2023, Schunk, Fabian, Wong, Natalie, Nakao, Gen, Trommsdorff, Gisela

This study examined whether two facets of interdependence, harmony seeking and rejection avoidance, were differently related to life satisfaction and social support from friends across cultures through the differential use of emotion regulation strategies. Specifically, we propose that individuals who seek harmony and avoid rejection regulate emotions differently to achieve social adaptation in their sociocultural contexts. University students from Germany (n = 129), Hong Kong (n = 136), and Japan (n = 123) completed our online survey. Data were analysed through multigroup structural equation modelling. Across cultures, harmony seeking was positively while rejection avoidance was negatively related to indices of social functioning (life satisfaction or social support). For Germans, emotion regulation (more rumination, less reappraisal, more suppression) completely mediated the associations of rejection avoidance with life satisfaction. Germans may emotionally overreact when fearing rejection, which is reflected in using dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies. In contrast, rejection avoidance was only weakly related to emotional dysregulation among Hong Kong Chinese and Japanese who might be adapted to fearing exclusion due to living in low relational mobility societies. Our findings demonstrate cultural similarities and differences in the interplay of harmony seeking and rejection avoidance with emotion regulation, life satisfaction, and social support.

2022, Schunk, Fabian

Decades of research underscore the importance of emotion regulation for social adaptation, subjective well-being, and mental health. However, the psychological consequences of emotion regulation may vary across cultures due to different social norms and values for the experience and expression of emotions. In the present dissertation, I describe four studies that examine how emotion regulation is related to indices of social adaptation and subjective well-being among individuals from diverse cultural contexts (i.e., Germany, Hong Kong, and Japan).
Study 1 focused on cultural differences in the associations of distinct emotion regulation strategies (i.e., rumination, reappraisal, and suppression) with perceived social support and life satisfaction among university students from Germany (N = 148), Hong Kong (N = 125), and Japan (N = 127). Suppression was related to lower life satisfaction and less social support among Germans, but not among Hong Kong Chinese and Japanese. Notably, the negative relationship between suppression and life satisfaction in the German sample was completely mediated by social support. Further, for Germans and Hong Kong Chinese, social support partially mediated a positive relationship between reappraisal and life satisfaction, and a negative relationship between rumination and life satisfaction.
Study 2 expanded the first study by assessing further emotion regulation strategies that distinguished between the regulation of positive and negative emotions. Associations of emotion regulation with mental health (i.e., higher subjective well-being, less depressive symptoms) were examined among 524 Japanese and 476 German-speaking (Austrians and Germans, in the following “Germans”) university students. Across cultures, distraction from negative emotions, savoring positive emotions, and reappraisal were related to better mental health, whereas distraction from positive emotions and ruminating on negative experiences were related to worse mental health. The link between rumination and lower well-being was significantly weaker among Japanese as compared to Germans. Expressive suppression was related to lower mental health only among Germans. Contrary to the German pattern, suppressing negative emotions out of empathic concern was associated with better mental health among Japanese via higher endorsement of an interdependent self-construal.
Study 3 took a closer look on two core facets of an interdependent self-construal, harmony seeking and rejection avoidance, and their role in shaping emotion regulation, perceived social support by friends, and life satisfaction across cultures. Participants were university students from Germany (N = 129), Hong Kong (N = 136), and Japan (N = 123). Across cultures, harmony seeking was positively, while rejection avoidance was negatively related to indices of psychological functioning (life satisfaction and/or social support). For Germans, rejection avoidance was related to dysfunctional emotion regulation (more rumination, less reappraisal, more suppression). These emotion regulation strategies completely mediated the negative link between rejection avoidance and life satisfaction among Germans. In contrast, rejection avoidance was only weakly related to emotional dysregulation among Hong Kong Chinese and Japanese.
Finally, Study 4 examined the longitudinal effects of emotion regulation ability (i.e., low neuroticism) on life satisfaction and aspects of social adaptation in a nationally representative adult sample from Germany (N = 11,079). Cross-lagged panel models indicated that higher neuroticism predicted declined life satisfaction, increased loneliness, decreased number of close friends, and reduced interpersonal trust after 4–5 years, but not vice versa. Half-longitudinal mediation models further revealed that each indicator of social adaptation partially mediated the longitudinal effect of neuroticism on life satisfaction. Exploratory multigroup analyses supported the generalization of the detrimental effects of neuroticism on social adaptation and life satisfaction across age, gender, and geographical regions (East versus West Germany).
In sum, the present dissertation contributes to a better understanding of the sociocultural conditions and consequences of emotion regulation by examining associations of emotion regulation with social adaptation and subjective well-being among individuals from diverse cultural contexts. In terms of underlying mechanisms, cultural differences might be explained by individuals’ self-construals or specific facets of an interdependent self, such as harmony seeking and rejection avoidance. Yet, further research is needed to test whether the examined variables causally affect each other. The findings within this dissertation emphasize the role of culture in shaping emotional processes and may inform future research as well as practical interventions (e.g., culture-sensitive psychotherapy).

2023, Schunk, Fabian, Trommsdorff, Gisela

Objective: Correlational studies have frequently linked neuroticism to lower well-being and poorer social adaptation. In this study, we examined the longitudinal associations of neuroticism with life satisfaction and aspects of social adaptation (i.e., loneliness, number of close friends, and interpersonal trust).
Method: Cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) and random intercepts cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs) were used to analyze the prospective associations between variables in a nationally representative adult sample from Germany (N = 5,663 to 11,079 per analysis; 2–4 measurement waves with lags of 4–5 years).
Results: CLPMs indicated that higher neuroticism was related to lower life satisfaction, higher loneliness, fewer friends, and lower interpersonal trust, but not vice versa. At the within-person level, RI-CLPMs revealed similar findings with increased neuroticism predicting decreases in life satisfaction, increases in loneliness, and decreases in interpersonal trust. Indices of social adaptation partially mediated the link between neuroticism and life satisfaction at the between-person but not at the within-person level. Exploratory multigroup analyses support the generalization of the cross-lagged effects of neuroticism on life satisfaction and social adaptation across age, gender, and geographical regions (East versus West Germany).
Conclusions: These findings highlight the role of neuroticism in shaping psychosocial outcomes over time.

2022, Schunk, Fabian, Zeh, Franziska, Trommsdorff, Gisela

Cybervictimization has been linked to adverse psychological consequences but little is known about the mechanisms linking cybervictimization to lower well-being. We conducted two studies to examine emotional self-efficacy and distinct emotion regulation strategies as potential mediators in the relationship between cybervictimization and lower well-being among German adolescents during the school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. In Study 1, 107 adolescents (M_age = 15.76) reported their cybervictimization frequency, emotional self-efficacy beliefs, and aspects of well-being (i.e., self-esteem, perceived social support, and subjective well-being during the COVID-19 related school closures). Emotional self-efficacy mediated the link between cybervictimization and all well-being measures. Specifically, cybervictimization was related to lower well-being through lower self-efficacy for managing negative emotions. For further examination, in Study 2, 205 adolescents (M age = 15.45) were asked to report their cybervictimization experiences, use of specific emotion regulation strategies (rumination, reappraisal, and suppression), and well-being (i.e., self-esteem and life satisfaction). Cybervictimization was related to lower well-being through more rumination, but not through reappraisal or suppression. Taken together, our findings suggest that cybervictims may have lower emotional self-efficacy beliefs and engage in more rumination, a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy. These deficits in adolescents' beliefs and capabilities for effectively managing negative emotions may be accountable for the adverse psychological consequences of cybervictimization. Notably, exploratory analyses suggest that cybervictimization frequency did not increase among adolescents during the lockdown (e.g., homeschooling, social distancing) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022-03, Schunk, Fabian, Trommsdorff, Gisela, König-Teshnizi, Dorothea

Emotion regulation (ER) has been frequently linked to mental health (MH) with previous research focussing on a limited range of ER strategies. The present study examined whether strategies for the regulation of positive and negative emotions are differently related to MH (i.e. higher subjective well-being, less depressive symptoms) across cultures. Two samples consisting of 524 Japanese and 476 German-speaking (“Germans”) university students completed our survey. Moderation analyses revealed cultural similarities and differences in associations between ER and MH. Across cultures, distraction from negative emotions, savouring positive emotions, and reappraisal were related to better MH, whereas distraction from positive emotions and ruminating on negative experiences were related to worse MH. Moreover, the link between rumination and lower well-being was significantly weaker among Japanese compared to Germans. Expressive suppression was related to lower MH among Germans only. Contrary to the German pattern, suppressing negative emotions out of empathic concern was associated with better MH among Japanese, which was mediated by interdependent self-construal. Our findings suggest that masking negative emotions out of concern for others might be an adaptive strategy for Japanese by reinforcing interdependent values. We highlight the role of culture and the importance of distinguishing different ER strategies and emotion types.

2021, Schunk, Fabian, Trommsdorff, Gisela, Wong, Natalie, Nakao, Gen

The social adaptiveness of emotion regulation (ER) may differ across cultures due to different social values for the experience and expression of emotions. Specifically, suppression might disrupt social interactions among Germans, but not among Hong Kong Chinese (HKC) and Japanese, due to an emphasis on self-expression and authenticity in Western cultures. In the present study, we examined cultural differences in associations of ER strategies with life satisfaction and social support. Extending prior research, we also test whether social support functions as a mediator for relationships between ER strategies and life satisfaction within cultural groups. University students from Germany (N = 148), Hong Kong (N = 125), and Japan (N = 127) participated in our online survey. Moderation analyses revealed that suppression was related to lower life satisfaction and less social support among Germans, but not among HKC nor Japanese. Social support completely mediated the negative relationship between suppression and life satisfaction among Germans. Furthermore, for Germans and HKC, social support partially mediated the positive relationship between reappraisal and life satisfaction, and the negative relationship between rumination and life satisfaction. Our findings suggest that cultural differences in the associations between ER and well-being might be largely explained by the differential effect of ER strategies on social functioning and adaptation in the respective cultural context.