Suppression of Positive and Negative Emotions and Loneliness among Emerging Adults: A Moderated-Mediation Model of Romantic Relationship Satisfaction and Gender

Loneliness is prevalent in emerging adults, and there is a great need to understand its antecedents to combat loneliness. This study aimed to examine whether romantic relationship satisfaction mediated the relationship between the suppression of positive and negative emotions and loneliness and whether gender moderated the relationship between the suppression of positive and negative emotions and romantic relationship satisfaction in Turkish emerging adults. The study sample consisted of 452 (248 females and 204 males) emerging adults involved in a romantic relationship and attending university, 18-25 years old. The participants completed the measures of the suppression sub-dimension of emotion regulation, romantic relationship satisfaction, and loneliness, as well as a demographic survey. Firstly, the findings demonstrated that romantic relationship satisfaction mediated the relationship between the suppression of both positive and negative emotions and loneliness, regardless of gender. Secondly, the findings reported that gender moderated the mediating role of romantic relationship satisfaction in the relationship between suppression of negative emotions and loneliness. More specifically, suppression of negative emotions significantly put female emerging adults at increased risk of poor romantic relationship satisfaction and, consequently, loneliness in comparison with males.