The effect of suppressing and not accepting emotions on depressive symptoms: Is suppression different for men and women?

Suppression of emotional expression has been associated with depressive symptoms. However, men suppress emotions more than women but women experience more symptoms of depression. The present study examined gender and emotional non-acceptance (thinking of emotions as bad and to be avoided) as moderators of the suppression-depression relationship. Participants were males (n = 118) and females (n = 210) aged 17–24. As expected, men reported suppressing emotions more than women and women reported more depressive symptoms. However, suppression was only related to depression in men and not women. Hierarchical regressions revealed a 3-way interaction among gender, suppression, and non-acceptance. Lower acceptance of emotions was associated with the highest depressive symptoms regardless of suppression or gender. With greater acceptance of emotions, suppression was related to more depressive symptoms in men but fewer depressive symptoms in women. These findings suggest that suppressing emotions may have different functions and may be more useful for understanding depressive symptoms in men rather than women.