An Exploratory Study on How and Why Young and Middle-aged Adults Disclose Depressive Feelings to Others: Focusing on the Influence of Perception of Social Norms

Purpose: This study explored how and why young and middle-aged adults disclose depressive feelings to others. In particular, we investigated the role of social norms to see whether using mobile instant messaging (MIM) could lower the perceived barriers of emotional disclosure. Furthermore, the motivations of emotional disclosure via MIM were compared between young and middle-aged adults. Methods: A total of 255 Koreans (128 middle-aged people, 127 young adults) participated in an online survey. Pearson’s correlation coefficients, paired t-tests, SPSS PROCESS macro, and exploratory factor analysis were used to examine the relationships among the key variables. Results: The perceived social norms were found to be a significant deterrent in disclosing depressive feelings to others. However, there was a significant interaction effect between generations and perceived social norms. Although young adults with low social norm awareness were more likely to disclose depressive feelings via MIM, emotional disclosure among middle-aged adults increased with higher levels of perceived social norms. Also, different motivations were observed. Conclusion: The results confirmed the significant effect of social norms as well as generational differences when using MIM as a channel of emotional disclosure.