An empirical investigation of mood regulation: description, structure and mood correlates

This study sought to advance understanding of the construct of mood regulation. There were four principal goals: to describe the strategies and activities that individuals engage in to self-regulate mood; to investigate individual differences, according to gender, age and Neuroticism, in strategy use; to test whether mood regulation strategies were predictive of state mood; and to examine whether there were latent dimensions underlying mood regulation strategy usage. The sample comprised 204 participants, including 76 males and 128 females, who ranged in age from 19 to 63 (M = 37.74, SD = 11.60). Participants completed a self-report questionnaire that assessed use of a wide variety of strategies, level of Neuroticism and state mood. Results indicated that cognitive and social strategies were most frequently used for regulating mood. The strategies were significantly related to mood overall, and more specifically, as predicted, exercise and distraction were beneficial for mood, whereas emotion-focused activities were detrimental for mood. Three broad dimensions of mood regulation were identified. The importance of the findings are discussed in relation to the treatment and prevention of mood disorders and related psychopathology.