Empirical evidence of the role of executive functions in tolerance of emotional distress

Executive functions are domain general and therefore coordinate other processes, such as emotion regulation. One emotion regulation skill that has gained interest in the last decade is distress tolerance (DT), but its relationship with executive functions has been poorly explored. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between executive functions and self-perceived and behavioural DT. A total of 196 university students (age: M = 22.63 years; SD = 3.26) completed a Reading Span Task, the Five Digits Test, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task, and the Distress Tolerance Scale. Better executive functioning was related to higher self-perceived DT. Regarding behavioural DT, students with high DT showed greater cognitive flexibility and greater inhibition than students with low behavioural DT (no differences were found for working memory). The study contribute to the knowledge of the relationships between cognitive and emotional self-regulatory processes and provides a starting point for future research.