Emotional Disclosure Dilemmas: How Personal and Relational Factors Predict Ambivalence Over Emotional Expression

Ambivalence over emotional expression (AEE) has been associated with various health and wellbeing outcomes, yet the relational factors that may be associated with AEE have been underexplored. The current study explored the associations between social support, conflict, gender, and AEE across a variety of different relationship types. Participants (N = 135) read scenarios describing situations where they imagined either expressing or suppressing different emotions (anger, pride, apprehension, appreciation) to five different people and then indicated the amount of regret (AEE) they anticipated over that expression decision. The results suggest that although social support was particularly related to emotional expression, conflict was associated with greater anticipated regret. Gender of the participant and gender of the interaction partner were not generally associated with either expression or regret. These findings contribute to our understanding of specific relational factors that may predict the experience of ambivalence over emotional expression and underscore the importance of considering the relational context in future AEE work.