Gender Norms and Emotional Discipline: The Psychological Mechanisms and Social Construction of Adolescents' Emotional Expression

Le Wang

doi:10.5281/t1v1a863

Authors

Le Wang Changxing High School, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/t1v1a863

Keywords:

gender norms, emotional regulation, adolescence, social construction, emotion expression

Abstract

This study investigates the interplay between gender norms and emotional regulation in shaping adolescents' emotional expression, drawing upon psychological mechanisms and the theory of social construction. Adolescence is a critical developmental stage wherein emotional expression is both biologically maturing and socially coded. Existing literature suggests that gender-specific expectations significantly influence how emotions are perceived, expressed, and managed. Integrating Gross's model of emotion regulation with the social constructionist framework, this study explores how male and female adolescents internalize and respond to culturally embedded emotional norms. Through a mixed-method approach involving standardized self-report scales and regression-based mediation analyses, the study reveals significant gender differences in emotional regulation strategies: male adolescents demonstrate a higher tendency for emotional suppression, while female adolescents are more likely to engage in cognitive reappraisal. Moreover, perceived gender norms mediate the relationship between gender and emotional expression patterns, with cultural context moderating these effects. These findings underscore the psychological and sociocultural mechanisms through which gendered emotional behaviors are cultivated. The study contributes to the growing discourse on gender and mental health by highlighting the necessity of culturally sensitive interventions aimed at promoting emotional flexibility and well-being in youth.

References

1. L. Bursztyn, A. W. Cappelen, B. Tungodden, A. Voena, and D. H. Yanagizawa-Drott, How Are Gender Norms Perceived?, Working Paper No. w31049, Natl. Bur. Econ. Res., 2023, doi: 10.3386/w31049.

2. S. Rice et al., “Gender norms and the mental health of boys and young men,” Lancet Public Health, vol. 6, no. 8, pp. e541–e542, 2021, doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00138-9.

3. H. Kleven, The Geography of Child Penalties and Gender Norms: Evidence from the United States. Cambridge, MA: Natl. Bur. Econ. Res., 2022. ISBN: 15565068.

4. J. A. Silvers, “Adolescence as a pivotal period for emotion regulation development,” Curr. Opin. Psychol., vol. 44, pp. 258–263, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.09.023.

5. B. Paley and N. J. Hajal, “Conceptualizing emotion regulation and coregulation as family-level phenomena,” Clin. Child Fam. Psychol. Rev., vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 19–43, 2022, doi: 10.1007/s10567-022-00378-4.

6. T. M. Lincoln, L. Schulze, and B. Renneberg, “The role of emotion regulation in the characterization, development and treat-ment of psychopathology,” Nat. Rev. Psychol., vol. 1, no. 5, pp. 272–286, 2022, doi: 10.1038/s44159-022-00040-4.

7. R. S. Sahi, N. I. Eisenberger, and J. A. Silvers, “Peer facilitation of emotion regulation in adolescence,” Dev. Cogn. Neurosci., vol. 62, p. 101262, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101262.

8. O. Best and S. Ban, “Adolescence: physical changes and neurological development,” Br. J. Nurs., vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 272–275, 2021, doi: 10.12968/bjon.2021.30.5.272.

9. L. M. Sisk and D. G. Gee, “Stress and adolescence: vulnerability and opportunity during a sensitive window of development,” Curr. Opin. Psychol., vol. 44, pp. 286–292, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.10.005.

10. A. Saleh, M. Mujahiddin, and S. Hardiyanto, “Social construction in plastic waste management for community empowerment and regional structure,” J. Penelit. Pendidik. Indones., vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 1082–1090, 2023, doi: 10.29210/020232133.

11. K. J. Gergen, An Invitation to Social Construction: Co-Creating the Future. London, U.K.: SAGE, 2022. ISBN: 9781529786613.

12. B. Epstein, Social Ontology, Elements in Metaphysics, 2025, doi: 10.1017/9781009290562.

13. S. Sowden, B. A. Schuster, C. T. Keating, D. S. Fraser, and J. L. Cook, “The role of movement kinematics in facial emotion ex-pression production and recognition,” Emotion, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 1041–1052, 2021, doi: 10.1037/emo0000835.

14. N. Rawal and R. M. Stock-Homburg, “Facial emotion expressions in human–robot interaction: A survey,” Int. J. Soc. Robot., vol. 14, no. 7, pp. 1583–1604, 2022, doi: 10.1007/s12369-022-00867-0.

15. J. Lange, M. W. Heerdink, and G. A. Van Kleef, “Reading emotions, reading people: Emotion perception and inferences drawn from perceived emotions,” Curr. Opin. Psychol., vol. 43, pp. 85–90, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.06.008.