Difficulties in emotional regulation in a Tunisian university setting

TL;DR

This study explores emotional regulation challenges among Tunisian university students, finding significant difficulties linked to factors like gender and academic struggles.

Contribution

The study provides insights into emotion regulation difficulties specific to Tunisian university students using the DRES-SF scale.

Findings

Students who repeated years in college reported higher emotional regulation difficulties.

Gender and age were significantly associated with lack of emotional awareness.

Emotion regulation training is recommended for university settings based on the findings.

Abstract

Emotion regulation is the conscious or automatic control of emotions to adapt, cope, and maintain well-being. Effective emotion regulation is central to mental health, impacting work, and relationships. University students, facing academic pressures and social transitions, represent a unique demographic where emotion regulation challenges are particularly relevant.

This study aimed to explore the emotion regulation difficulties in university students.

A descriptive study was led from August to September 2023. An online questionnaire was distributed to a population of Tunisian university students. We administered a socio-demographic questionnaire and the Arabic version of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale short form (DRES-SF), a self-report measure developed to assess clinically relevant difficulties in emotion regulation.

Participants in this study consisted of 307 undergraduate students, with 78.1% being women and 21.9% men, representing various academic disciplines at Tunis el Manar University in Tunisia. The mean age of the participants was 22 years, with a standard deviation of 2.84.In the assessment of emotional regulation difficulties, participants reported a mean total score of 42.47 ± 12.68. Participants who repeated years in college had more difficulties in emotional regulation (p<0.05). Limited access to emotion regulation strategies had a mean score of 7.64 ± 3.0, while nonacceptance of emotional responses was rated at 7.40 ± 3.17. Additionally, impulse control difficulties were reported with a mean score of 6.46 ± 3.31, and difficulties in engaging in goal-directed behavior were observed with a mean score of 9.44 ± 3.18. Moreover, participants expressed a lack of emotional awareness, which was quantified with a mean score of 8.45 ± 2.69, and a lack of emotional clarity, which yielded a mean score of 7.12 ± 2.69. Additionally, a significant association was noted between gender (p < 0.05), age (p < 0.05), and the lack of emotional awareness, suggesting potential gender and age-related variations in emotional regulation difficulties within this university sample.

Overall, these findings suggest the necessity of emotion regulation training in the university setting. Further studies are important to understand the impact of emotional regulation difficulties.

None Declared