Cultural background and pandemic context as moderators of the association between expressive suppression and sleep quality in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta‑analysis
Abstract
Background: Expressive suppression is a widely used emotion regulation strategy, but studies have reported mixed findings regarding its association with sleep quality in healthy adults. This meta-analysis aimed to synthesize the evidence on the association between expressive suppression and sleep quality in non-clinical adult samples and examine the moderating effect of cultural background and pandemic context.
Methods: Electronic databases including PubMed, EBSCO, and Web of Science were systematically searched from database inception to May 2025 using predefined search terms related to emotion regulation and sleep quality. Studies were included if they: (1) involved non-clinical adult samples; (2) assessed expressive suppression with the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ); (3) used standardized self-report measures of sleep quality (e.g., PSQI, ISI); and (4) reported zero-order Pearson correlations. A total of twenty-three independent samples (N = 13,636) met the inclusion criteria. A random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled effect size, and pre-specified subgroup and moderation analyses were conducted.
Results: Expressive suppression showed a small but significant positive association with poorer sleep quality (r = .14, 95% CI [0.12, 0.16], p < .0001). Between-study heterogeneity was low (I² = 28.21%). The association was stronger in studies explicitly focused on COVID-19-related stress than in studies conducted in general contexts, whereas cultural…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 13,636 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Regulation of nucleolus assembly by non-coding RNA polymerase II transcripts
- For a Healthy Histone Code, a Little SUMO in the Tail Keeps the Acetyl Away
- Discovering a binary CTCF code with a little help from BORIS
- Article Commentary: Stabilizing the Code–-Methods to Preserve RNA Prove Their Worth
- Foreword to the Special Issue for the RINTC (The Implicit Seismic Risk of Code-Conforming Structures) Project
- Commentary: Promoting Health and Well-being in Pediatric Primary Care Settings: Using Health and Behavior Codes at Routine Well-child Visits
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.