I feel sad, what can I do? Analyses of mood regulation strategies used by emotionally intelligent people

The main aim of this study was to analyze the frequency and effectiveness of mood-regulation strategies that people use when they feel sad, and to examine how these mood-regulation strategies are associated with the emotion management subscale of an EI ability measure, and with depression symptoms. The sample was composed of 400 participants. The measures used were the Self Regulating Strategies of Mood Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the subscale of Emotion Management of the Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test. Results showed that the most effective strategy to regulate sadness was “call, talk to, or be with someone”. Higher scores in emotional management were associated with lower scores in depression, as well as the use of different mood-regulation strategies to reduce sadness. Moreover, the emotion management subscale accounted for some of the variance in depression beyond mood-regulation strategies. Finally, the implications of these findings are discussed.