Basic psychological needs, culture and well-being: A comparison of turkish immigrant and German women in Germany

Abstract

IntroductionSelf-determination theory posits that autonomy and relatedness are innate and universal psychological needs and that when satisfied well-being is enhanced. Contrarily, some cross-cultural perspectives suggest that the degree of autonomy and relatedness satisfaction necessary for well-being within a particular society is mediated by cultural orientations.ObjectiveGiven the existing debates on cultural universality of basic needs, we examined the influence of culture on the relationship between basic needs and well-being within healthy and depressed subjects.AimOur aim was to unravel the relationship between culture, basic needs and well-being.MethodsBy sampling German (depressed n = 27, healthy n = 26) and Turkish immigrant (depressed n = 29, healthy n = 28) women in Germany, data were gathered by structured clinical interviews and self-report questionnaires in both languages.ResultsAutonomy and relatedness satisfaction were found lower in depressed groups compared with healthy controls in both cultures. No difference was found in the level of need satisfaction when we compared German vs. Turkish controls and German vs. Turkish patients. In German controls, well-being was positively associated with autonomy satisfaction but not with relatedness satisfaction. Conversely, in Turkish controls, well-being was positively associated with relatedness satisfaction but not with autonomy satisfaction. Within depressed groups satisfaction of both needs yielded positive impact on well-being regardless of culture.ConclusionsThe relation between basic needs satisfaction and well-being was largely determined by cultural background in healthy subjects. However, this cultural variation disappeared within depressed patients, which could be accounted by mean level differences in need satisfaction between healthy and depressed subjects.

The Contribution of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction to Psychological Well-Being via Autonomous Motivation Among Older Adults: A Cross-Cultural Study in China and France

“…Thus far, the cultural differences on the basic psychological needs are mainly reflected in two dimensions: (1) The level of perceived satisfaction of needs (e.g., Chirkov et al, 2005 ; Church et al, 2013 ); (2) assessment of the importance of the needs, especially with respect to PWB (e.g., Hahn and Oishi, 2006 ; Wang et al, 2007 ; Balkir et al, 2011 ). Specifically, a study conducted by Church et al ( 2013 ) found that Asian participants (Japan, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines) averaged lower than non-Asian participants (U.S., Mexico, and Venezuela) in perceived satisfaction of autonomy and competence.…”

“…Furthermore, some studies have shown cultural differences in the strength of the relationship between basic psychological needs satisfaction and PWB, which were also more consistent with the cross-cultural perspective. Balkir et al ( 2011 ) found that German women's (individualistic cultures) well-being was positively associated with autonomy satisfaction but not with relatedness satisfaction. Conversely, Turkish women's (collectivist cultures) well-being was positively associated with relatedness satisfaction but not with autonomy satisfaction.…”

Psychological Needs and Preferences of the Audience for Traditional Art and Cultural Creative Works

“…At present, many experts and scholars at home and abroad have studied cultural creative works from different perspectives, and compared with the European and American countries, China still has a big gap in the study of cultural creative works. Foreign art and cultural creative works well reflect the transmission of cultural significance and the regional characteristics (Balkir, Arens, & Barnow, 2011), while Chinese art and cultural creative works are faced with serious similarities and fail to get enough attention.…”