The distress associated with uncertainty differs in important ways from distress over clear and present stressors. Emotion regulation (ER) tendencies—namely reappraisal and suppression—have received considerable empirical attention, but the stressful uncertainty of waiting for important news poses unique ER challenges. Two longitudinal studies examined the role of these dispositional ER tendencies in predicting well-being (e.g., emotions, worry, subjective health, expectation management efforts) during uncertain waiting periods. Study 1 surveyed undergraduate students awaiting their grade on a midterm exam (N = 137; a 5-day wait); Study 2 surveyed law graduates awaiting their result on the California bar exam (N = 230; a 4-month wait). Consistently with past research, reappraisal was generally associated with positive markers of well-being. However, suppression was largely unassociated with well-being, in contrast with previous evidence. Our findings confirm the unique context of uncertain waiting periods and suggest that suppression may not be as detrimental during these periods as in other stressful situations.

与不确定性相关的苦恼在重要方面有很大的不同，从苦恼到清晰的当前压力源。情绪调节（ER）的趋势（即重新评估和压制）已受到相当多的经验关注，但是等待重要新闻的压力不确定性带来了独特的ER挑战。两项纵向研究检查了这些倾向性ER倾向在不确定的等待期内预测幸福感（例如情绪，忧虑，主观健康，期望管理工作）的作用。研究1调查了正在等待期中考试的本科学生（N  = 137；等待5天）；研究2接受调查的法律专业毕业生正在等待加利福尼亚律师考试的结果（N = 230; 等待4个月）。与过去的研究一致，重新评估通常与幸福感的积极指标有关。然而，与先前的证据相反，压抑在很大程度上与幸福感无关。我们的发现证实了不确定的等待时间的独特背景，并表明在这些时间段内抑制可能不像其他压力情况那样有害。