Reduced Emotional Awareness and Distress Concealment: A Pathway to Loneliness for Young Men Seeking Mental Health Care
Background: Loneliness, the painful affective state that reflects perceived deficits in social relationships, is a significant health issue requiring further understanding. Individual differences in awareness and disclosure of emotional concerns may contribute to loneliness, and may do so diversely...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-06-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.679639/full |
| _version_ | 1818865215647776768 |
|---|---|
| author | David Kealy Zac E. Seidler Zac E. Seidler Simon M. Rice Simon M. Rice Daniel W. Cox John L. Oliffe John S. Ogrodniczuk Dan Kim |
| author_facet | David Kealy Zac E. Seidler Zac E. Seidler Simon M. Rice Simon M. Rice Daniel W. Cox John L. Oliffe John S. Ogrodniczuk Dan Kim |
| author_sort | David Kealy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Loneliness, the painful affective state that reflects perceived deficits in social relationships, is a significant health issue requiring further understanding. Individual differences in awareness and disclosure of emotional concerns may contribute to loneliness, and may do so diversely according to gender and age. The present study examined a hypothesized mediation pathway from emotional awareness abilities to loneliness through distress concealment, with moderation by gender and age, in a sample of adults attending outpatient mental health services.Methods: In a cross-sectional study design, 244 patients attending Canadian community mental health clinics completed study assessments at the commencement of care. Conditional process modeling examined interactions between gender and age and both emotional awareness and distress concealment in mediation models predicting loneliness.Results: A significant three-way interaction between gender, age, and distress concealment was observed, along with significant conditional moderated mediation. The indirect effect of emotional awareness on loneliness through the mediating effect of distress concealment was significant for young- and mid-adulthood men, but not for women or older men.Limitations: The study was limited by exclusive use of self-report assessment, and cross-sectional design precluding representation of causal sequencing over time.Conclusion: Findings suggest the pathway to loneliness from reduced emotional awareness through distress concealment to be particularly salient for younger men. Thus, intervention targeting restricted awareness and disclosure of emotional concerns should be considered in helping young men to address the pain of loneliness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:44:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-829ccd5822364e1e8b0c905ab71d43c8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:44:01Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-829ccd5822364e1e8b0c905ab71d43c82022-12-21T20:25:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-06-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.679639679639Reduced Emotional Awareness and Distress Concealment: A Pathway to Loneliness for Young Men Seeking Mental Health CareDavid Kealy0Zac E. Seidler1Zac E. Seidler2Simon M. Rice3Simon M. Rice4Daniel W. Cox5John L. Oliffe6John S. Ogrodniczuk7Dan Kim8Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaOrygen, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCentre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaOrygen, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCentre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCounselling Psychology Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaSchool of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaWhite Rock/South Surrey Mental Health & Substance Use Services, Fraser Health Authority, Surrey, BC, CanadaBackground: Loneliness, the painful affective state that reflects perceived deficits in social relationships, is a significant health issue requiring further understanding. Individual differences in awareness and disclosure of emotional concerns may contribute to loneliness, and may do so diversely according to gender and age. The present study examined a hypothesized mediation pathway from emotional awareness abilities to loneliness through distress concealment, with moderation by gender and age, in a sample of adults attending outpatient mental health services.Methods: In a cross-sectional study design, 244 patients attending Canadian community mental health clinics completed study assessments at the commencement of care. Conditional process modeling examined interactions between gender and age and both emotional awareness and distress concealment in mediation models predicting loneliness.Results: A significant three-way interaction between gender, age, and distress concealment was observed, along with significant conditional moderated mediation. The indirect effect of emotional awareness on loneliness through the mediating effect of distress concealment was significant for young- and mid-adulthood men, but not for women or older men.Limitations: The study was limited by exclusive use of self-report assessment, and cross-sectional design precluding representation of causal sequencing over time.Conclusion: Findings suggest the pathway to loneliness from reduced emotional awareness through distress concealment to be particularly salient for younger men. Thus, intervention targeting restricted awareness and disclosure of emotional concerns should be considered in helping young men to address the pain of loneliness.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.679639/fulllonelinessemotional awarenessdistress concealmentdisclosuregenderage |
| spellingShingle | David Kealy Zac E. Seidler Zac E. Seidler Simon M. Rice Simon M. Rice Daniel W. Cox John L. Oliffe John S. Ogrodniczuk Dan Kim Reduced Emotional Awareness and Distress Concealment: A Pathway to Loneliness for Young Men Seeking Mental Health Care Frontiers in Psychology loneliness emotional awareness distress concealment disclosure gender age |
| title | Reduced Emotional Awareness and Distress Concealment: A Pathway to Loneliness for Young Men Seeking Mental Health Care |
| title_full | Reduced Emotional Awareness and Distress Concealment: A Pathway to Loneliness for Young Men Seeking Mental Health Care |
| title_fullStr | Reduced Emotional Awareness and Distress Concealment: A Pathway to Loneliness for Young Men Seeking Mental Health Care |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reduced Emotional Awareness and Distress Concealment: A Pathway to Loneliness for Young Men Seeking Mental Health Care |
| title_short | Reduced Emotional Awareness and Distress Concealment: A Pathway to Loneliness for Young Men Seeking Mental Health Care |
| title_sort | reduced emotional awareness and distress concealment a pathway to loneliness for young men seeking mental health care |
| topic | loneliness emotional awareness distress concealment disclosure gender age |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.679639/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidkealy reducedemotionalawarenessanddistressconcealmentapathwaytolonelinessforyoungmenseekingmentalhealthcare AT zaceseidler reducedemotionalawarenessanddistressconcealmentapathwaytolonelinessforyoungmenseekingmentalhealthcare AT zaceseidler reducedemotionalawarenessanddistressconcealmentapathwaytolonelinessforyoungmenseekingmentalhealthcare AT simonmrice reducedemotionalawarenessanddistressconcealmentapathwaytolonelinessforyoungmenseekingmentalhealthcare AT simonmrice reducedemotionalawarenessanddistressconcealmentapathwaytolonelinessforyoungmenseekingmentalhealthcare AT danielwcox reducedemotionalawarenessanddistressconcealmentapathwaytolonelinessforyoungmenseekingmentalhealthcare AT johnloliffe reducedemotionalawarenessanddistressconcealmentapathwaytolonelinessforyoungmenseekingmentalhealthcare AT johnsogrodniczuk reducedemotionalawarenessanddistressconcealmentapathwaytolonelinessforyoungmenseekingmentalhealthcare AT dankim reducedemotionalawarenessanddistressconcealmentapathwaytolonelinessforyoungmenseekingmentalhealthcare |