Differences and Similarities in the Use of Nine Emotion Regulation Strategies in Western and East-Asian Cultures: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Differences in emotion regulation strategies usage between Western and East-Asian individuals have been shown to exist. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to synthesize differences and similarities of the spontaneous use frequency of nine emotion regulation strategies (suppression, reappraisal, acceptance, avoidance, rumination, mindfulness, distraction, expression, and self-compassion), in Western and East-Asian individuals. Quantitative comparison studies were identified through systematic and snowball searches. Meta-analysis was undertaken with the meta package from R. Nineteen articles involving 21 studies were included in the systematic review and 20 studies were included in the meta-analysis. These articles were published from 2002 to 2023. The results showed that East-Asian individuals use more suppression (d = −0.29) and avoidance (d = −0.57) compared with Western individuals, with a medium effect size. No significant difference was observed in reappraisal, rumination, and expression usage. Future comparison studies across Western and East-Asian cultures should consider focusing on the use of self-compassion, acceptance, distraction, and mindfulness, which are understudied in the field of emotion regulation. Moreover, to improve the methodology, address inadequacies in analyzing cultural measurement invariance, distinguishing between emotional valences, and reporting the ethnicity of participants.