). In this study, the correlational modelwas used. In the data analysis phase, independent sample t-test and ANOVA were used to examine emotional reactivity, which is the dependent variable of the study, in terms of various socio-demographic variables; the relationship between the variables was tested with the Pearson Correlation analysis. Hayes Process (Model 4) mediating variable analysis was conducted to examine the mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between emotional reactivity and emotion regulation. The analysis of the obtained data was performed using the SPSS PROCESS 3.5 version of the SPSS statistical program. When the findings were examined, it was found that the total emotional reactivity scores of the participants differed according to gender, age, and parental attitudes, but there was no difference according to the income variable. A positive correlation was found between emotional reactivity, difficulty in emotion regulation, and cognitive distortion scales, and cognitive distortions were found to partially mediate the relationship between emotional reactivity and emotion regulation.