Emotion Regulation Strategies and Interpersonal Aggression among Romantic Couples in Twin Cities
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background. In the present study, the relationship of emotion regulation strategies (cognitive appraisal and expressive suppression) with interpersonal aggression in Islamabad and Rawalpindi romantic couples was explored. Specific regulatory processes to use to predict aggressive behaviour were expected and gender dynamics in relation to coping was explored. Method. A cross ecological correlational design was used. A total of 250 participants (47.2% male, 52.8% female) in two-person romantic relationships filled out the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPQ) which had acceptable internal consistency (alpha = .71). Results. Interpersonal aggression was significantly and positively correlated with cognitive appraisal (over-analyzing in context: r = .159, p = .012) and was significantly and negatively correlated with expressive suppression (r = -.147, p = .020). Independent samples t-tests showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores for males and females on the cognitive appraisal subscale (t(248) = 3.58, p < .001, d = 0.45) and interpersonal aggression subscale (t(248) = 3.19, p = .002, d = 0.40); however, there was no gender difference on the suppression subscale. The overall range of variation in the domain of education was very small (5.2%). Conclusion. The notion of "open expression" as found in western contexts may not be relevant here, as Pakistani collectivistic expressive suppression is more like a protective relationship behavior rather than "uninhibited" expression of emotion.
Source: Social science review archives.
Institution: National University of Modern Languages
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7222384187