Conversational utterance inhibitions and mental health

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between utterance inhibitions in conversations and mental health. Utterance inhibitions were classified into five groups: partner orientation, self orientation, partner-self distance maintenance, norms and situations, and lack of communication skills, according to their presumed causes in motivation and skill. A questionnaire asked 271 undergraduates, 131 men and 140 women, how often they experienced such inhibitions, in what situations, and so on. They also completed General Health Questionnaire. Results indicated that when the frequency of inhibitions due to lack of communication skills was high, both men and women reported poorer mental health. When the frequency of inhibitions due to norm and situation considerations was high, women reported better mental health. These relationships between inhibition frequency and mental health were all linear. Moreover, dissatisfaction ratings of conversations mediated the effect of utterance inhibitions on mental health in women, but not in men. These results suggested that we needed to look into quality differences among various kinds of utterance inhibitions.