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The Role of Dispositional Traits in Accounting for Country and Ethnic Group Differences on Adjustment
Author(s) -
Matsumoto David,
Nakagawa Sanae,
Estrada Aaron
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00542.x
Subject(s) - ethnic group , psychology , big five personality traits , social psychology , group (periodic table) , personality , demographic economics , sociology , economics , anthropology , chemistry , organic chemistry
Country and ethnic group differences on adjustment have been demonstrated numerous times, and the source of these differences has been typically interpreted as cultural. We report two studies in which country (Study 1) and ethnic group (Study 2) differences on depression, anxiety, optimism versus pessimism, well‐being, and self‐esteem are mediated by dispositional traits. These findings provide an alternative explanation for previously reported country and ethnic group differences on these variables and encourage researchers to consider multiple sources, including traits, in their models and studies.