Collectivist Countries Research Articles

Institutional Anomie Theory and Country-Level Public Corruption

Public-sector corruption siphons trillions of dollars from the global economy and contributes to social instability. Institutional Anomie Theory, with its focus on the links between social institutions, individualistic and achievement-oriented cultural norms, and crime, offers a possible framework for understanding corruption. This possibility is contrasted with research indicating that individualistic values and free markets reduce corruption. Using twenty years of data from 83 countries, this study finds institutional imbalance toward the economy is associated with higher levels of corruption. The lowest levels of corruption are found in highly individualistic countries, though institutional imbalance had a strong positive effect on corruption in such countries. Conversely, corruption is high in collectivistic countries regardless of institutional imbalance. Findings underscore the importance of institutional and cultural configurations, and their interplay, for corruption. We discuss the implications of our study for Institutional Anomie Theory and directions for future research.

Mortality risk of loneliness: Culture matters.

Does loneliness predict premature death? Much prior research suggests so, but this evidence draws primarily on populations from individualistic societies, such as North America and Western Europe. Here, we aimed to extend this evidence by testing a hypothesis that loneliness would predict greater mortality risk in collectivistic societies, where social interdependence is normatively sanctioned. Using a harmonized dataset from two individualistic (England and the United States) and two collectivistic (Korea and Mexico) countries (combined N = 41,869), we tested whether cultural contexts moderate the extent to which loneliness predicts 10-year all-cause mortality. After adjustment of demographic variables and health behaviors, loneliness was associated with increased 10-year mortality in all four countries, with hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.13 in England, 1.21 in the United States and Mexico, and 1.51 in Korea. When health conditions were additionally controlled, this association became negligible in two individualistic countries, with HRs of 0.98 for both England and the United States. In contrast, the HR remained highly significant in Korea (HR = 1.27). Curiously, the mortality risk of loneliness in Mexico (HR = 1.03), another collectivistic country, was no different from the risks in England and the United States. When people feel that they are chronically isolated from social networks, this perception can be fatal in Korea, but it is less so in the other three countries. Discussion focuses on other cultural factors, besides the cultural dimension of individualism-collectivism, that may account for the current finding. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-Efficacy and Life Satisfaction in Adolescence: Testing the Presumed Role of Individualism–Collectivism

Previous studies suggest a positive association between self-efficacy and subjective well-being. However, these investigations depend on the dichotomy between East Asian and Western cultures, often without directly examining the influence of cultural orientation. This raises questions: How do the psychological benefits of adolescent self-efficacy vary across countries, and to what extent does this variance relate to countries’ cultural orientations? To address these questions, the current study analyzed a sample of 15-year-old students across 66 countries ( N = 427,584) drawn from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data. As expected, we found that higher self-efficacy was related to better life satisfaction among adolescents in every country studied. Notably, the beneficial role of self-efficacy varies based on cultural context: The relationship between self-efficacy and adolescent life satisfaction is stronger in individualistic than collectivistic countries. These findings suggest that cultural environment is important for understanding adolescent social-psychological well-being and potentially offer broader implications for global mental health initiatives.

The 2023 State of Indian Families: Challenges, Opportunities, and Development

India, a traditional collectivist country, has a complicated family system rooted in its diverse culture and religion. With nearly 302.4 million households in 2021, the country experienced various political, social, and economic challenges due to globalization and Westernization. Data from six nationally representative surveys are used in the present study. In this article, we have reported findings in four sections: (1) Demographics, (2) Family Wellness, violence, and empowerment, (3) Aging and grandparenthood, and (4) developmental initiatives and policies for augmenting family welfare in India. The main findings of the report provide an overview of the difficulties faced by Indian families such as poverty, alcohol abuse, casteism, and gender-based violence. Given these challenges, the country is seeing several promising changes, including a rise in women empowerment, age at first marriage, and fertility. India overcomes these challenges by understanding them systematically, reaching the most affected, and addressing societal challenges. The report concludes by calling policy makers for investment in education, infrastructure, and policy execution and evaluation. We expect the study results to contribute to India’s health and family welfare policymaking.

Emotion regulation strategies and psychological health across cultures.

Emotion regulation is important for psychological health and can be achieved by implementing various strategies. How one regulates emotions is critical for maximizing psychological health. Few studies, however, tested the psychological correlates of different emotion regulation strategies across multiple cultures. In a preregistered cross-cultural study (N = 3,960, 19 countries), conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed associations between the use of seven emotion regulation strategies (situation selection, distraction, rumination, cognitive reappraisal, acceptance, expressive suppression, and emotional support seeking) and four indices of psychological health (life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and loneliness). Model comparisons based on Bayesian information criteria provided support for cultural differences in 36% of associations, with very strong support for differences in 18% of associations. Strategies that were linked to worse psychological health in individualist countries (e.g., rumination, expressive suppression) were unrelated or linked to better psychological health in collectivist countries. Cultural differences in associations with psychological health were most prominent for expressive suppression and rumination and also found for distraction and acceptance. In addition, we found evidence for cultural similarities in 46% of associations between strategies and psychological health, but none of this evidence was very strong. Cultural similarities were most prominent in associations of psychological health with emotional support seeking. These findings highlight the importance of considering the cultural context to understand how individuals from diverse backgrounds manage unpleasant emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Secondary school students’ attitudes towards chemistry: a cultural comparison between Germany and China

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the attitudes towards chemistry of male and female secondary school students from Germany and China to understand the role of collectivism and individualism in attitudes towards chemistry, comparing Germany, a relatively individualist country, with China which is rather collectivist. Literature suggests that the gender gap in attitudes towards science is larger in collectivist countries. Beyond that, the data base is insufficient. 1468 secondary school students (China: 883, Germany: 585) responded to a survey. Results of ANOVAs suggested that students from China show more negative attitudes towards chemistry and a more pronounced gender gap in favour of males regarding chemistry self-concept, persistence in chemistry, sense of belonging in chemistry, and perception of linguistic abilities in chemistry. This conforms to theories of collectivism and individualism. However, this trend was not found for the need for the cognition in chemistry and perceived student and teacher support in chemistry. The paper discusses societal aspects that might explain the deviances from collectivism/individualism research. It shows that (a) individualism and collectivism impact students’ attitudes towards chemistry but (b) more nuanced analyses are required considering specific sociocultural and economic factors to understand attitudes towards chemistry in cross-cultural comparisons.

Prevalence of the Risk of Exercise Addiction Based on a New Classification: A Cross-Sectional Study in 15 Countries

AbstractExercise addiction is widely studied, but an official clinical diagnosis does not exist for this behavioral addiction. Earlier research using various screening instruments examined the absolute scale values while investigating the disorder. The Exercise Addiction Inventory-3 (EAI-3) was recently developed with two subscales, one denoting health-relevant exercise and the other addictive tendencies. The latter has different cutoff values for leisure exercisers and elite athletes. Therefore, the present 15-country study (n = 3,760) used the EAI-3 to classify the risk of exercise addiction (REA), but only if the participant reported having had a negative exercise-related experience. Based on this classification, the prevalence of REA was 9.5% in the sample. No sex differences, and few cross-national differences were found. However, collectivist countries reported greater REA in various exercise contexts than individualist countries. Moreover, the REA among athletes was (i) twice as high as leisure exercisers, (ii) higher in organized than self-planned exercises, irrespective of athletic status, and (iii) higher among those who exercised for skill/mastery reasons than for health and social reasons, again irrespective of athletic status. Eating disorders were more frequent among REA-affected individuals than in the rest of the sample. These results do not align with recent theoretical arguments claiming that exercise addiction is unlikely to be fostered in organized sports. The present study questions the current research framework for understanding exercise addiction and offers a new alternative to segregate self-harming exercise from passionate overindulgence in athletic life.

Board gender diversity reform and corporate carbon emissions

We examine the impact of the increased presence of female board members on corporate carbon emissions. Using the staggered enactment of gender diversity reforms in different countries, we find that an increase in the number of female directors after the reforms leads to a reduction in corporate carbon emissions. This effect is particularly more pronounced when the reform is legislative, and occurs in collectivistic countries. Furthermore, the effect of enhanced female board representation on carbon emission reduction is greater following the Paris Agreement. This study offers valuable insights for policymakers who consider gender diversity reform as a strategy against climate change.

Sustainable human resource management and job satisfaction—Unlocking the power of organizational identification: A cross‐cultural perspective from 54 countries

AbstractSustainable human resource management is gaining importance in organizations due to its role in developing a sustainable work environment and well‐being. This paper discusses the relationship between employee perceptions of sustainable human resource management and job satisfaction in 54 countries. We propose that sustainable HRM is positively associated with job satisfaction but that this relationship is moderated by employees' identification with the organization and country‐level individualism–collectivism. Thus, we suggest national culture functions as a second‐level moderator of the relationship of sustainable HRM with organizational identification on job satisfaction. Findings from the multi‐level analyses using data from 14,502 employees nested within 54 countries provided support for our hypotheses, namely that employee perceptions of sustainable HRM were positively associated with job satisfaction and that this relationship was more pronounced for employees with lower levels compared to higher levels of organizational identification in individualistic rather than collectivistic countries. These findings bear important implications for both theory and practice.

Shimmering emerging adulthood: in search of the invariant IDEA model for collectivistic countries.

Emerging adulthood is the youth trajectory characterized by self-focus, identity exploration, feeling between adolescence and adulthood, instability, and experimentation. This trajectory was first identified in industrialized individualistic countries with gender equality and technological progress. To measure transition to adulthood, the Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) was created. Although emerging adulthood is considered universal, adaptations of the questionnaire across the 12 countries show different patterns, and its cross-cultural invariance has been underinvestigated. This study tests IDEA in three collectivistic countries - Armenia, China, and Russia. The sample consisted of 868 students (total male - 152, total female - 716) aged 18 to 29 years old. We tested the questionnaire separately in the three countries to check that this model fits, but we failed to prove it. After that we used a factor-analytic approach to find a common version for the three countries. We got a five-factor correlated model in accordance with the theory, but it was reduced from 31 items to 21, and three items moved to other factors. Finally, we provided measurement invariance and reached configural level. To test the narrower facets of factors we used multi-group alignment and found that variances in six parameters differ, mainly in Instability. Despite the difference in the questionnaire items, we proposed a common model for three countries that we called questionnaire IDEA-collectivistic countries (IDEA-CC).

Iranian Women’s Experience of Intimate Partner Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic increased the rate of intimate partner violence (IPV) all over the world, including Iran. This study used a qualitative phenomenological method to identify and analyze 10 Iranian women’s experiences of IPV during the pandemic. Using purposive sampling, semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s (1978) data analysis method. Data analysis revealed that during the pandemic, IPV was exacerbated by financial stress, children’s online education, conflict over health protocols, and social isolation. Participants reported trying many ways to cope with IPV, including focusing on religion and spirituality, seeking new hobbies, seeking help from their families, and seeking professional counselors. This research emphasized the importance of understanding cultural factors when offering services to IPV victims or survivors and demonstrated that IPV survivors, even in collectivist countries, need legal and mental health support.

Gender, Competition, and Performance: International Evidence

Abstract Using a hand-collected sample of 18,269 equity analysts from 42 countries over the period of 2004 to 2019, we establish an intriguing negative association between a country’s institutional/economic development and its female share of equity analysts. We show that, in individualistic countries only, there is no gender gap in analyst forecast accuracy. We further show that female analysts are more skilled and more likely to drop out when underperforming in individualistic countries compared to peers in collectivistic countries. The evidence supports our hypothesis that the national cultural value of individualism encourages women to make career choices consistent with their general aversion to competition.

Cultural Bias in Explainable AI Research: A Systematic Analysis

For synergistic interactions between humans and artificial intelligence (AI) systems, AI outputs often need to be explainable to people. Explainable AI (XAI) systems are commonly tested in human user studies. However, whether XAI researchers consider potential cultural differences in human explanatory needs remains unexplored. We highlight psychological research that found significant differences in human explanations between many people from Western, commonly individualist countries and people from non-Western, often collectivist countries. We argue that XAI research currently overlooks these variations and that many popular XAI designs implicitly and problematically assume that Western explanatory needs are shared cross-culturally. Additionally, we systematically reviewed over 200 XAI user studies and found that most studies did not consider relevant cultural variations, sampled only Western populations, but drew conclusions about human-XAI interactions more generally. We also analyzed over 30 literature reviews of XAI studies. Most reviews did not mention cultural differences in explanatory needs or flag overly broad cross-cultural extrapolations of XAI user study results. Combined, our analyses provide evidence of a cultural bias toward Western populations in XAI research, highlighting an important knowledge gap regarding how culturally diverse users may respond to widely used XAI systems that future work can and should address.

Cross-country variations in the caregiver role: evidence from the ENTWINE-iCohort study

BackgroundGlobally, economically developed countries face similar ageing demographics and the challenge of a ‘care gap’, yet they vary due to different care and formal support systems, and different cultural and societal norms around illness and care. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine cross-country variations in caregiver motivations, willingness, values, meaning in life, illness beliefs, and experiences of wellbeing, gain, health-related quality of life, burden and depression, across 6 European countries and Israel. Cross-country differences in the above-mentioned informal caregiver experiences are rarely described.MethodsAn online survey (ENTWINE-iCohort) was conducted using validated measures wherever possible. This paper utilises data from 879 caregivers and seven countries (Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the UK, and Israel).ResultsNo consistent finding supporting the concurrent relationship between caregiver support policies/country culture and caregiver motivations/willingness was found. Caregivers in countries typically characterised by individualist cultures reported lower familism, higher self-enhancement values, and greater perceived illness threat compared to more collectivist countries. Search for meaning was higher in poorer countries than in wealthier countries. Higher negative caregiver experiences (e.g., burden) and lower positive experiences (e.g., wellbeing) were generally observed in countries with underdeveloped caregiver support as compared to countries with more developed formal support systems.ConclusionsCross-country variations can be explained to varying degrees by national policies around care (or their absence) and country cultural contexts. The results emphasise the importance of formal support services for achieving positive caregiver experiences, and help inform the development of policies and measures to support caregivers in Europe and Israel.

Moral identity in relation to emotional well-being: a meta-analysis.

This meta-analytic review surveyed previous empirical studies that examined links between moral identity and indicators of emotional well-being. Additionally, this meta-analysis examined cultural origin as a moderator, testing if links between moral identity and emotional well-being differ in collectivistic vs. individualistic countries. A systematic literature review was conducted through ProQuest's 65 databases and PubMed. A random-effect meta-analysis and subgroup analyses were conducted using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 4.0 (CMA) software. Drawing on 27 eligible studies, moral identity was associated with greater emotional well-being (r = 0.27, p < 0.001). Follow up analyses on individual dimensions showed medium effect sizes in links between moral identity and greater happiness or positive affect (r = 0.28, p < 0.001), greater sense of purpose or meaning in life (r = 0.29, p < 0.001), and higher self-esteem (r = 0.25, p < 0.001). Moreover, moral identity was associated with greater life satisfaction showing a small effect size (r = 0.15, p = 0.011). Results showed that effect sizes of links between moral identity and overall emotional well-being did not significantly differ by cultural origin. However, effect sizes tended to be larger in the nine studies that were conducted in collectivistic countries (r = 0.30, p < 0.001) as compared to the 15 studies that were conducted in individualistic countries (r = 0.27, p < 0.001). The results of this meta-analysis indicate a robust empirical relationship between moral identity and emotional well-being that is present across various dimensions of emotional well-being and in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures. https://osf.io/94f8b/?view_only=6db54da0fa304c83993d0438ecb5c637.

The Role of Affective Commitment in Rewards Management: An Example From a Collectivist Country

This study examined how affective commitment influences the relationships among rewards management, organization justice, and turnover intent in a collectivist country. Data were gathered from 154 Filipino employees through an online survey. Moderated mediation using Haye’s PROCESS model was used for analysis. Results revealed that rewards management significantly predicts organization justice. Turnover intent was also directly predicted by rewards management and its relationship with rewards management was partially mediated by organization justice. Affective commitment significantly moderates the relationship between organization justice, rewards management, and turnover intent. Findings of this research contribute to both knowledge and organization practice by illustrating how turnover intent is reduced through effective and equitable management of rewards especially among employees with low levels of affective commitment to work organizations in a collectivist society.

Working conditions and mental health of migrants and refugees in Europe considering cultural origin– a systematic review

BackgroundMigrants and refugees/asylum seekers, as a large part of the European work force, are often confronted with unfavorable working conditions in the host country. Main aim of this systematic review was to compare the association of these working conditions with mental health between migrants and refugees/asylum seekers due to their diverse migration experiences and cultural origins, and between different European host countries.MethodsSystematic search for eligible primary studies was conducted in three electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO and CINAHL) using quantitative study designs written in English, German, French, Italian, Polish, Spanish or Turkish and published from January 1, 2016 to October 27, 2022. Primary health outcomes were diagnosed psychiatric and psychological disorders, suicide and suicide attempts, psychiatric and psychological symptoms, and perceived distress. Secondary health outcomes were more general concepts of mental health such as well-being, life satisfaction and quality of life. Two reviewers independently completed screening, data extraction and the methodological quality assessment of primary studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa-Scale. Descriptive summary of primary studies on working conditions and their relationship with mental health were conducted, comparing migrants and refugees/asylum seekers, migrants and refugees/asylum seekers of different cultural backgrounds (collectivistic and individualistic) and migrants and refugees/asylum seekers living in different host countries.ResultsInclusion criteria were met by 19 primary studies. Voluntary migrants are more likely to experience overqualification in the host country than refugees. In all examined host countries, migrants and refugees suffer from unfavorable working conditions, with migrants from collectivistic countries being slightly at risk compared to migrants from individualistic countries. Most unfavorable working conditions are related to poor mental health, regardless of migrant status, cultural origin or host country.ConclusionsAlthough the results should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of studies, it is evident that to maintain both the mental health and labor force of migrants and refugees/asylum seekers, their working conditions in host countries should be controlled and improved. Special attention should be paid to specific subgroups such as migrants from collectivistic societies.Ethics and disseminationThis systematic review is excluded from ethical approval because it used previously approved published data from primary studies.Trial registration numberCRD42021244840.

Japanese Translation of the Concerns of Social Reprisal Scale and Examination of the Bivalent Fear of Evaluation Model for Social Anxiety in Japan

AbstractThe bivalent fear of evaluation model explains the association of fear of evaluation and heightened social anxiety via concerns of social reprisal (CSR) and disqualification of positive social outcomes (DPSO). The constructs of the model may differ in individualistic (e.g., Australia) and collectivistic countries (e.g., Japan); however, no study has examined the model, including CSR, in collectivistic countries. This study develops the Japanese translation of the Concerns of Social Reprisal Scale (CSRS) and examines constructs of the bivalent fear of evaluation model in Japan. Overall, 496 participants completed CSR and social‐anxiety‐related questionnaires. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 1‐factor structure for the Japanese translation of the CSRS. Convergent validity and internal consistency were supported by significant relationships between social‐anxiety‐related variables and high McDonald's ω coefficient. Discriminant validity was partially supported by higher correlation between the CSRS and DPSO scale than correlation to the fear of negative evaluation scale. Path analysis revealed that the best fitting bivalent fear of evaluation model is similar to the individualistic country model, although DPSO contributes to social anxiety symptoms more than fear of positive evaluation.

Values and physical activity among sports science students in France and China: a transcultural analysis.

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between values and physical activity in France (a Western European individualistic country) and in China (an East Asian collectivist country). Six hundred and twenty-seven sport science students in France (N = 308, Mage = 18.99, SD = 1.64) and China (N = 319, Mage = 20.44, SD = 1.09) completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire long version and the Portrait Values Questionnaire. In both France and China, moderated regression analysis revealed that hedonism positively/negatively predicted physical activity, while security-societal, security-personal, and conformity-rules values negatively predicted physical activity. In contrast, stimulation and universalism-nature values positively predicted physical activity only in France. In China, benevolence and benevolence-care positively predicted physical activity, while power dominance negatively predicted physical activity. Additionally, we found evidence of measurement invariance of the value questionnaire. Our findings add to the literature by showing that the value-behavior link is partly the same across countries and partly different. Further, our findings show that for certain populations, the previously established hierarchy of human values does not replicate.

Collective loneliness: The impact of the social network on loneliness and depression during the coronavirus pandemic in older Europeans.

We examined the impact of the social network before the coronavirus pandemic on loneliness and depressed mood during the pandemic in older European individuals, and how these relationships differ between different European countries. Data of N=19,999 persons (age: M=69.18years; 51% female) from the pan-European longitudinal survey of health, ageing and retirement in Europe, interviewed between October 2019 and March 2020 (Wave 8) and between June and August 2020 (Corona Questionnaire 1), were used. To test the models we employed path analyses, controlling for age, gender, education, and occupational status. Models were also run separately in collectivistic (Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, and Greece) and individualistic (Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and France) country groups. A larger social network before the pandemic reduced the probability of an increase in loneliness and depression. The negative association between social network size and increase in loneliness was stronger in collectivist countries than in individualist ones. Moreover, an increase in loneliness increased the probability of feeling depressed. It appears that pre-pandemic social networks served as a buffer to negative mental health consequences of the pandemic in older Europeans. In fact, this association was stronger in collectivist than for individualist countries. While this underscores the importance of social connectedness, it also stresses the vulnerability of socially isolated individuals regarding loneliness and depression. Future work should thus focus on supporting social networks in older adults.