Emotional (dys)Regulation and Family Environment in (non)Clinical Adolescents' Internalizing Problems: The Mediating Role of Well-Being.

Adolescence is a period of several changes and a time when young people are confronted with some difficult tasks of dealing with a diversity of emotions and building their own identity. Therefore, it is a period of higher vulnerability for the development of internalizing problems. The present paper aims to study some constructs considered relevant to adolescents' adjustment and/or internalizing disorders, emphasizing the role of well-being, emotional regulation and family environment. Therefore, this research aims to (1) test the mediating role of well-being in the relationship between emotional regulation difficulties, the family environment, and internalizing problems, and (2) understand the differences between adolescents with a higher and lower risk of presenting internalizing problems. In the study, 723 adolescents of both sexes (12-18 years old) from middle to high school completed self-report questionnaires. The results indicated that the mediating role of well-being was partially established between emotional regulation difficulties and internalizing problems, explaining 31% of the variance in these problems. Well-being was also considered a partial mediator between family environment (cohesion and support and conflict) and internalizing problems, explaining 19 and 26% of the variance, respectively. Furthermore, the group with a higher risk of developing internalizing problems (