To vent or not to vent? The impact of venting on psychological symptoms varies by levels of social support

Abstract

The current study examined the interaction between venting (as a form of emotional coping) and perceived emotional social support in predicting internalising psychological symptoms (anxiety, depression and somatic symptoms) over time in international students. A short-term longitudinal survey design was employed with three months between two measurement points. Participants were 130 international students from a university in New Zealand. The questionnaire included questions on venting, perceived emotional social support and internalising symptoms. The longitudinal impacts of venting and its interaction with emotional support on internalising symptoms were evaluated using structural equation modelling. Perceived emotional social support significantly moderated the effect of venting on internalising symptoms over time. Specifically, venting was associated with decreased internalising symptoms when students reported low levels of perceived emotional social support. However, venting was associated with increased symptoms when they reported very high levels of perceived support. In the presence of moderate to high emotional support, venting was not associated with changes in internalising symptoms over time, indicating that venting has no significant psychological consequences for international students with moderate to high perceived support. Venting can be an adaptive coping response for those with low perceived support, but it can be harmful in the presence of very high perceived support.