Assessing the Relation Between Flexibility in Emotional Expression and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression: The Roles of Context Sensitivity and Feedback Sensitivity

Abstract

Expressive flexibility (EF), the ability to enhance and suppress emotional expressions, predicts decreases in anxiety and depression symptoms years later (Bonanno, Papa, Lalande, Westphal, & Coifman, 2004). Bonanno and Burton (2013) proposed that knowing the most appropriate strategy for a situation (context sensitivity; CS), and awareness of how well strategies are working (feedback sensitivity; FS), partially explain this effect. We conducted a conditional process analysis to test this theory. One hundred thirty-eight undergraduates completed a behavioral measure of EF and self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression, CS, and FS over one month. CS moderated the effect of EF on one-month changes in symptoms of anxiety and depression (p = .03): EF only predicted decreased anxiety and depression symptoms among people low in CS. FS mediated the effect of EF (95% CI: −.10, −.01) on changes in anxiety and depression symptoms: higher baseline EF was associated with higher two-week FS, which predicted decreased one-month anxiety and depression symptoms. Results suggest EF and CS may be compensatory skills and FS may be necessary to experience the adaptive effects of emotion regulation flexibility.

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