A study on emotional regulation of an individual during COVID-19 lockdown period

Abstract

Life as we know came to a halt due to the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. Millions of people are locked inside their homes. Close monitoring of behaviour has shown that the lockdown periods have caused individuals to experience heightened feelings of unrest, fear and anxiety. The psychological impact of confinement, working from home, financial problems due to unemployment, sudden change in lifestyle have caused an increased number of people seeking mental health support. This study evaluates an individual’s emotional regulation during lockdown, using the 10-item emotional regulation questionnaire (EQR). The ERQ is divided into two classes, one class is measuring the individual’s use of cognitive reappraisal and the other class is measuring emotional suppression. A random sample of individuals completed the ERQ during the 4th phase of lockdown due to COVID-19 in India. According to the results, the cognitive reappraisal strategy is used more than the expressive suppression strategy by both men and women. It can be interpreted that the individuals have attempted to reinterpret an emotion-eliciting situation in a way that alters its meaning and it changes the emotional impact.