title: Mindfulness and emotion regulation in older and young adults.
abstract: Research shows that dispositional mindfulness is associated with metrics of overall well-being, with enhanced emotion regulation potentially underlying these salutary effects. However, the role of regulation strategy use remains poorly understood. In this study, we examined age-variant associations between dispositional mindfulness, emotion regulation strategies, and emotion dysregulation.
  
  
  
  Self-report data were collected from 50 older and 50 young adults on mindfulness, emotion dysregulation, and recent strategy use. For the current study, we examined if cognitive reappraisal, experiential suppression, and thought avoidance use mediated the association between mindfulness and emotion dysregulation.
  
  
  
  Thought avoidance, but not reappraisal or suppression strategies, partially mediated the association between mindfulness and emotion dysregulation. Age group moderated the observed mediation, such that for young adults, lower mindfulness was associated with greater use of thought avoidance, and in turn with greater emotion dysregulation (e.g., difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior in the face of strong emotions).
  
  
  
  The current cross-sectional study suggests that reduced avoidance of thoughts may partially explain the relationship between trait mindfulness and enhanced emotion regulation, with this mediational pathway being stronger for young compared with older adults.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , The Ohio State University , Columbus , OH , USA.
authors.forename: Ruchika Shaurya
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , The Ohio State University , Columbus , OH , USA.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Whitmoyer
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , The Ohio State University , Columbus , OH , USA.
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aldao
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , The Ohio State University , Columbus , OH , USA.
authors.forename: Brittney
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schirda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064866:Mindfulness; D008960:Models, Psychological; D057566:Self Report; D000068356:Self-Control / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: age differences; emotion regulation abilities; emotion regulation strategies; mindfulness