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Culture, COVID-19, and collectivism: A paradox of American exceptionalism?
- Source :
-
Personality and individual differences [Pers Individ Dif] 2021 Aug; Vol. 178, pp. 110853. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Mar 23. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Do geographic differences in collectivism relate to COVID-19 case and death rates? And if so, would they also replicate across states within arguably the most individualistic country in the world-the United States? Further still, what role might the U.S.'s history of ethnic strife and race-based health disparities play in either reinforcing or undermining state-level relations between collectivism and COVID-19 rates? To answer these questions, we examined archival data from 98 countries (Study 1) and the 48 contiguous United States (Study 2) on country/state-level collectivism, COVID-19 case/death rates, relevant covariates (per-capita GDP, population density, spatial dependence), and in the U.S., percent of non-Whites. In Study 1, country-level collectivism negatively related to both cases ( r  = -0.28) and deaths ( r  = -0.40) in simple regressions; however, after controlling for covariates, the former became non-significant ( r <subscript>p</subscript>  = -0.07), but the latter remained significant ( r <subscript>p</subscript>  = -0.20). In Study 2, state-level collectivism positively related to both cases ( r  = 0.56) and deaths ( r  = 0.41) in simple regressions, and these relationships persisted after controlling for all covariates except race, where a state's non-White population dominated all other predictors of COVID-19 cases ( r <subscript>p</subscript>  = 0.35) and deaths ( r <subscript>p</subscript>  = 0.31). We discuss the strong link between race and collectivism in U.S. culture, and its implications for understanding COVID-19 responses.<br />Competing Interests: We have no known conflicts of interest to disclose.<br /> (© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0191-8869
- Volume :
- 178
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Personality and individual differences
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 36540785
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110853