Investigation of Emotional Expression as a Predictor of Psychological Symptoms

Abstract

The main purpose of the study is to determine whether the level of emotional expression is a predictor of psychological symptoms. The study was performed with 338 participants, including 170 women and 168 men. Data were collected by “Expressing Feelings Scale” and “SCL-90 Symptom Checklist-90-Revised”. Data was analyzed with Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and regression analysis was performed. According to results, emotional expression was significantly related to psychological symptoms. While the levels of emotional expression have increased, psychological symptoms have decreased. The levels of psychological symptoms was predicted significantly by emotional expression. Finally, emotional expression predicted higher levels of somatization and lower levels of phobic anxiety.