A Meta-Analysis of Life Satisfaction’s Association with Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression: The Influences of Age, Gender, and Cultural Values

This meta-analysis aims to clarify the correlations between cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and life satisfaction. We searched the literature using eight databases and set a deadline of April 19, 2021. A total of 33 studies (66 effect sizes) were obtained, and random-effect models were also used to evaluate the relationships between the two strategies and life satisfaction. Additionally, the moderating effects of age, gender, and regional cultural values of participants were analyzed. The results showed that cognitive reappraisal was moderately positively correlated with life satisfaction, whereas expression suppression was not. The relationships between the two strategies and life satisfaction were not affected by age and gender, and only the regional cultural values of the participants moderated the relationship between expression suppression and life satisfaction. The relationship between expression suppression and life satisfaction in Western cultural values is significantly negative, while the relationship in Eastern cultural values is non-significant. We examined the relationships between cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and life satisfaction, and demonstrated that regional cultural values had a moderating effect on the relationship between expression suppression and life satisfaction.