Emotional Regulation and its Relationship with Decision-Making Ability among University Female Students in Saudi Arabia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55074/hesj.vi46.1414Keywords:
Emotional regulation, decision-making ability, mental health, coping, descriptive correlational studyAbstract
This study explores the relationship between emotion regulation and decision-making ability among female university students at an academic institution in Saudi Arabia. Emotional regulation plays a significant role in decision-making processes. Students who effectively manage their emotions are less likely to engage in risky behaviors and make impulsive decisions. Research shows that interventions aimed at enhancing emotional regulation skills can lead to better decision-making outcomes, particularly in high-stress situations typical of university life. This study has used the descriptive correlational approach, two scales were prepared for (1) emotional regulation, consisting of 45 statements across nine dimensions, and (2) decision-making ability, including 24 statements. The study tools were administered to 240 female students at the university. The research sample had a high degree of emotional regulation (average = 3.52, standard deviation = 0.24) and a higher degree of decision-making ability (average = 3.56, standard deviation = 0.53). Emotional regulation and decision-making ability did not differ significantly according to the independent variables of specialization and academic level. However, emotional regulation and decision-making ability had a significant positive correlation. The study concluded that universities should pay attention to providing counseling programs for university students to enhance their psychological and mental health. In addition, the relationship between emotional regulation and decision-making ability among university students is a significant area of research that has garnered attention due to its implications for mental health and academic performance. This framework can be understood through the dimensions of emotional regulation and decision-making ability. While the framework surrounding the relationship between emotional regulation and decision-making ability is established, significant gaps in longitudinal data, specific variable exploration, external influences, and practical applications remain in the study that could be addressed in future research.Downloads
References
Abu El-Ela, L. (2013). Concepts and Visions in Educational Administration and Leadership between Authenticity and Modernity (1st ed.). Al Manhal, Jordan.
Ahmed, S. P., Bittencourt-Hewitt, A., & Sebastian, C. L. (2015). Neurocognitive bases of emotional regulation development in adolescence. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 15, 11-25.
Al Muftah, F. (2024). Decision-making methods during crises: A field study on a sample of administrative leaders at King Saud University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Arab Journal of Management, 24, 35-54.
Al-Dosari, F. (2020). Habits of mind and their relationship to decision-making ability among female students at the college of education at Princess Nourah University (in Arabic). Journal of Taiz University-Educational Sciences and Humanities, 4(9), 45-71.
Al-Haretheyyah, A. S., Al-Harthi, I. S., & Imam, M. M. (2023). Effect of Emotion Regulation Strategies on Emotions and Rational Decision-Making among Female Teachers in the First Cycle Schools in the Sultanate of Oman. Journal of Educational Sciences – Qatar University, 21(21).
Al-Harithi, Nourah Dakhil Abdullah Ali. (2021). Strategies for regulating emotions cognitively and their relationship to academic resilience among female students at Taif University. Scientific Journal of the Faculty of Education, Assiut University, 1(27), 241-311.
Al-Hawari, Maryam Saleh. (2012). The relationship of emotional intelligence to decision-making among students at Mu’tah University, unpublished master’s thesis, College of Education, Mu’tah University, Jordan.
Al-Tammam, Abdullah bin Ali. (2020). The extent to which students at the Islamic University of Medina practice decision-making skills and its relationship to organizational citizenship behavior from their point of view. Journal of Scientific Research, Girls College of Arts and Sciences, Ain Shams University, 20(9), 61-118.
Bassiouni, Suzan Sadaqa. (2018). Emotional regulation strategies and their relationship to problem-solving ability among gifted female students in the city of Jeddah. King Abdulaziz University Magazine of Arts and Humanities, 27(4), 51-98.
Beling, C., & Wild, G. (2024). The association between emotional intelligence and decision-making for pilots. Journal of Air Transport Management, 114, 1-20.
Berking, M., Whitley, B., Berking, M., & Whitley, B. (2014). The adaptive coping with emotions model (ACE model). Affect regulation training: a practitioners' manual, 19-29.
Bullemor-Day, P. (2015). Emotional regulation, attention and mindfulness in adolescents with social, emotional and behavioral difficulties (Doctoral dissertation, Royal Holloway, University of London).
Burrus, B., Leeks, K. D., Sipe, T. A., Dolina, S., Soler, R., Elder, R., … & Achrekar, A. (2012). Person-to-person interventions targeted to parents and other caregivers to improve adolescent health: A community guide systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 42, 316-326.
Dias, P. C., & Cadime, I. (2017). Protective factors and resilience in adolescents: The mediating role of self-regulation. Psicologia educativa, 23(1), 37-43.
Eliwa, Siham Ali Abdel Ghaffar. (2018). Emotional regulation strategies and their relationship to some psychological disorders among gifted adolescents. Journal of the College of Education in Benha, 116(4), 1-50.
Francesconi, M., Flouri, E., & Harrison, A. (2022). Decision-making difficulties mediate the association between poor emotional regulation and eating disorder symptoms in adolescence. Psychological Medicine, 1-10.
Garnefski, N., & Kraaij, V. (2007). The Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 23(3), 141-149.
Gross, J. J. (2002). Emotional regulation: Affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Psychophysiology, 39(3), 281-291.
Gross, J. (2015). Emotional regulation: status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26 ,1-26.
Gross, J. J., & Thompson, R. A., (2007). Emotional regulation: Conceptual foundations. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotional regulation. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Ho Kuen, Y. (2016). The Effect of Issue-enquiry Teaching on the Development of decision-making skills of secondary school students on socio-scientific issues. unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Johnson, C. E. (2019). Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or Shadow. Sage Publications.
Khasawneh, Amna Hikmat Ahmed. (2020). Emotional regulation and its relationship to positive thinking among Yarmouk University students, unpublished master’s thesis, College of Education, Yarmouk University.
Khater, Ahmed Mustafa. (2001). Management in Social Institutions. University Library for Publishing and Distribution, Alexandria, Egypt.
Khattab, Karima Sayed. (2012). The relationship between demographic determinants, menstrual cycle symptoms, and decision-making ability among university girls. Journal of Psychological Studies, 22(2), 303-330.
Kobylińska, D., & Kusev, P. (2019). Flexible emotional regulation: How situational demands and individual differences influence the effectiveness of regulatory strategies. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 7.
Ladis, I., Toner, E. R., Daros, A. R., Daniel, K. E., Boukhechba, M., Chow, P. I., ... & Ford, B. Q. (2023). Assessing Emotion Polyregulation in Daily Life: Who Uses It, When Is It Used, and How Effective Is It? Affective Science, 4(2), 248-259.
Lerner, J. S., Li, Y., Valdesolo, P., & Kassam, K. S. (2015). Emotion and decision making. Annual review of psychology, 66, 799-823.
Liu, B., Yang, T., & Xie, W. (2022). Emotional Regulation Self-Efficacy Influences Moral Decision Making: A Non-Cooperative Game Study of the New Generation of Employees. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23), 16360.
Mahmoud, Hanan Hussein. (2016). Emotional regulation and metacognitive beliefs and their relationship to test anxiety among a sample of female university students, Journal of Educational Sciences, Egypt, 24(4), 69-117.
Márquez-Cervantes, M. C., & Gaeta-González, M. L. (2018). Emotional Competencies and Responsible Decision Making in Pre-Adolescents with the Support from Teachers, Fathers, and Mothers: A Comparative Study in 4th to 6th-Grade Students of Primary Education in Spain. Revista Electrónica Educare, 22(1), 176-200.
Martin, L. N., & Delgado, M. R. (2011). The influence of emotional regulation on decision-making under risk. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23(9), 2569-2581.
Mitchell, D. G. (2011). The nexus between decision making and emotional regulation: a review of convergent neurocognitive substrates. Behavioural Brain Research, 217(1), 215-231.
Modecki, K. L., Zimmer‐Gembeck, M. J., & Guerra, N. (2017). Emotional regulation, coping, and decision making: Three linked skills for preventing externalizing problems in adolescence. Child Development, 88(2), 417-426.
Morawetz, C., Mohr, P. N., Heekeren, H. R., & Bode, S. (2019). The effect of emotional regulation on risk-taking and decision-related activity in prefrontal cortex. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 14(10), 1109-1118.
Ndawo, G. (2021). Facilitation of emotional intelligence for the purpose of decision-making and problem-solving among nursing students in an authentic learning environment: A qualitative study. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 15, 1-8.
Özdeş, A. (2020). Aging and Decision-Making Processes: The Role of Emotional Regulation. Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar, 12(3), 382-395.
Perach, R., Rusted, J., Harris, P. R., Miles, E., & Determined Team. (2021). Emotional regulation and decision-making in persons with dementia: a scoping review. Dementia, 20(5), 1832-1854.
Pishghadam, R., & Abbasnejad, H. (2017). Introducing emotioncy as an invisible force controlling causal decisions: A case of attribution theory. Polish Psychological Bulletin, (1).
Santos, A., Wang, W., & Lewis, J. (2018). Emotional intelligence and career decision-making difficulties: The mediating role of career decision self-efficacy. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 107, 295-309.
Skinner, E. A., Kindermann, T. A., & Furrer, C. J. (2009). A motivational perspective on engagement and disaffection: Conceptualization and assessment of children's behavioral and emotional participation in academic activities in the classroom. Educational and psychological measurement, 69(3), 493-525.
Snow, N. L., Ward, R. M., Becker, S. P., & Raval, V. V. (2013). Measurement invariance of the difficulties in emotional regulation scale in India and the United States. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 3(1), 147.
So, J., Achar, C., Han, D., Agrawal, N., Duhachek, A., & Maheswaran, D. (2015). The psychology of appraisal: Specific emotions and decision-making. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(3), 359-371.
Yaqoub, Haider Mazhar. (2011). Emotional regulation of outstanding students in Diyala Governorate. Diyala University. Iraq, Eighth Arab Scientific Conference for the Care of the Gifted and Talented, 2, 451-467.
Zahran, Hamed Abdel Salam. (2005). Mental Health and Psychotherapy, 3rd edition, World of Books for Publishing and Distribution, Cairo.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
How to Cite
