تحلیل روان‌شناختی تجربه ناتوانی در ابراز هیجان در مردان جوان

ماندانا هدایتیان; پژمان نیازیان

Authors

Mandana Hedayatian Department of Health Psychology, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran Author
Pejman Niazian Department of Clinical Psychology, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

Keywords:

Emotional expression, young men, alexithymia, masculinity, thematic analysis, lived experience

Abstract

This study aimed to provide a psychological analysis of young men’s lived experience of inability to express emotions. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The participants were 22 young men aged 20 to 35 years living in Tehran, selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews, and recruitment continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Interviews lasted between 45 and 75 minutes. With informed consent, all interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo software. Data analysis included familiarization with the transcripts, generation of initial codes, construction of candidate themes, review and refinement of themes, and final naming of categories. To enhance trustworthiness, member checking, peer review, analytic memo writing, and constant comparison were used throughout the research process. The analysis led to the identification of five main categories: unfamiliarity with the language of emotion, fear of judgment and weakening of the masculine image, transformation of emotion into silence or withdrawal, bodily and mental pressure caused by unexpressed emotions, and the need for a safe relationship to express emotions. The findings indicated that young men’s inability to express emotions is not merely an individual or linguistic difficulty; rather, it is shaped by gender socialization, family interaction patterns, shame experiences, fear of vulnerability, and the absence of emotionally safe interpersonal contexts. The inability to express emotions among young men can be understood as a multidimensional process in which poor emotional awareness, restrictive masculinity norms, relational avoidance, and fear of judgment mutually reinforce one another. Effective psychological interventions should focus on emotional literacy, reconstruction of restrictive beliefs about masculinity, development of emotional communication skills, and creation of safe therapeutic and interpersonal spaces.

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