Impact of Perceived Stress on Emotion Regulation and General Self-Efficacy of Mental Health Professionals in India

Abstract

Mental health professionals (MHPs) are susceptible to increased stress and burnout. One way to tackle stress is by regulating emotion. Stress also affects one’s belief in their ability to achieve immediate and long-term goals. The present study explores the relationship between perceived stress in 150 Indian MHPs with emotion regulation and general self-efficacy. Emotion regulation is explored based on two strategies: expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal. Results show perceived stress to have a significantly negative association with cognitive reappraisal and general self-efficacy, and a positive one with expressive suppression. Regression analyses establish that perceived stress has a significant impact on the use of the two strategies for emotion regulation, and general self-efficacy. Implications have been further discussed.