Attachment anxiety and the curvilinear effects of expressive suppression on individuals' and partners' outcomes.

Attachment anxiety and the curvilinear effects of expressive suppression on individuals' and partners' outcomes. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2020 Aug 20;: Authors: Girme YU, Peters BJ, Baker LR, Overall NC, Fletcher GJO, Reis HT, Jamieson JP, Sigal MJ Abstract Suppressing the expression of negative emotions tends to undermine individuals' and their partners' wellbeing. However, sometimes expressive suppression may be relatively innocuous given that individuals commonly withhold negative emotions in order to maintain close relationships, and this may be especially the case when expressive suppression is enacted by people who exhibit amplified expressions of negative emotions, such as those high in attachment anxiety. The current research examined when and for whom expressive suppression may be more or less costly by testing whether the curvilinear effect of individuals' expressive suppression on individuals' and partners' outcomes is moderated by individuals' attachment anxiety. Our results across 3 dyadic studies revealed a linear effect of expressive suppression when predicting individuals' outcomes: greater expressive suppression had costs for individuals (lower relationship satisfaction, reported responsiveness and discussion success, and greater discussion threat). Furthermore, in 4 of the 5 models, a moderated curvilinear effect of expressive suppression emerged when predicting partners' outcomes. For individuals low in attachment anxie...
Source: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: J Pers Soc Psychol Source Type: research