Negative mood regulation expectancies, emotional distress, and examination performance

Undergraduates' (N = 218) generalized expectancies for negative mood regulation (NMR), depressive symptoms, and state anxiety were examined as predictors of performance on an examination. NMR expectancies were assessed on the first day of a semester; depressive symptoms and state anxiety were assessed immediately before an examination 115 days later. Controlling for previous course performance, individuals reporting more depressive symptoms performed more poorly on the exam. However, NMR expectancies interacted with state anxiety in the prediction of examination performance. More anxious individuals who had reported relatively weak NMR expectancies earlier in the semester performed more poorly on the exam. In contrast, those with stronger NMR expectancies appeared to be unaffected or even aided by experiencing anxiety. Anxiety may disrupt performance only among individuals with weak mood regulation expectancies.