Emotional regulation strategies (ER) used by trainees to overcome negative emotions Authors Fauzia Butt Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan Usman Mahboob Institute of Health Professions Education and Research, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan Gohar Wajid WHO, Egypt Rehan Ahmad Khan Department of Surgery, Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan DOI: https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.7905 Keywords: Emotions, Emotion regulation, Mental health, Emotional skill Abstract Objectives: To identify the use of different emotion regulation strategies by medical trainees, and to determine the frequency and the predominant pattern of emotional response in emotion-triggering situations. Method: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at 2 public and 1 private medical college in Lahore, Pakistan, from March to September 2019, and comprised postgraduate medical trainees of either gender from all clinical disciplines from years 1-4. Data was collected using a questionnaire based on the Gross theory of emotional regulation and the Situational model of emotion. Emotion regulation strategies included situation selection, situation modification, cognitive change, attention deployment, and response modulation. Data was analysed using SPSS 25. Results: Of the 377 trainees approached, 308(81.69%) participated; 206(67%) females and 102(33%) males. The overall mean age was 27.8+2.91 years. The majority of the trainees were from the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department 133(43.2%) and were in the first year of their training 116(37.7%). The most frequent emotion-triggering situation identified was prolonged working hours 292(95%), and the major emotional response was quietness in 5 out of ten situations (50%). The trainees used greater emotion regulation strategies in sad situations 3.49±1.79 (p<0.01). Trainees managed sad emotions by keeping themselves involved in other activities 152(49%); in anger, they blamed others 124(40.3%); in fear, they opted for suppression of emotions 71(22.7%); in disgust, they preferred avoidance 90(29.2%); and in shock, acceptance was a common strategy 21(12.7%). Conclusion: Postgraduate medical trainees struggled to manage emotions and used maladaptive strategies. Key Words: Emotions, Emotion regulation, Mental health, Emotional skill. Downloads Full Text Article Published 2023-11-28 How to Cite Butt, F., Mahboob, U., Wajid, G., & Khan, R. A. (2023). Emotional regulation strategies (ER) used by trainees to overcome negative emotions. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 73(12), 2337–2347. https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.7905 More Citation Formats ACM ACS APA ABNT Chicago Harvard IEEE MLA Turabian Vancouver Download Citation Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX Issue Vol. 73 No. 12 (2023): DECEMBER Section Original Article License Copyright (c) 2023 Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.