Sources of ethnic differences between Asian American and white American college students on measures of depression and social anxiety.
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.
Okazaki
S
S
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA. sokazaki@facstaff.wisc.edu
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000208:ethnology*; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012647:Self-Assessment; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*