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Is expressive suppression an effective coping strategy? A study of C hinese rescue medical staff following an earthquake
Author(s) -
Gan Yiqun,
Wen Yao,
Wang Jiaying,
Rodriguez Marcus A.,
Gong Xinling,
Xie XiaoFei
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
asian journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-839X
pISSN - 1367-2223
DOI - 10.1111/ajsp.12059
Subject(s) - stressor , burnout , psychology , structural equation modeling , coping (psychology) , expressive suppression , clinical psychology , psychiatry , cognitive reappraisal , cognition , statistics , mathematics
The current study examined the function of expressive suppression among C hinese rescue medical staff following a major earthquake. We administered self‐report questionnaires to (1) a sample of C hinese hospital medical staff ( n = 305) who assisted victims of the S ichuan earthquake, and (2) a second sample of C hinese hospital medical staff ( n = 149) who had not been exposed to a major stressor. To examine possible interaction effects among differing emotion regulation strategies, we also conducted structured interviews with a subset of rescue medical staff to obtain support for a positive function of expressive suppression and a mediating role of positive reappraisal. Structural equation modelling indicated that expressive suppression was associated with higher levels of job engagement and lower levels of job burnout among the rescue medical staff and that these effects were mediated by positive reappraisal. However, for regular medical staff (not exposed to traumatic stress), expressive suppression was associated with higher levels of both job engagement and job burnout; these effects were mediated by acceptance. These results provide preliminary evidence for the positive role of expressive suppression within C hinese culture.