Investigating social exclusion, affect and emotion regulation in young people using the ostracism online paradigm

TL;DR

This study explores how social exclusion affects young people's emotions and whether acceptance strategies can help them recover.

Contribution

The study investigates the psychological effects of ostracism and the role of acceptance in recovery among adolescents.

Findings

Ostracism worsened both positive and negative affect in young people.

Internalizing symptoms were linked to emotion regulation and rejection sensitivity.

Trained acceptance did not significantly help recovery from ostracism.

Abstract

Social exclusion significantly affects adolescents’ well-being. Previous research has indicated that factors such as rejection sensitivity, internalizing disorders and dysfunctional emotion regulation can amplify the emotional impact of ostracism, whereas strategies such as acceptance may alleviate it. This study explores affect changes induced by the Ostracism Online paradigm, and examines the roles of rejection sensitivity, emotion regulation and internalizing symptoms in N = 73 young people (aged 14–21). The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups to test whether trained acceptance could support recovery from ostracism. As hypothesized, the results revealed worsened positive and negative affect following ostracism. Other than predicted, rejection sensitivity and internalizing symptoms did not significantly influence these changes. Contrary to expectations, acceptance did not facilitate recovery. The time x group interaction did not reach significance after correction, and post hoc tests did not reveal significant differences. As hypothesized, internalizing symptoms were linked to emotion regulation and rejection sensitivity. These findings contribute to understanding the psychological impact of ostracism, emphasizing the importance of considering mental health in future research, along with the study’s limitations.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-09565-z.

Figures