Humour to Help or Humour to Heal?

Humour to Help or Humour to Heal?

Humour is a universal part of life. Most of the past studies done on humour are related to its positive effects. Avoidance humour refers to using humour as a form of avoidance/maladaptive coping. This research aimed to explore the correspondence between avoidance humour and loneliness. This research also intended to examine how the association between avoidance humour and loneliness in emerging adults may differ by anxiety and expressive suppression levels. Online surveys were administered to four hundred and twenty four emerging adults residing in the U.S; either born in or out of the U.S. The results showed that avoidance humour was positively associated with loneliness. Using the chain mediation model, this relationship remained significantly positive with anxiety as the first mediation factor, and expressive suppression as the second mediation factor. Findings from the current study contribute to enhancing our understanding of humour and maladaptive coping, and provide critical information for clinicians working with emerging adults to reflect on their personal use of humour to counter loneliness.