The Moderating Role of Expressive Flexibility in the Relation between Neuroticism and Emotion Regulation Difficulties

Emerging adulthood is a critical developmental period marked by elevated risk for emotion dysregulation and internalizing disorders, including anxiety and depression. These symptoms have been increasingly linked to heightened levels of neuroticism, a stable personality trait characterized by emotional volatility and vulnerability to stress. Effective emotion regulation, particularly expressive flexibility, may be a protective factor against developing internalizing symptoms. However, few studies have directly examined how expressive flexibility influences the relation between neuroticism and difficulties with emotion regulation. This study investigates these associations in a sample of 324 college students (M = 18.9 years, SD = 1.04 year; 58.8% White) using validated self-report measures: the Big Five Inventory–2 (BFI-2), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and the Flexible Regulation of Emotional Expression Questionnaire (FREE). Results indicated that neuroticism was positively associated with emotion regulation difficulties, whereas expressive flexibility was negatively associated with both neuroticism and emotion regulation difficulties. Although expressive flexibility did not moderate this relation in the overall sample, gender-specific analyses revealed a significant moderating effect of expressive suppression among women. That is, for women with high neuroticism, habitual suppression may worsen difficulties in regulating emotions. The study emphasizes the importance of examining gender-specific emotion regulation strategies and highlights expressive suppression as a mechanism linking neuroticism and emotional dysregulation in emerging adult women.