engleski

Interpersonal emotion management across close relationships: validation of the adapted version of the IEMS

The Interpersonal Emotion Management Scale (IEMS, Little et al., 2011) was developed to measure behaviours that aim to manage negative emotions in others through four strategies: situation modification, attentional deployment, cognitive change, and modulating the emotional response. The authors reported a satisfactory factor validity of the instrument in studies focusing on relationships in organizational settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the IEMS in researching interpersonal emotion management in close relationships. The Croatian adaptation of the IEMS was completed by 206 adults (53% women) who reported on the use of IEMS strategies in their relationships with the romantic partner, a friend, and a parent. The factor analysis showed that, for all relationships, a two-factor model (modulation of emotion antecedents and modulation of emotional response) fitted the data better than the original four-factor model. The two corresponding subscales were not related within the same relationship. The pattern of correlations across the relationships indicates a substantial degree of variability in strategies use. While the modulation of antecedents was generally higher than the modulation of emotional response, the latter was used more often with parents than partners and friends, and the former less often with parents than with partners. Overall, the IEMS appears to be a useful tool for studies outside the organizational domain.

interpersonal emotion management ; Croatian adaptation of the IEMS ; latent structure across relationships ; relationship satisfaction

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