| Summary: | Objective To explore the characteristics of the longitudinal changes of emotional regulation strategies and their value in predicting depression in military personnel serving in high-altitude regions. Methods We followed up 4 665 military personnel serving in high-altitude regions along the Qinghai-Tibet Supply Line for 3 consecutive years (2016-2018). Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Armymen (AERTQ), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were used to assess the strategies of emotion regulation and the depressive state of these individuals. After excluding the individuals withdrawn from the study (due to mobilizations for missions, discharge from service or personal reasons), we recruited 202 subjects for data analysis. Results Among the military personnel, the scores for emotional regulation strategies were the highest for self-comfort, followed by seeking emotional help, cognitive attention and behavioral inhibition (P < 0.05); the scores were relatively stable over the 3-year period of the study. The scores for emotion regulation strategies increased year by year, and the score for enhanced emotion regulation recorded a significantly greater increase than that of weakened emotion regulation (P < 0.05). The degree of environmental adaptation was important factors affecting the strategies of emotional regulation (P < 0.05). The score for cognitive attention was capable of predicting a depressive state within 2 years, and the score of self-comfort had a predictive value within 1 year (P < 0.05). Conclusion Among the military personnel serving in high-altitude regions, emotional regulation shows a transition from a predominantly weakened to an enhanced strategy, suggesting a negative trend of changes. Adaptability affect the strategies adopted for emotional regulation, which can be predictive of the depressive state in these military personnel.
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