engleski

Affect regulation styles: two countries comparison

We investigated cultural influences in affect regulation strategies, by examining differences in mean level of strategy use and relationships between strategies and well-being variables in two countries. Young adults from Croatia (N=177) and United States (N=219) completed the Measure of Affect Regulation Styles, consisting of 38 items. Subjects indicated how frequently they use each strategy to influence their feelings. They also reported their life satisfaction and percentage of time happy and unhappy. MANOVA with country (2) and gender (2) as grouping variables was used to analyze differences in strategy use. Regression analyses examined the effects of strategy use on well-being measures, separately for two samples. Results showed that differences in regulation strategies were greater across the gender than between countries. For example, women reported expressing and talking about feelings more than men. Croatians reported socializing, accepting fate more than Americans. Significant interactions were found with Croatian men using less particular strategies than all other groups. While life satisfaction was rated better in the American than Croatian sample, they did not differ in time being happy or unhappy. However, different regulation strategies predicted the well-being measures in two samples. Results are discussed in the light of previous findings in the emotion and cross-cultural literature. Traditional views of some behaviors that are gender-role specific could affect which affect regulation strategies are used.

Emotion; USA; Croatia

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