| The present study explored the relationship between emotional expressivity and social-emotional adjustment in a sample of 183 late adolescent males (mean age=16.8) living in a low-income, urban environment. Results indicated that (1) increased exposure to urban stressors was not associated with less emotional expressivity, as was expected; (2) the socio-emotional benefits associated with emotional expressivity existed only when the expressivity occurred in the context of a close friendship; (3) more flexibility in emotional expression (defined as the difference between emotional expressivity with friends and emotional expressivity with non-friends) was associated with significantly better adjustment; (4) individuals who exhibited low expressivity with both friends and non-friends reported poorer adjustment as compared to individuals who exhibited high expressivity in both contexts and individuals who exhibited expressive flexibility; and (5) socio-emotional adjustment was not predicted by the interaction of urban stressors and expressive flexibility, as was expected. Contrary to prior research, which maintains that emotional expressivity is unequivocally beneficial, results of this research suggests that urban boys who exhibit low emotionally expressivity can be protected from poor socio-emotional outcomes as long as they exhibit flexibility to express vulnerable emotion when in a safe context; i.e., when they are disclosing to trusted friends. |
