Abstract
Recently, the field of interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) has gained attention within the sports field (Tamminen et al., 2022). Early evidence suggests a relevant influence of IER on both athletes’ performance (Campo et al., 2017) and their psychosocial experiences within sport (Tamminen et al., 2016). Despite this growing evidence, to date, there is limited research that has examined who engages in IER and how factors such as sport type, leadership status, age, and competitive level influence athletes’ IER. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore differences in IER according to athletes’ demographic variables within sport. To do so, we assessed 1,495 adolescent athletes (mean age = 16.23; 40.9% females) from 155 sports teams using the Emotion Regulation of Others and Self Questionnaire (EROS) and measuring different demographic variables (age, gender, competitive level, leadership, and playing status). To complete the EROS, participants had to rate how each of their teammates influenced their emotions (either positively or negatively) and how they themselves influenced the emotions of each of their teammates. Our findings indicate that male athletes typically employ more affect-improving strategies compared to females. Furthermore, variations in IER strategies were observed across different sports, and athletes in leadership roles or with significant on-field presence exhibited more pronounced IER (either positive or negative) behaviours towards their teammates. No significant differences in IER were found across age groups or competitive levels. These findings provide valuable empirical insights into demographic variations in IER usage, contributing to the development of this area of knowledge.
