Published Paper Details:

Emerging adulthood (18-25 years) is a developmentally sensitive period marked by heightened academic demands and increased vulnerability to stress. Emotion regulation Strategies are very important in deciding how people deal with and react to certain kinds of pressures.; however, the comparative predictive strength of cognitive reappraisal as well as expressive suppression across different stress domains remains insouciantly clarified, particularly within non Western academic contexts. This study investigated the distinct and comparative predictive the functions of cognitive reappraisal and expressive repression in relation to felt stress and academic stress in emerging adults. A quantitative, cross-sectional, predictive correlational design was utilised. Data were gathered from 200 emerging adults (ages 18-25) enrolled in higher education institutions in India through an online survey. Participants administered the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) (evaluating cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and a comprehensive Academic Stress Scale (ASS). Pearson's correlation along with simultaneous multiple regression analyses were performed utilising Jamovi. Correlation studies revealed that expressive suppression was highly correlated with both perceived stress and academic stress, but cognitive reappraisal showed no significant relationship with either stress measure at the bivariate level. Regression studies indicated that expressive suppression significantly positively predicted both perceived stress and academic stress, whereas cognitive reappraisal significantly negatively predicted perceived stress alone, even accounting for suppression. Reappraisal did not serve as a major predictor of academic stress. The data indicate that expressive suppression is a reliable susceptibility factor for stress, but cognitive reappraisal has a specific protective function for overall stress evaluations. The research emphasises the necessity of differentiating between domain-general and domain specific stress consequences and identifies expressive repression as a vital focus for stress reduction interventions in academic environments for emerging adults.