A Cross-Cultural Study of the Relationship of Emotional Self-Regulation With Phobia in Iranian and Indian Students

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of emotion self-regulation with phobia in students of the University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran, and University of Delhi, India.  Methods: We used a cross-sectional design for this study. In this study, 686 students (400 students of the University of Sistan and Baluchestan and 286 students of University of Delhi of India) were selected via Convenience sampling method. Data collection tools were Miller and Brown’s emotional self-regulation questionnaire and Marks and Mathews Phobia Questionnaire. This study was analyzed by the use of Pearson’s correlation coefficient as well as stepwise regression. SPSS version 21 was used for measuring the variables. Results: The results of this study in students of Delhi University indicated that subscales of searching for options and Assessing the plan’s effectiveness are negatively correlated with a phobia of blood/injection/physical damage, and the subscale of formulating a plan is negatively correlated with social phobia. According to regression analysis, data showed that the subscale searching for options (Beta=-0.21) was the best predictors of phobia of blood/injection/physical damage, and alone accounted for 4% of the variance. Also, the subscale of formulating a plan (Beta=-0.146) was the best predictors of social phobia and alone accounted for 2.1% of the variance. Compared to the students of the University of Delhi, the results of students of University of Sistan and Baluchestan showed that the subscale of evaluating the information and comparing it to norms and assessing the plan’s effectiveness is positively correlated with a phobia of blood/injection/physical damage, and the total score of phobia. According to regression analysis, data demonstrated that the subscales of evaluating the information and comparing it to norms (Beta=0.147) and assessing the plan’s effectiveness were the best predictors of phobia of blood/injection/physical damage, and together accounted for 4.6% of the variance. In addition, the subscale of assessing the plan’s effectiveness (Beta=0.113) was the best predictors of total phobia score and alone accounted for 1.3% of the variance.  Conclusion: Therefore, we concluded that culture and society play effective roles in the form of response and expressing emotions. Depending on the culture of each country, both emotional regulation and phobia are different among the members of that society.