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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2023

William E. Copeland Open the ORCID record for William E. Copeland [Opens in a new window] ,
Masha Y. Ivanova ,
Thomas M. Achenbach ,
Lori V. Turner ,
Guangyu Tong ,
Adelina Ahmeti-Pronaj ,
Alma Au ,
Monica Bellina ,
J. Carlos Caldas  and
Yi-Chuen Chen
...Show all authors
William E. Copeland*
Affiliation:
University of Vermont, 1 South Prospect Street, Burlington, VT 05401, USA
Masha Y. Ivanova
Affiliation:
University of Vermont, 1 South Prospect Street, Burlington, VT 05401, USA
Thomas M. Achenbach
Affiliation:
University of Vermont, 1 South Prospect Street, Burlington, VT 05401, USA
Lori V. Turner
Affiliation:
University of Vermont, 1 South Prospect Street, Burlington, VT 05401, USA
Guangyu Tong
Affiliation:
Yale University, 135 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
Adelina Ahmeti-Pronaj
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Clinical Center of Kosova, 10000 Prishtine, Kosova
Alma Au
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Monica Bellina
Affiliation:
Department of Child Psychiatry, Eugenio Medea Scientific Institute, 7 Padiglione, Via Don Luigi Monza 20, Bosisio Parini, Lecco 23842, Italy
J. Carlos Caldas
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciências Sociais e do Comportamento, Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde – Norte, Rua Central de Gandra, 1317, 4585-116 Gandra, PRD, Portugal
Yi-Chuen Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, National Chung Cheng University, 168 University Road, Min-Hsiung, Chia-Yi 62102, Taiwan
Ladislav Csemy
Affiliation:
Prague Psychiatric Centre, Laboratory of Social Psychiatry, Ustavni 91, 181 03 Praha 8, Prague, Czech Republic
Marina M. da Rocha
Affiliation:
University Paulista (Unip), Institute of Human Sciences, Rua Francisco Bautista, 300, São Paulo, Brazil
Anca Dobrean
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babes-Bolyai University, 400015, Rupublicii st. 37, Cluj Napoca, Romania
Lourdes Ezpeleta
Affiliation:
Departament de Psicologia Clinica i de la Salut, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Edifici B, Bellaterra 08193, Spain
Yasuko Funabiki
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Hospital, 54 Kawaharacho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
Valerie S. Harder
Affiliation:
University of Vermont, 1 South Prospect Street, Burlington, VT 05401, USA
Felipe Lecannelier
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidad de Santiago, Santiago, Chile
Marie Leiner de la Cabada
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, P. O. Box 43091 Lubbock, Texas 79409, USA
Patrick Leung
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Room 356, Sino Building, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
Jianghong Liu
Affiliation:
School of Nursing and Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 418 Curie Blvd., Room 426, Claire M. Fagin Hall, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Safia Mahr
Affiliation:
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
Sergey Malykh
Affiliation:
Psychological Institute of Russian Academy of Education, Mokhovaya str, 9/4, Moscow 125009, Russia
Jasminka Markovic
Affiliation:
Medical Faculty Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Hajduk Veljkova 1, Novi Sad 21000, Serbia
David M. Ndetei
Affiliation:
Africa Mental Health Foundation, P.O. Box 48423-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Kyung Ja Oh
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Soedaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Jean-Michel Petot
Affiliation:
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
Geylan Riad
Affiliation:
Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
Direnc Sakarya
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
Virginia C. Samaniego
Affiliation:
Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sandra Sebre
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Latvia, Jurmalas Avenue 74/76, Riga, Latvia LV-1083
Mimoza Shahini
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Clinical Center of Kosova, 10000 Prishtine, Kosova
Edwiges Silvares
Affiliation:
University of São Paulo, Instituto de Psicologia, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes 1721, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, Brazil
Roma Simulioniene
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Klaipeda University, Herkaus Manto str. 84, Klaipeda 92294, Lithuania
Elvisa Sokoli
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania
Joel B. Talcott
Affiliation:
Aston Brain Centre, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, UK B4 7ET
Natalia Vazquez
Affiliation:
Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tomasz Wolanczyk
Affiliation:
Department of Child Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Ewa Zasepa
Affiliation:
The Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education, Room 3609, Szczesliwicka 40, 02-353, Warsaw, Poland
*
Corresponding author: William E. Copeland; E-mail: william.copeland@med.uvm.edu
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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.

Keywords

Adult self-reportcross-culturalinternationalpsychopathologystrengthssyndromes

Information

Type
Original Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 53 , Issue 16 , December 2023 , pp. 7581 - 7590
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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