AM I OK? Investigating the Lived Experience of Emotional Differentiation in a Sample of Irish Men

Introduction

Emotional differentiation (ED) is the ability to label one's emotion state at any given time with specificity and clarity. Although it has been shown that ED ability is related to effective emotion regulation, past research has been criticised for an over-reliance on single-answer and closed-label response formats that do not account for the complexity of ED. It has thus been argued that future ED research should account for such complexity by using qualitative methods where possible.

Aims

The central aim of this research was to investigate the lived experiences of nine Irish men as they engaged in ED and its implications for effective, research-informed mental health interventions.

Methods and Results

Hermeneutical Phenomenological Analysis (HPA) was employed to construct four key themes from interview data: (1) The Process of Emotional Differentiation, (2) The Limits of Language in Emotional Expression, (3) Emotional Differentiation in Practice and (4) The Social Nature of Masculine Emotional Expression.

Discussion

The findings spoke to the multi-faceted nature of ED as it is embedded in the broader and socially mediated domain of emotional experience. Outcomes from the study pointed to the potential of applying Mindfulness-Based Interventions for improving ED and to the efficacy of qualitative approaches in ED research and measurement.