Differentiation of self and trait anxiety: A cross‐cultural perspective

Abstract

Cultural differences are likely to affect the ability to deal with anxiety. We investigated this issue among four cultural groups—Germans and Italians (Europeans living in South Tyrol, Italy), Jews and Arabs (Israelis)—in terms of their levels of differentiation of self, trait anxiety and somatic symptoms. We also examined the relationship of differentiation of self to trait anxiety and somatic symptoms. The sample consisted of 824 students: 387 Israelis (mean age 23.6) and 437 Europeans (mean age 22.3). Israeli participants reported lower levels of trait anxiety than European students. Jewish students reported lower trait anxiety than Arab students (mean difference = −.14, p < .009), while there was no difference between German and Italian students (mean difference = .03, p > .99). Jews reported a significantly lower level of emotional cutoff than Arabs (mean difference = −.45, p < .001), and Germans reported a significantly lower level of emotional reactivity than Italians (mean difference = .29, p < .001). Emotional reactivity and I‐position predicted all participants' trait anxiety. On the whole, results point to the importance of examining differentiation of self when trying to reduce trait anxiety, as well as some important cultural differences.

Gender and age differences in forgivingness in Italian and Polish samples

“…Similarly, women tend to ruminate more than men ( Johnson and Whisman, 2013 ), but the level of rumination lowers with age, both in women and men ( Nolen-Hoeksema and Aldao, 2011 ); additionally, studies have showed cultural differences in rumination ( Eshun et al., 1998 ; Kwon et al., 2013 ). Anxiety is also more intense in women than men ( McLean and Anderson, 2009 ) and, for both sexes, it decreases with age ( Mirowsky and Schieman, 2008 ), but the results vary depending on respondents’ nationality ( Peleg and Messerschmidt-Grandi, 2018 ). Moreover, women score higher in depression ( Hankin and Abramson, 2001 ; Parker and Brotchie, 2010 ); levels of depression increase with age (1999) and differ across Europe ( Copeland et al., 1999 ).…”

How Are Sociodemographic, Health, Psychological, and Cognitive Factors Associated with Dementia Worry? An Online Survey Study among Israeli and Australian Laypeople

“…Upon looking broadly at our results, it is evident that understanding cultural effects is a complex process. On the one hand, the significant difference found in the level of dementia worry between the countries might indeed be associated with cultural differences, especially as previous studies have shown that more individualistic societies (i.e., Australia in this study) tend to report lower levels of worry and express less negative emotions, especially compared to others [ 16 , 18 , 19 ]. On the other hand, the levels of dementia worry were relatively similar in both countries, as were its determinants, suggesting a small impact of culture.…”

“…Although few in number, some studies have indeed examined the emotions of fear or anxiety toward different targets among individualistic and collectivistic cultures, but these studies have yielded inconsistent results. For example, whereas some reported positive associations between collectivistic values and fear [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], others reported just the opposite [ 20 ]. Moreover, as stated, studies examining these associations with dementia worry are remarkably lacking.…”

Differentiation of self and its relationship with marital satisfaction and parenting styles in a Spanish sample of adolescents’ parents

“…Finally, it has being hypothesized that DoS may show differences in its configuration and impact between cultures [ 32 , 47 ]. Therefore, the study of DoS in a Spanish sample can be useful to understand its influence in couple and parental relationships in this particular culture.…”