Sources of ethnic differences between Asian American and White American college students on measures of depression and social anxiety.

Abstract

This study tested an affect-specific explanation for the Asian and White American differences in depression and social anxiety. Construal of the self as independent or interdependent in relation to others (H. R. Markus & S. Kitayama, 1991) was hypothesized to be 1 possible way in which culture may be expressed in individuals' psychological functioning, which in turn was hypothesized to be linked specifically to social anxiety. College students (N = 348; 183 White Americans and 165 Asian Americans) completed self-report measures of depression, social anxiety, and self-construals. Asian Americans scored significantly higher than White Americans on measures of depression and social anxiety. When the covariance between depression and social anxiety was statistically controlled, ethnicity and self-construal variables were found, as predicted, to be associated with measures of social anxiety but not depression. These findings suggest a more differentiated perspective on the relations between culture, ethnicity, and emotional distress.

Cites (48)

1. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
   Williams, Janet B. W., First, Michael · 2013 · Encyclopedia of Social Work
2. The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population
   Radloff, Lenore Sawyer · 1977 · Applied Psychological Measurement
3. Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation.
   Markus, Hazel R., Kitayama, Shinobu · 1991 · Psychological Review
4. The Scree Test For The Number Of Factors
   Cattell, Raymond B. · 1966 · Multivariate Behavioral Research
5. Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation
   Beck, Aaron T., Steer, Robert A., Carbin, Margery G. · 1988 · Clinical Psychology Review
6. A self-rating depression scale
   ZUNG, WILLIAM W. K. · 1965 · Archives of General Psychiatry
7. Cognitive Therapy for Depression: (675542012-001)
   2012 · PsycEXTRA Dataset
8. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed
   COOPER, ARNOLD M., MICHELS, ROBERT · 1981 · American Journal of Psychiatry
9. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed. rev.)
   Drake, Margaret · 1988 · The American Journal of Occupational Therapy
10. The Measurement of Independent and Interdependent Self-Construals
    Singelis, Theodore M. · 1994 · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Show all 48 references

Cited by (23)

1. Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses.
   Oyserman, Daphna, Coon, Heather M., Kemmelmeier, Markus · 2002 · Psychological Bulletin
2. Is there a universal need for positive self-regard?
   Heine, Steven J., Lehman, Darrin R., Markus, Hazel Rose, Kitayama, Shinobu · 1999 · Psychological Review
3. Psychological universals: what are they and how can we know?
   Norenzayan, Ara, Heine, Steven J. · 2005 · Psychological Bulletin
4. The What, How, Why, and Where of Self-Construal
   Cross, Susan E., Hardin, Erin E., Gercek-Swing, Berna · 2011 · Personality and Social Psychology Review
5. Anxiety and working memory capacity: A meta-analysis and narrative review.
   Moran, Tim P. · 2016 · Psychological Bulletin

See all 409