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Is Expressive Suppression Always Associated with Poorer Psychological Functioning? a Cross-Cultural Comparison Between European Americans and Hong Kong Chinese

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Is Expressive Suppression Always Associated with Poorer Psychological Functioning? a Cross-Cultural Comparison Between European Americans and Hong Kong Chinese Emotion © 2011 American Psychological Association 2011, Vol. 11, No. 6, 1450–1455 1528-3542/11/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0023340 BRIEF REPORT Is Expressive Suppression Always Associated With Poorer Psychological Functioning? A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between European Americans and Hong Kong Chinese Jose´ A. Soto and Christopher R. Perez Young-Hoon Kim Pennsylvania State University University of Pennsylvania Elizabeth A. Lee and Mark R. Minnick Pennsylvania State University The habitual use of expressive suppression as an emotion regulation strategy has been consistently linked to adverse outcomes in a number of domains, including psychological functioning. The present study aimed to uncover whether the suppression–health relationship is dependent on cultural context, given differing cultural norms surrounding the value of suppressing emotional displays. We hypothesized that the negative associations between suppression and psychological functioning seen in European Ameri- cans would not be seen among members of East Asian cultures, in which emotional restraint is relatively encouraged over emotional expression. To test this hypothesis, we asked 71 European American students and 100 Chinese students from Hong Kong to report on their use of expressive suppression, life satisfaction, and depressed mood. A moderation analysis revealed that expressive suppression was associated with adverse psychological functioning for European Americans, but not for Chinese partic- ipants. These findings highlight the importance of context in understanding the suppression–health relationship. Keywords: suppression, life satisfaction, depression, culture, emotion regulation Expressive suppression (hereinafter suppression) refers to the samples were available, cultural moderations have not been re- “conscious inhibition of one’s own emotionally expressive behav- ported. ior while emotionally aroused” (Gross & Levenson, 1993, p. 970). Recently, increased attention has been paid to the role that Over a decade of research has demonstrated that using suppres- culture and ethnicity may play in emotion regulation (Butler, Lee, sion, either chronically or in experimental settings, is consistently & Gross, 2007, 2009; Roberts, Levenson, & Gross, 2008). These associated with a number of negative outcomes. These correlates investigations have primarily examined whether the social, affec- include increased sympathetic arousal, decreased experience of tive, or physiological consequences of using suppression in a positive emotions, increased experience of negative emotions, laboratory setting are culturally variable. Surprisingly, little atten- disturbed interpersonal interactions, increased reports of depressed tion has been given to how culture influences the relationship mood, and decreased reports of well-being and life satisfaction between suppression and indices of psychological functioning, (Butler et al., 2003; Gross & John, 2003; Gross & Levenson, 1993, such as depressed mood and life satisfaction. These psychological 1997; John & Gross, 2004). For the most part, these findings have measures may provide a more accurate assessment of the long- emerged in largely European American samples; when multiethnic term “adaptiveness” of suppression and are readily observable variables in clinical settings in which issues of emotion regulation are frequently discussed. Understanding whether these relation- ships differ across cultures is therefore a critical component of This article was published Online First June 27, 2011. culturally informed clinical practice. In keeping with this, the Jose´ A. Soto, Christopher R. Perez, Elizabeth A. Lee, and Mark R. present study examined whether the relationship between suppres- Minnick, Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University; sion and psychological functioning differs among East Asians and Young-Hoon Kim, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania. European Americans, two cultural groups for which cultural norms We thank Kevin P. Tam, Melody M. Chao, and Grace Ip for their surrounding the expression and suppression of emotion represent assistance with data collection in Hong Kong and Jing Yang and the contrasting perspectives. members of the Culture, Health, and Emotion Lab for their comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. Culture, Suppression, and Health Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jose´A. Soto, Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, 615 From a theoretical perspective, culture is a logical moderator to Moore Building, University Park, PA 16802. E-mail: [email protected] consider when examining effects related to emotional expression 1450 SUPPRESSION, PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING, AND CULTURE 1451 and emotion regulation (Butler & Gross, 2009; Consedine, Magai, Triandis, 1998). These studies support the notion that cultural & Bonanno, 2002). A long history of cross-cultural research has differences in the suppression–health relationship should be fur- demonstrated cultural differences in the ways emotions are labeled ther studied. and understood, how individuals cope with their emotions, and beliefs about how and when emotions should be expressed and felt The Present Study (e.g., Ekman, 1972; Matsumoto, 1990; Mesquita & Frijda, 1992). One contrast that has been especially highlighted in the literature The present study compares a sample of European American is the difference between Asian/Eastern values encouraging emo- and East Asian students on measures of emotion regulation and tional control and restraint (suppression) and American/Western psychological functioning to determine whether the negative as- values encouraging free and open emotional expression (see Butler sociations observed previously are moderated by culture. Consis- et al., 2009, and Soto, Levenson, & Ebling, 2005, for greater tent with literature pertaining to emotional practices in these cul- discussion). These differences are believed to reflect the collectiv- tures and with previous findings in this area of research, we istic/interdependent focus of many Asian cultures and the individ- expected that East Asian participants would report greater use of ualistic/independent focus common in many American and West- suppression than would European Americans. We also hypothe- ern cultures (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Matsumoto, 1990). For sized that the use of suppression among European Americans instance, free expression of emotions, especially negative ones, would be associated with poorer psychological functioning may draw attention to the individual and cause momentary dis- (greater depressed mood, decreased life satisfaction), but we did ruptions in group harmony. From a traditional Asian-values per- not expect this relationship among East Asian participants. As a spective, these would typically be considered unwanted afteref- point of comparison, we also compared both groups on the use of fects, whereas from a Western/American-values perspective, they cognitive reappraisal (henceforth reappraisal; changing the mean- may be relatively less problematic. ing of an event in order to regulate the associated emotions) and its Research examining cultural variability in expression and emo- relationship to our psychological functioning variables. We did not tion regulation has certainly borne this out. Several studies have expect differences between groups related to the use of reappraisal documented that Asian participants often report less emotion in because the cultural norms presented above are specific to sup- response to an emotion elicitation task than do other cultural pression of emotional behaviors that others can see and should not groups (Mauss & Butler, 2010; Soto et al., 2005) or endorse more impact regulation strategies having to do with more internal pro- frequent use of suppression than do other groups (Butler et al., cesses, such as reframing an emotional event. 2007; Gross & John, 2003). More important, fewer negative out- comes have been associated with suppression among those who Method value emotional restraint over expression. For example, Butler et al. (2007) demonstrated that those with more Western-European Sample values (valuing expression over suppression) showed greater neg- ative emotion associated with the habitual use of suppression and Participants were 71 European American (EA) college students showed lower quality interactions when instructed to suppress at a public university in the northeastern United States (U.S.) and their emotions during a social task. However, these negative out- 100 Hong Kong Chinese (HKC) college students from two uni- comes were reduced among those who endorsed Asian values as versities in Hong Kong. Participants in the U.S. completed the much as Western values. Similarly, Mauss and Butler (2010) study for course credit and those in Hong Kong completed the found that valuing emotional restraint led to a more favorable study on a volunteer basis. The gender breakdown of the entire physiological response to an anger provocation among Asian sample was 54% women, with 59% and 52% women among the Americans, but not among European Americans. The above find- EA and HKC groups, respectively. Average age for the sample ings provide an empirical basis from which to expect that the use was 20.04 years (SD ϭ 1.62), with EAs (M ϭ 19.22, SD ϭ 1.55) of suppression by individuals from these two cultures may also being significantly younger than HKC (M ϭ 20.61, SD ϭ 1.41), have very different associations with health. t(166) ϭϪ6.035, p
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