The Suppression Paradox: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Suppression Frequency, Suppression Ability, and Depression

Abstract

The habitual use of expressive suppression (suppression frequency) is consistently associated with a number of negative outcomes, but paradoxically, the ability to suppress when there is a situational need (suppression ability) is usually linked to positive outcomes. The two sides of the paradox, suppression frequency and suppression ability, have been found to be unrelated. Given that these findings have emerged in largely western samples, the present studies examined whether the coupling of suppression frequency and ability depends on cultural contexts, and whether this can explain the previously established cultural difference in the costs of suppression frequency. In an initial study, we examined the relations among suppression frequency, suppression ability, and depression in a Chinese sample (Study 1; N = 310), and then, using two new samples, we compared these relations between Chinese and the US samples (Study 2; N = 392). Results showed that suppression frequency was related to depression in two distinct ways. In both cultures, suppression frequency had a direct, positive association with depression. In Chinese culture only, however, suppression frequency also had an indirect association, such that higher suppression frequency was related to higher suppression ability and in turn related to fewer depressive symptoms. Our findings show that suppression frequency is related to suppression ability only among Chinese participants, and can serve as a potential explanation for why suppression frequency is less related to depression in Chinese culture.