The mediating effect of cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between perceived social support and resilience in postwar youth

Abstract This article presents research aimed to investigate the effect of perceived social support on an individual's resilience, with the assumption that it is, at least partially, indirect and that it is achieved through cognitive emotion regulation strategies. The Connor‐Davidson Resilience Scale, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were used with a sample group of young adults, comprising 319 respondents from a student population of both genders. The results indicated that the perceived support of family, friends, and a significant other is a significant predictive factor for resilience–the more present these factors are, the greater the resilience. The relationship between the perceived support of friends and resilience is partially direct, and partially indirect, whereby both planning and positive reappraisal have the role of mediators. These results lead to the conclusion that the perceived support of friends is a significant protective factor for mental health, partially because of the fact that it makes an individual more prepared to see a certain stressful situation as an opportunity for personal growth and to actively confront it.