The effect of expectancies for negative mood regulation

Abstract

The role of expectancies regarding negative mood regulation in improving the mood states of undergraduate students when they experience both negative and positive life events was investigated. In Study 1, a Japanese language scale for measuring expectancies for negative mood regulation (NMR scale) was developed. In Study 2, undergraduates (n = 95) completed the NMR scale twice within an interval of five-weeks. They also completed a self-rating depression scale and a scale of life events in interpersonal and achievement domains. The results indicated that participants with high NMR scores did not experience depression when they faced negative events, if they concurrently experienced positive life events. These results suggest that expectancies for negative mood regulation alleviate the negative mood states by using a mood regulation strategy moderated by positive life events, and predict the level of depression.