Suman Lam, Sally S. Dickerson, Peggy M. Zoccola, Frank Zaldivar

Background: Previous laboratory studies have found a relationship between  experimentally manipulated emotion regulation strategies such as suppression and  reappraisal and cardiovascular reactivity. However, these studies have not  examined trait forms of these strategies and cortisol responses. The aim of the  present study is to investigate the relationship betw een trait suppression,  reappraisal, and cortisol reactivity to a social-evaluative speech  task.
Methods: Participants completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire  [ERQ; Gross, J.J., John,O.P., 2003. Individual differences in two emotion  regulation processes: implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. J.  Pers. Soc. Psychol. 85, 348—362] to assess trait suppression and reappraisal and  were asked to complete a speech task in front of an evaluative audience. They  provided five saliva samples throughout the duration of the session to assess  cortisol response patterns.
Results: Consistent with hypot heses, trait  suppression predicted exaggerated cortisol responses to the speech task, with  those scoring higher on suppression exhibiting greater cortisol reactivity. High  levels of trait reappraisal also predicted exaggerated cortisol reactivity to  the speech task.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that certain emotion  regulation strategies such as suppression and reappraisal predict heightened  cortisol reactivity to an acute stressor. Future studies should examine the  psychological mechanisms through which these emotion regulation strategies  affect cortisol response patterns.