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Cross sectional analysis of emotion regulation, psychological distress and well being of emerging adult students in Urban India post COVID 19
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  • Published: 22 January 2026

Cross sectional analysis of emotion regulation, psychological distress and well being of emerging adult students in Urban India post COVID 19

  • Suresh Kakollu  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1578-15111,
  • Ayesha Parveen Haroon  ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0008-5458-34201 &
  • Salome Divya Joseph  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7179-996X2 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Health care
  • Psychology

Abstract

India’s vast youth population offers a unique lens for exploring their emotional regulation and mental health, which remain underexplored despite their importance. This study, the first of its kind, examines post-COVID cognitive reappraisal (CR), expressive suppression (ES), and their broader mental health interconnections among 1628 young adult students (aged 18–29) from higher educational institutions in India’s Tier-1 cities using the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-38) and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Variations in emotion regulation and mental health were analysed across gender, age groups, course categories, cities, and geographical zones using t-tests and ANOVA. Significant gender differences in emotion regulation and mental health were found. Cognitive reappraisal varied across gender, age groups, cities, and geographical zones. Females reported more usage of cognitive reappraisal and experienced greater distress compared to males. Cognitive reappraisal correlated with better psychological well-being, whereas expressive suppression correlated with psychological distress. Alarmingly, 42% of young adult participants exhibited medium to high levels of expressive suppression, indicating a pressing psychological crisis that could have devastating effects on the emotional well-being and mental health of young adults. Findings suggest that while pre-existing emotional regulation patterns have persisted, post-pandemic stress has intensified their impact, widening gender and regional disparities in mental health. These results underscore the need for Interventions promoting mental health awareness and emotion management techniques for the overall well-being of young adults, especially in higher educational landscapes.

Data availability

The Data collected from the participants and used for analysis in this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

We extend our deepest gratitude to Prof. Vishnupad, Dean, Easwari School of Liberal Arts, SRM University AP, for trusting us and supporting us with this research. We sincerely thank Fr. Dean Filip Fernandes, a good friend, co-researcher, and brother, for arranging the accommodations across all the cities surveyed; this would not have been possible without his support. We extend our gratitude to the higher educational institute authorities of the Tier-1 Cities of India for permitting us to collect student data. We are also thankful to the students for their voluntary participation in the study.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, SRM University-AP, Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Suresh Kakollu & Ayesha Parveen Haroon

  2. Research & Operations, The Eco-Leadership Institute, Galway, Ireland

    Salome Divya Joseph

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K.S. (Kakollu Suresh): Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Data Curation, Investigation, Visualization, and Original Draft Preparation. A.P.H. (Ayesha Parveen Haroon) and S.D.J. (Salome Divya Joseph): Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Software, Validation, and Reviewing and Editing.

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Kakollu, S., Haroon, A.P. & Joseph, S.D. Cross sectional analysis of emotion regulation, psychological distress and well being of emerging adult students in Urban India post COVID 19. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36253-3

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  • Received: 01 July 2025

  • Accepted: 12 January 2026

  • Published: 22 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36253-3

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Keywords

  • Mental health
  • Emotion regulation
  • Cognitive reappraisal
  • Expressive suppression
  • Young adults
  • Higher education
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