Societal pressure to be happy, co-rumination and psychological distress in emerging adults

Abstract Overvaluing happiness has been associated with compromises in psychological well-being, particularly when it leads to a devaluing focus on negative emotions. This study investigated associations among perceived societal pressure to be happy, cellphone-mediated and in-person co-rumination, and psychological distress among emerging adults. The sample included 300 undergraduate students (mean age = 19 years; 11% Hispanic; 76% White, 6% Black, 9% Asian, 9% other) at a 4-year university in the southern United States. Participants completed standardized self-report questionnaires via online survey administered in a laboratory. Co-rumination measures were completed with reference to the person the participant endorsed having the most cellphone-mediated and in-person contact with during the past week. Anxiety and depression were measured as indicators of psychological distress. Preliminary analyses revealed that women reported significantly higher levels of perceived societal pressure to be happy, cellphone co-rumination, face-to-face co-rumination, anxiety, and depression than men. In light of this, initial hypothesis-testing included interactions of gender with societal pressure to be happy and co-rumination. These interactions were statistically significant in the models testing both forms of co-rumination as moderators in the prediction of anxiety, and in the model testing face-to-face co-rumination as a moderator in the prediction of depression. Thus, post hoc analyses were conducted to test hypotheses separately for women and men. Hypotheses were partially supported. For men, cellphone co-rumination was a significant moderator of the association between societal pressure to be happy and anxiety. For women, face-to-face co-rumination was a significant moderator of the association between societal pressure to be happy and depression. These findings reinforce the value of attending to social cues regarding happiness and interactions focusing on negative feelings that may contribute to compromises in emerging adults’ well-being. Furthermore, results support the need to study multiple modalities of co-rumination and investigate psychosocial predictors of distress separately for women and men.