An examination of emotion suppression, life satisfaction, and psychosomatic symptoms in high school students

The general aim of this study is to determine whether high school students' levels of emotional suppression, life satisfaction, and psychosomatic symptoms significantly differ in terms of demographic variables such as gender, age, number of siblings, level of academic achievement, parents' educational level, parents' employment status, and time spent with family. In addition, another aim of the study is to determine whether there is a relationship between emotional suppression, life satisfaction, and psychosomatic symptoms among high school students. In the analysis of the data, the relational screening model, one of the descriptive research methods, was used. The study group of the research consists of students studying at an Anatolian high school in the city center of Gaziantep during the 2023-2024 academic year. Convenience sampling was used in the study, and data were collected from 660 students. The data collection tools used were: "Personal Information Form" prepared by the researcher, "Emotion Regulation Scale for Children and Adolescents" (ERS-CA), "Life Satisfaction Scale" (LSS), and "Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale – Psychosomatic Symptoms Subscale" (RSE-PS). As a result of the research, it was determined that emotional suppression among high school students showed a significant difference in terms of gender, mother's employment status, and time spent with family members. Life satisfaction showed a significant difference in terms of age, mother's educational level, and time spent with family members. Psychosomatic symptoms among high school students showed a significant difference in terms of gender and time spent with family members. A negative significant relationship was found between life satisfaction and psychosomatic symptoms of high school students; and a low-level, positive significant relationship was found between psychosomatic symptoms and emotional suppression. Keywords: Emotion Suppression, Life Satisfaction, Psychosomatic Symptoms, High School Students.