Beyond Emotional Self-Regulation: Affective Maturity in Light of Magda Arnold’s Work

Abstract

In recent decades, emotional self-regulation (ESR) has emerged as a significant interdisciplinary field of research in psychology, affective neuroscience, and philosophy. However, its link with affective maturity (AM) remains unexplored, even though they share an important underlying question: how to control our emotions rather than be controlled by them? Although AM lacks a scientific definition, it is employed in clinical, religious, and character-formation contexts and is particularly pertinent in marriage annulment causes. Drawing on Magda Arnold’s personality theory as a starting point, this paper proposes a framework for integrating ESR and AM coherently from an interdisciplinary perspective. In particular, it delves into the anthropological foundations that can support such integration, as outlined in Arnold’s pioneering work. By doing so, this theoretical review aims to minimise overlaps and ambiguities between the concepts, thus enabling the future development of criteria applicable to the assessment and treatment of clinical cases.