Investigating the Causal Model of Emotion Regulation Strategies with Emotional Alexithymia and The Mediating Role of Perfectionism in Female Master's Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Educational Scinces, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

10.30473/elc.2026.77206.1002

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the causal model of emotion regulation strategies with alexithymia and the mediating role of perfectionism in female master's students at Islamic Azad University, Kerman Branch. The research method was descriptive-correlational (relational), and path analysis within the structural equation modeling framework was used for data analysis. The statistical population of this research consisted of 523 female students in Kerman. The statistical sample in this study was 221 individuals (based on Cochran's formula). The sampling method was multi-stage cluster sampling. To measure these variables, the Gross and John (2003) Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Hill (2004) Perfectionism Questionnaire, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (1986) were used. In this research, descriptive methods including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were employed. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine the normality or non-normality of the data. Furthermore, for data analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient, path analysis, structural equation modeling, and the Sobel test with the bootstrap method were utilized using SPSS 25, Amos 25, and Mplus 7.4 software. The magnitude of the factor loadings for the questions confirms that the model had a strong fit. The results showed that the Normed Fit Index (NFI) was 0.98 and the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) was 0.99, indicating an acceptable fit of the model to the data. Additionally, the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) was below 0.05 (RMSEA ≤ 0.05), which indicates a very good fit. Correlation findings showed that the relationship between emotion regulation and alexithymia was positive and significant, but it was not significant with perfectionism. Correlation findings showed that the relationship between the suppression emotion regulation strategy and alexithymia was positive and significant, but it was not significant with perfectionism. Correlation findings showed that the relationship between the reappraisal emotion regulation strategy and alexithymia (r=0.2, P <0.01) was positive and significant, but it was not significant with perfectionism. Correlation findings showed that the relationship between alexithymia and perfectionism was not significant. The results indicated that the cognitive reappraisal strategy has a direct and significant effect on alexithymia, whereas the suppression strategy and the direct effect of emotion regulation strategies on perfectionism were not significant, and perfectionism does not play a mediating role in the relationship between these strategies and alexithymia.

Keywords

References

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Education and Exploration in Learning, Behavior and Cognition
Volume 1, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
December 2025
Pages 9-26

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