BEST Lab Publication Identifies Structural Stigma as a Key Determinant of Emotion Regulation Among Gay and Bisexual Men

To date, research into correlates and predictors of emotion regulation has focused almost exclusively on individual differences and aspects of the immediate situation. A new study published in the journal Emotion by BEST Lab doctoral student Nathan Hollinsaid, however, demonstrates that features of macro-social contexts also shape emotion regulation processes. Specifically, findings from a longitudinal study of sexual minority men from 250+ US counties that varied in structural stigma revealed that gay and bisexual men living in counties with higher (vs. lower) levels of structural stigma consistently reported more emotion suppression, which consequently explained longitudinal increases (vs. decreases) in their lack of emotional clarity over 24 months. These results were robust to demographic characteristics, stigma at the interpersonal level (i.e., sexual orientation-related discrimination), and another form of social inequality (i.e., county-level income inequality). Broadening the lens of emotion regulation research to include characteristics of the macro-social environment, such as structural stigma, may yield new insights into determinants of emotion regulation.

The study, “Incorporating Macro-Social Contexts into Emotion Research: Longitudinal Associations Between Structural Stigma and Emotion Processes Among Gay and Bisexual Men,” is now available online at Emotion. It was co-authored by Dr. Mark Hatzenbuehler (BEST Lab PI) and Dr. Patrick Mair of Harvard and by Dr. John Pachankis at the Yale School of Public Health. For inquiries, contact Nathan Hollinsaid at nathan_hollinsaid@fas.harvard.edu. Please use the following citation.

Hollinsaid, N. L., Pachankis, J. E., Mair, P., & Hatzenbuehler, M. L. (2023). Incorporating macro-social contexts into emotion research: Longitudinal associations between structural stigma and emotion processes among gay and bisexual men. Emotion. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001198