Narcissism, overconfidence, and risk seeking are all positively correlated in U.S. samples. Overconfidence and risk seeking show consistent cross-cultural variation with higher averages among Chinese samples than U.S. samples, whereas the prior literature is mixed with regard to narcissism. These variables have never been studied simultaneously across U.S. and Chinese cultures. In two studies, we investigated within-cultural and cross-cultural variability in narcissism, overconfidence, and risk taking between college students from comparable universities in the United States and China. In both studies and in both nations, all three variables correlated positively with each other when questions were asked about one’s own country. Individuals from China were more overconfident and risk seeking. Individuals from the United States displayed greater narcissism scores, but standard indexes of scale invariance were inadequate, rendering cross-cultural comparisons of narcissism itself infeasible. In Study 2, independent self-construal explained cross-cultural differences in narcissism scores, supporting the argument that cultural differences in viewing oneself as autonomous and separate from society are responsible for differences in narcissism scores across cultures. Parallel analyses with regard to overconfidence and risk taking were non-significant. Taken together, although narcissism, overconfidence, and risk taking tend to co-occur within cultures, the present cross-cultural analyses demonstrate that they may arise through different mechanisms. Independent self-construal may account for narcissism effects, but the explanations for overconfidence and risk taking remain speculative.

Personalized normative feedback is a recommended component of alcohol interventions targeting college students. However, normative data are commonly collected through campus-based surveys, not through actual participant-referent relationships. In the present investigation, we examined how misperceptions of residence hall peers, both overall using a global question and those designated as important peers using person-specific questions, were related to students’ personal drinking behaviors. Participants were 108 students (88% freshman, 54% White, 51% female) residing in a single campus residence hall. Participants completed an online baseline survey in which they reported their own alcohol use and perceptions of peer alcohol use using both an individual peer network measure and a global peer perception measure of their residential peers. We employed network autocorrelation models, which account for the inherent correlation between observations, to test hypotheses. Overall, participants accurately perceived the drinking of nominated friends but overestimated the drinking of residential peers. Consistent with hypotheses, overestimating nominated friend and global residential peer drinking predicted higher personal drinking, although perception of nominated peers was a stronger predictor. Interaction analyses showed that the relationship between global misperception and participant self-reported drinking was significant for heavy drinkers, but not non-heavy drinkers. The current findings explicate how student perceptions of peer drinking within an established social network influence drinking behaviors, which may be used to enhance the effectiveness of normative feedback interventions.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major stressor that has negatively impacted global mental health. Many U.S. college students faced an abrupt transition to remote learning in March 2020 that significantly disrupted their routines, likely causing changes in mental health. The current study examined changes in anxiety and depressive symptoms among 990 college students, from before COVID-19 had reached U.S. community spread to 5 months into the pandemic. Results indicate overall increases in anxiety and depressive symptoms; this effect was amplified as more COVID-related challenges with academic impact and loneliness were reported. Increases in anxiety and depression were buffered as a function of greater perceived positive changes attributed to COVID-19; the differences in anxiety and depressive symptoms over time were also lessened when greater perceived stress prior to COVID-19 was reported. Findings reveal an unexpected effect involving pre-pandemic stress, and highlight potential targets to promote resilience, which should be examined long-term.