Research paperIrritability and internalizing symptoms: Modeling the mediating role of emotion regulation

•Irritability (IR) is linked to internalizing symptoms (IS) of depression/anxiety.•Emotion regulation (ER) contributes to the emergence of depression/anxiety.•ER is a mediating factor between IR and IS.•This mediating factor provides a possible target for therapeutic intervention.

BackgroundIrritability and emotion regulation are both important transdiagnostic factors that contribute to the development of internalizing symptoms during adolescence. The current study examined whether emotion regulation mediates the relationship between irritability and internalizing symptoms.MethodsTo examine this relationship we analysed the indirect effect of irritability (measured using a single item from the Goldberg Mania Questionnaire) on internalizing symptoms (anxiety and depression) via the mediator, emotion regulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) in 112 adolescent females.ResultsMediation analysis, using bootstrapping, showed a significant indirect effect and suggests that the relationship between irritability and internalizing symptoms is mediated by emotion dysregulation.LimitationsThese include measuring irritability using a single item and employing a cross sectional design.ConclusionsThese novel findings add to our understanding of the processes and mechanisms by which irritability contributes to the development of internalizing symptoms.