Earlier research has identified a remarkable number of related factors to resilience during adolescence. Historically, theoretical treatments of resilience have been focused almost exclusively on psychosocial levels of analysis to derive explanatory models. However, there is insufficient understanding about the role of emotion regulation explaining competent functioning despite the experience of adversity (resilience), especially during adolescence. This study explores the relationship between both, emotional regulation abilities and strategies, and resilience in a sample of adolescents from suburbs high-schools (Jerez de la Frontera, Spain). The study also examines how using different emotional regulation strategies may help the development of resilience levels at this stage. Participants of the study were 164 adolescents ranging from 13 to 16 years old (M= 13.98; SD = .66). Emotion regulation was measured using the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ, Garnefski et al., 2001), and sections D and H of Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, a performance test (Emotion Regulation Ability sections, MSCEIT, Spanish version, Mayer et al., 2003). Resilience was evaluated with ERE (Educative Resilience Scale for children and adolescents, Saavedra and Castro, 2009). Verbal Intelligence (Yuste, 1997) and personality traits (Cattell and Cattell, 1986) were assessed as two independent variables. Results supported the idea that emotion regulation ability (MSCEIT, D and H sections, Extremera et al., 2006) is a significant predictor of adolescents’ resilience. Moreover, cognitive regulation strategies, such as positive reappraisal, predicted perceived resilience among students. Sociability (A factor of HSPQ) (sociability) also correlated with resilience levels. Hence, these results are promising, implying that emotion regulation ability may act as a helpful tool preventing adolescents from irrational risky behaviors, commonly assumed at this developmental stage.

Students’ ability to evaluate emotionally challenging situations and identify effective strategies for managing emotions in themselves and others was negatively related to poor classroom social behavior across three studies. These studies, involving 463 students from two Spanish high schools and one American university, examined indicators of adaptation to school based on teacher ratings and official school records. Relationships between the ability to manage emotions, measured with a situational judgment test, and indicators of social adaptation to school remained significant or marginally significant after controlling for demographic factors, personality traits, and indicators of cognitive ability. These findings suggest that emotion regulation knowledge and skills that can be taught explain important aspects of socio-emotional adaptation to school over and above other relevant constructs.

Emotional intelligence (EI) stands at the nexus between intelligence and emotion disciplines, and we outline how EI research might be better integrated within both theoretical frameworks. From the former discipline, empirical research focused upon whether EI is an intelligence and what type of intelligence it constitutes. It is clear that ability-based tests of EI form a group factor of cognitive abilities that may be integrated into the Cattell–Horn–Carroll framework; less clear is the lower order factor structure of EI. From the latter discipline, research linking EI with theoretical frameworks from emotion research remain relatively sparse. Emotion regulation and appraisal theory may be key to explain how EI may reflect different processes. We propose a research agenda to advance the EI study.