ABSTRACT

Adolescence is a time period with fundamental developmental changes in a variety of biological, psychological, and social domains affecting emotional reactivity and emotion regulation, which in turn also affect developmental changes in these domains. This chapter compares three time perspectives on adolescence: a life-span perspective assuming no developmental changes within that age period; a developmental transition period perspective emphasizing the clear differences in timing of developmental changes in emotion regulation for different emotions; and a context-dependent perspective also showing adolescents’ flexibility in emotion regulation. Finally, we theorize on possible influences and processes explaining change in emotion regulation during adolescence, emphasizing the role of attachment experiences.