Suppression of Emotions Is Differently Related to Depressive Symptoms Across Cultures: Distinguishing Between General and Empathic Suppression of Emotions

This study examined cultural differences in associations of depressive symptoms with two different forms of emotion suppression: general and empathic suppression (i.e., suppressing negative emotions due to empathic concern). Depressive symptoms were positively related to both forms of suppression among German-speaking participants, but negatively related to empathic suppression among Japanese.