Emotion regulation of Chinese women in adult romantic relationships.

摘要

Emotions are universally experienced by human beings. Exchange of emotions, emotion expression, and emotion reception all involve important aspects of people's social lives and behaviors. However, the way of expressing and regulating strong emotion varies from culture to culture. Chinese culture highly values emotional containment and control. Conversely, Western culture tends to value personal experiences and encourages individuals to express their feelings as a way towards establishing better communication. As Chinese population is rapidly growing in the United States, clinical psychologists, social workers, and other health professionals are tasked with the responsibility of expanding their clinical knowledge and awareness about issues pertaining to this population. Due to social expectation and culturally defined virtues, Chinese women face more pressure to maintain harmonious relationships with others. This dissertation examines the various cultural factors and how the Chinese culture, gender role expectations, immigration history in the United States, and the collective mentality (i.e., influence of Confucian philosophy) can affect the presentation of Chinese women in the context of romantic relationships. By examining the evidence-based literature and input from mental health professionals in the field, emotion regulation of Chinese women in romantic relationships was found to involve complex cultural factors, including culturally-defined fate and destination, Yin and Yang, forbearance and tolerance, and acculturation and enculturation level. These elements complicate their emotion regulation and interpersonal patterns. Clinicians should not only be mindful of the general cultural paradigm, but also be cognizant of the cultural nuances and personal stories that each client brings.