TY - JOUR
T1 - Social axioms and psychological toll
T2 - A study of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive responses across 35 cultures during the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Ye, Frank Tian fang
AU - Hui, Bryant P.H.
AU - Ng, Jacky C.K.
AU - Lam, Ben C.P.
AU - Au, Algae K.Y.
AU - Wu, Wesley C.H.
AU - Ng, Hilary K.Y.
AU - Chen, Sylvia Xiaohua
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Applied Psychology.
PY - 2024/11
Y1 - 2024/11
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the psychological well-being of individuals worldwide. Previous research has indicated that values and beliefs, particularly social axioms, are associated with psychological responses during crises. However, most of the studies have focused on specific regions; the impact of social axioms on a global scale remains unclear. We conducted a multinational study comprising stratified samples of 18,171 participants from 35 cultures. Using multilevel modeling, we examined the associations between social axioms, personal worry, normative concerns, trust, and individuals' psychological responses to the pandemic. The results showed that greater personal worry and normative concerns predicted more negative psychological responses. Furthermore, the study also identified significant buffering effects at the societal level, as cultures with higher overall levels of fate control, religiosity, or reward for application exhibited weaker associations between personal worry and negative responses. Our findings reveal the influence of social axioms on psychological responses during the pandemic, with varying effects across cultures. The buffering effects of fate control, religiosity, and reward for application underscore the importance of considering cultural differences and individual variability when examining the impact of social axioms on psychological outcomes.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the psychological well-being of individuals worldwide. Previous research has indicated that values and beliefs, particularly social axioms, are associated with psychological responses during crises. However, most of the studies have focused on specific regions; the impact of social axioms on a global scale remains unclear. We conducted a multinational study comprising stratified samples of 18,171 participants from 35 cultures. Using multilevel modeling, we examined the associations between social axioms, personal worry, normative concerns, trust, and individuals' psychological responses to the pandemic. The results showed that greater personal worry and normative concerns predicted more negative psychological responses. Furthermore, the study also identified significant buffering effects at the societal level, as cultures with higher overall levels of fate control, religiosity, or reward for application exhibited weaker associations between personal worry and negative responses. Our findings reveal the influence of social axioms on psychological responses during the pandemic, with varying effects across cultures. The buffering effects of fate control, religiosity, and reward for application underscore the importance of considering cultural differences and individual variability when examining the impact of social axioms on psychological outcomes.
KW - COVID-19
KW - psychological responses
KW - social axioms
KW - trust
KW - well-being
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85192510224&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/aphw.12545
DO - 10.1111/aphw.12545
M3 - Article
C2 - 38721987
AN - SCOPUS:85192510224
SN - 1758-0846
VL - 16
SP - 1679
EP - 1698
JO - Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
JF - Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
IS - 4
ER -