There is a popular belief that women tend to be more emotionally expressive than men. However, gender differences in emotional expression could be traced to cultural practices or expectations that are upheld for men. In this study, it is acknowledged how restrictive expressivity and perceived social support could play a part in the development of alexithymia in adult men; having difficulties in identifying, describing and expressing emotions. The purpose of this study was to better understand how to facilitate men’s ability to express their feelings and confide in others. This was achieved by collecting quantitative measures of alexithymia, emotional expression, perceived social support, and qualitative information about an experience from men’s lives through an online survey. Findings helped support the significance that social support had on mitigating the development of alexithymic traits. Correlations were also found between alexithymia and emotional expressivity scores. Common themes of men’s emotional expression will also be discussed. The pursuit of this study assisted in gaining insight into how men would feel encouraged to reach out for help or support to prevent the negative effects of the cultural perception of “masculinity.” 

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Timothy Oblad

Department of Psychology and Sociology