Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Relationship Between Emotion Regulation Strategies and Perceived Stress in Irish College Students and Chinese International College Students

Previous studies have shown that there is an association between the use of emotion regulation strategies and mental health. However, less is known about the association between emotion regulation strategies and perceived stress in college students, and less is known about whether cultural differences influence this association. The current study examined if differences exist in the habitual use of emotion regulation strategies between Irish college students (n=74) and Chinese international college students (n=96) studying in Ireland, and investigated the relationship between emotion regulation strategies and perceived stress in these two student populations. Chinese students reported more frequent use of both cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression compared with Irish students. There was a statistically significant negative association between the habitual use of cognitive reappraisal and levels of stress in both Irish and Chinese students. In addition, there was a statistically significant moderator effect of culture on the association between expressive suppression and perceived stress. There was a significant positive relationship between the habitual use of expressive suppression and levels of stress in Irish college students, whereas this relationship was absent in Chinese students. The findings highlight the effects of emotion regulation on levels of stress and the importance of cultural context when investigating the association between emotion regulation strategies and perceived stress.