Emotion regulation strategies and psychological health across cultures.

Journal: The American psychologist

Volume: 79

Issue: 5

Year of Publication: 2024

Affiliated Institutions:  Department of Psychology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Graduate School of Business Administration, Hitotsubashi University. Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University. Department of Psychology, Georgetown University. Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Institute of Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University. Department of Developmental Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Department of Psychology, Keimyung University. Department of Psychology, TED University. Department of Psychology, Southwest University. Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University. Facultad de Administracion y Negocios, Universidad Tecnologica del Peru. Southampton Business School, University of Southampton. Institute for the Future of Human Society, Kyoto University. Institute of Psychology, University of Brasilia. CENTRUM Catolica Graduate Business School, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP). Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Nepal. Department of Psychology, Karnatak University. Department of Psychology, Eastern New Mexico University. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University. Department of Psychology, University of Ghana. Department of Psychiatric Nursing, National Medical College. Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan. Department of Marketing, Universidad de las Americas Puebla. Universidad Politecnica Estatal Del Carchi.

Abstract summary 

Emotion regulation is important for psychological health and can be achieved by implementing various strategies. How one regulates emotions is critical for maximizing psychological health. Few studies, however, tested the psychological correlates of different emotion regulation strategies across multiple cultures. In a preregistered cross-cultural study ( = 3,960, 19 countries), conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed associations between the use of seven emotion regulation strategies (situation selection, distraction, rumination, cognitive reappraisal, acceptance, expressive suppression, and emotional support seeking) and four indices of psychological health (life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and loneliness). Model comparisons based on Bayesian information criteria provided support for cultural differences in 36% of associations, with very strong support for differences in 18% of associations. Strategies that were linked to worse psychological health in individualist countries (e.g., rumination, expressive suppression) were unrelated or linked to better psychological health in collectivist countries. Cultural differences in associations with psychological health were most prominent for expressive suppression and rumination and also found for distraction and acceptance. In addition, we found evidence for cultural similarities in 46% of associations between strategies and psychological health, but none of this evidence was very strong. Cultural similarities were most prominent in associations of psychological health with emotional support seeking. These findings highlight the importance of considering the cultural context to understand how individuals from diverse backgrounds manage unpleasant emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Authors & Co-authors:  Tamir Maya M Ito Atsuki A Miyamoto Yuri Y Chentsova-Dutton Yulia Y Choi Jeong Ha JH Cieciuch Jan J Riediger Michaela M Rauers Antje A Padun Maria M Kim Min Young MY Solak Nevin N Qiu Jiang J Wang Xiaoqin X Alvarez-Risco Aldo A Hanoch Yaniv Y Uchida Yukiko Y Torres Claudio C Nascimento Thiago Gomes TG Afshar Jahanshahi Asghar A Singh Rakesh R Kamble Shanmukh V SV An Sieun S Dzokoto Vivian V Anum Adote A Singh Babita B Castelnuovo Gianluca G Pietrabissa Giada G Huerta-Carvajal María Isabel MI Galindo-Bello Erika E García Ibarra Verónica Janneth VJ

Study Outcome 

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Statistics
Citations : 
Authors :  30
Identifiers
Doi : 10.1037/amp0001237
SSN : 1935-990X
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Humans
Other Terms
Study Design
Study Approach
Country of Study
Publication Country
United States