Cultural values, shame and guilt, and expressive suppression as predictors of depression

Abstract

We need to consider culturally relevant factors to understand depression among individuals with Asian background. Based on Matsuoto, Yoo, and Nakagawa (2008)’s framework on cultural values and emotion regulation, the current study tested our proposed model to understand the roles of cultural values (i.e., Asian values, European American values), culturally relevant emotional experiences (i.e., shame proneness and guilt proneness), and expressive suppression in explaining depression among 181 Asian American and 161 Asian international students. The model tests revealed that Asian values positively related to shame proneness, and European American values positively related to guilt proneness. Shame and guilt proneness were positively and negatively associated with suppression, which in turn positively related to depression. The findings extended the current literature on the relation between culture and emotion regulation by addressing how cultural values and culturally relevant emotions (i.e., shame and guilt) play roles in explaining suppression in relation to depression. We discussed future implications for research and practice with Asian American or Asian international students with depression.