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Cultural contributions to adults' self-rated mental health problems and strengths: 7 culture clusters, 28 societies, 16 906 adults

  • William E Copeland
  • , Masha Y Ivanova
  • , Thomas M Achenbach
  • , Lori V Turner
  • , Guangyu Tong
  • , Adelina Ahmeti-Pronaj
  • , Alma Au
  • , Monica Bellina
  • , J Carlos Caldas
  • , Yi-Chuen Chen
  • , Ladislav Csemy
  • , Marina M da Rocha
  • , Anca Dobrean
  • , Lourdes Ezpeleta
  • , Yasuko Funabiki
  • , Valerie S Harder
  • , Felipe Lecannelier
  • , Marie Leiner de la Cabada
  • , Patrick Leung
  • , Jianghong Liu
    • Safia Mahr, Sergey Malykh, Jasminka Markovic, David M Ndetei, Kyung Ja Oh, Jean-Michel Petot, Geylan Riad, Direnc Sakarya, Virginia C Samaniego, Sandra Sebre, Mimoza Shahini, Edwiges Silvares, Roma Simulioniene, Elvisa Sokoli, Joel B Talcott, Natalia Vazquez, Tomasz Wolanczyk, Ewa Zasepa
  • University of Vermont, 1 South Prospect Street, Burlington, VT 05401, USA.
  • Yale University, 135 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
  • Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Clinical Center of Kosova, 10000 Prishtine, Kosova.
  • Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
  • Department of Child Psychiatry, Eugenio Medea Scientific Institute, 7 Padiglione, Via Don Luigi Monza 20, Bosisio Parini, Lecco 23842, Italy.
  • Departamento de Ciências Sociais e do Comportamento, Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde - Norte, Rua Central de Gandra, 1317, 4585-116 Gandra, PRD, Portugal.
  • Department of Psychology, National Chung Cheng University, 168 University Road, Min-Hsiung, Chia-Yi 62102, Taiwan.
  • Prague Psychiatric Centre, Laboratory of Social Psychiatry, Ustavni 91, 181 03 Praha 8, Prague, Czech Republic.
  • University Paulista (Unip), Institute of Human Sciences, Rua Francisco Bautista, 300, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babes-Bolyai University, 400015, Rupublicii st. 37, Cluj Napoca, Romania.
  • Departament de Psicologia Clinica i de la Salut, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Edifici B, Bellaterra 08193, Spain.
  • Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Hospital, 54 Kawaharacho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
  • Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidad de Santiago, Santiago, Chile.
  • Department of Pediatrics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, P. O. Box 43091 Lubbock, Texas 79409, USA.
  • Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Room 356, Sino Building, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.
  • School of Nursing and Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 418 Curie Blvd., Room 426, Claire M. Fagin Hall, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
  • Departement de Psychologie, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre la Défense, Laboratoire EVACLIPSY, Batiment C, 3e Etage, Salles C.319 & C.321, 200 Avenue de la Republique, Nanterre 92001, France.
  • Psychological Institute of Russian Academy of Education, Mokhovaya str, 9/4, Moscow 125009, Russia.
  • Medical Faculty Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Hajduk Veljkova 1, Novi Sad 21000, Serbia.
  • Africa Mental Health Foundation, P.O. Box 48423-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
  • Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Soedaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
  • Departement de Psychologie, Université de Paris Ouest, Laboratoire EVACLIPSY, Batiment C, 3 Etage, Salles C.319 & C.321, 200 Avenue de la Republique, Nanterre 92001, France.
  • Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt.
  • Department of Psychiatry, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
  • Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Department of Psychology, University of Latvia, Jurmalas Avenue 74/76, Riga, Latvia LV-1083.
  • University of São Paulo, Instituto de Psicologia, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes 1721, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Department of Psychology, Klaipeda University, Herkaus Manto str. 84, Klaipeda 92294, Lithuania.
  • Department of Psychology, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania.
  • Department of Child Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
  • The Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education, Room 3609, Szczesliwicka 40, 02-353, Warsaw, Poland.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: It is unknown how much variation in adult mental health problems is associated with differences between societal/cultural groups, over and above differences between individuals.

METHODS: To test these relative contributions, a consortium of indigenous researchers collected Adult Self-Report (ASR) ratings from 16 906 18- to 59-year-olds in 28 societies that represented seven culture clusters identified in the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavioral Effectiveness study (e.g. Confucian, Anglo). The ASR is scored on 17 problem scales, plus a personal strengths scale. Hierarchical linear modeling estimated variance accounted for by individual differences (including measurement error), society, and culture cluster. Multi-level analyses of covariance tested age and gender effects.

RESULTS: Across the 17 problem scales, the variance accounted for by individual differences ranged from 80.3% for DSM-oriented anxiety problems to 95.2% for DSM-oriented avoidant personality (mean = 90.7%); by society: 3.2% for DSM-oriented somatic problems to 8.0% for DSM-oriented anxiety problems (mean = 6.3%); and by culture cluster: 0.0% for DSM-oriented avoidant personality to 11.6% for DSM-oriented anxiety problems (mean = 3.0%). For strengths, individual differences accounted for 80.8% of variance, societal differences 10.5%, and cultural differences 8.7%. Age and gender had very small effects.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, adults' self-ratings of mental health problems and strengths were associated much more with individual differences than societal/cultural differences, although this varied across scales. These findings support cross-cultural use of standardized measures to assess mental health problems, but urge caution in assessment of personal strengths.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7581-7590
Number of pages10
JournalPsychological Medicine
Volume53
Issue number16
Early online date19 May 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

This article has been published in a revised form in Psychological Medicine [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291723001332]. This version is published under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND licence. No commercial re-distribution or re-use allowed. Derivative works cannot be distributed. © copyright The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

  • cross-cultural
  • international
  • syndromes
  • strengths
  • psychopathology
  • Adult self-report

Access to Document

  • PSM ASR paper clean

    This article has been published in a revised form in Psychological Medicine [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291723001332]. This version is published under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND licence. No commercial re-distribution or re-use allowed. Derivative works cannot be distributed. © copyright The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

    Accepted author manuscript, 404 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

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