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Emotion Regulation Differences Between Gender and Sexuality Groups: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Jake Camp1,2, Emma Blundell3, Patrick Smith4
1Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK. Jake.camp@kcl.ac.uk.
Archives of Sexual Behavior
|December 16, 2025
Summary
Gender and sexual minority (GSM) individuals experience greater emotion regulation difficulties. These challenges contribute to mental health disparities, highlighting emotion dysregulation as a key intervention target for reducing health inequalities.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Mental Health
- Sociology
Background:
- Gender and sexual minority (GSM) populations face higher risks of mental health issues due to minority stress.
- Emotion regulation difficulties are a proposed mechanism underlying these mental health disparities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and meta-analyze emotion regulation differences between GSM and cisgender-heterosexual groups.
- To investigate if emotion dysregulation mediates the link between GSM identity and adverse mental health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of 40 identified studies.
- Inclusion of 28 studies with sufficient data for quantitative synthesis.
- Comparison of global and specific emotion regulation facets (awareness, strategies, control, appraisal, suppression).
Main Results:
- GSM groups reported significantly higher global emotion regulation difficulties than cisgender-heterosexual groups.
- Higher difficulties were observed across most specific emotion regulation domains for GSM individuals.
- Plurisexual individuals showed greater emotion regulation difficulties compared to monosexual minority individuals.
Conclusions:
- Emotion regulation difficulties are a significant factor contributing to mental health disparities in GSM populations.
- Emotion dysregulation may serve as a crucial intervention target for mitigating health inequalities.
- Addressing emotion dysregulation complements broader strategies against minority stress.
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