title: Emotion Malleability Beliefs, Emotion Regulation and School-Related Wellbeing in Young People
Creators: name: Beaumont, J
Publisher: name: Liverpool John Moores University
Year: 2023

description: Previous research has shown that believing emotions are malleable is positively linked to the emotion regulation strategy cognitive reappraisal, and to improvements in facets of wellbeing. However, less is known about how anxiety and happiness malleability beliefs, or beliefs about the malleability of one’s own emotions, relate to cognitive reappraisal and wellbeing. Moreover, most studies do not allow for inferences about the directionality of relations between these constructs over time. There have also been no investigations which have examined how emotion malleability beliefs and cognitive reappraisal are linked to school-related wellbeing; and most studies have yet to compare beliefs about the malleability of one’s own emotions with beliefs about the malleability of other people’s emotions, to identify which has the stronger relations with wellbeing. To address gaps in the current literature, this doctoral thesis examined relations between beliefs about the malleability of one’s own emotions (considering emotion beliefs in general, happiness malleability beliefs, and anxiety malleability beliefs), cognitive reappraisal and school-related wellbeing over a 12-month period across two school years. Data were collected in November 2018, May 2019, and November 2019. Findings were extended to identify whether beliefs about the malleability of one’s own anxiety and happiness had stronger relations with wellbeing than beliefs about the malleability of other people’s anxiety and happiness. Participants were 2,365 secondary school and 6th form college students in England (aged 11–19 years). Three latent cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) examined the directional ordering of emotion malleability beliefs, cognitive reappraisal and wellbeing over time. Findings showed that school-related wellbeing was reciprocally related to cognitive reappraisal. In addition, believing one’s own anxiety was malleable positively predicted school-related wellbeing. School-related wellbeing positively predicted beliefs in the malleability of one’s own happiness, and believing one’s own happiness was malleable positively predicted cognitive reappraisal. However, all three significant malleability belief relations were only evident across the first two waves. General emotion malleability beliefs were not related to cognitive reappraisal or school-related wellbeing. Further analyses showed that beliefs about the malleability of one’s own anxiety and beliefs about the malleability of other people’s anxiety had the same equivalent power in predicting school-related wellbeing. School-related wellbeing did not predict beliefs about the malleability of other people’s happiness. Findings may inform the design of interventional research in schools and colleges by highlighting the importance of cognitive reappraisal, and anxiety and happiness malleability beliefs in the school-related wellbeing of young people. School leaders and educators may also consider developing instructional practices which promote the use of cognitive reappraisal in the classroom, and consider adopting a whole-school growth mindset approach to promote malleability beliefs and improve wellbeing.