IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i10p3497-d359270.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Emerging Adults and COVID-19: The Role of Individualism-Collectivism on Perceived Risks and Psychological Maladjustment

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandro Germani

    (Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, Piazza Ermini 1, 06123 Perugia, Italy)

  • Livia Buratta

    (Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, Piazza Ermini 1, 06123 Perugia, Italy)

  • Elisa Delvecchio

    (Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, Piazza Ermini 1, 06123 Perugia, Italy)

  • Claudia Mazzeschi

    (Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, Piazza Ermini 1, 06123 Perugia, Italy)

Abstract

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has dramatically changed our habits and routines. Uncertainty, insecurity, instability for the present and future, and reduced autonomy and self-directedness, are common feelings at the time of COVID-19. These aspects are very important during emerging adulthood. In spite of the fact that medical reports suggest that youth are less prone to experience COVID-19 infections, emerging adults might be at higher risk for their psychological adjustment. Emerging adults showed higher concerns about their role as a possible asymptomatic carrier than being positive with COVID-19 themselves. Both worries and concerns about COVID-19 and psychological maladjustment may be related to cultural factors. Individualism, collectivism, equality, and hierarchy seem to be meaningful perspectives to take into account. A total of 1183 Italian emerging adults were asked to fill out an online survey during the second week of the national lockdown in Italy. Results showed they reported an accurate perceived knowledge about COVID-19. At the same time, they showed higher worries and concerns about COVID-19 for their relatives, followed by more general/social worries. The lowest score included worries about COVID-19 related to themselves. State anxiety and stress levels were above the normal cutoff, confirming the challenges that emerging adults are facing during the pandemic. On one hand, emerging adults’ collectivistic orientation was related to higher perceived risks of infection; on the other hand, it predicted lower psychological maladjustment, controlling for socio-demographic variables. The study suggests that to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and decrease levels of psychological maladjustment in emerging adulthood, individuals’ cultural orientation such as the wish of sharing common goals with others, interdependence, and sociability, have to be emphasized and promoted as protective factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Germani & Livia Buratta & Elisa Delvecchio & Claudia Mazzeschi, 2020. "Emerging Adults and COVID-19: The Role of Individualism-Collectivism on Perceived Risks and Psychological Maladjustment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:10:p:3497-:d:359270
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/10/3497/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/10/3497/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fan Wu & Su Zhao & Bin Yu & Yan-Mei Chen & Wen Wang & Zhi-Gang Song & Yi Hu & Zhao-Wu Tao & Jun-Hua Tian & Yuan-Yuan Pei & Ming-Li Yuan & Yu-Ling Zhang & Fa-Hui Dai & Yi Liu & Qi-Min Wang & Jiao-Jiao , 2020. "Author Correction: A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 580(7803), pages 7-7, April.
    2. Cuiyan Wang & Riyu Pan & Xiaoyang Wan & Yilin Tan & Linkang Xu & Cyrus S. Ho & Roger C. Ho, 2020. "Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-25, March.
    3. Julio Torales & Marcelo O’Higgins & João Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia & Antonio Ventriglio, 2020. "The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(4), pages 317-320, June.
    4. Jay J. Van Bavel & Katherine Baicker & Paulo S. Boggio & Valerio Capraro & Aleksandra Cichocka & Mina Cikara & Molly J. Crockett & Alia J. Crum & Karen M. Douglas & James N. Druckman & John Drury & Oe, 2020. "Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(5), pages 460-471, May.
    5. Li, Jian-Bin & Lis, Adriana & Delvecchio, Elisa, 2016. "Familism and depressive symptoms among Italian adolescents: The mediating effect of parental attachment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 130-136.
    6. Sijia Li & Yilin Wang & Jia Xue & Nan Zhao & Tingshao Zhu, 2020. "The Impact of COVID-19 Epidemic Declaration on Psychological Consequences: A Study on Active Weibo Users," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-9, March.
    7. Fan Wu & Su Zhao & Bin Yu & Yan-Mei Chen & Wen Wang & Zhi-Gang Song & Yi Hu & Zhao-Wu Tao & Jun-Hua Tian & Yuan-Yuan Pei & Ming-Li Yuan & Yu-Ling Zhang & Fa-Hui Dai & Yi Liu & Qi-Min Wang & Jiao-Jiao , 2020. "A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 579(7798), pages 265-269, March.
    8. Xu Zhang & Xing Liang & Hongyan Sun, 2013. "Individualism–Collectivism, Private Benefits of Control, and Earnings Management: A Cross-Culture Comparison," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(4), pages 655-664, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Inger Schou-Bredal & Laila Skogstad & Tine K. Grimholt & Tore Bonsaksen & Øivind Ekeberg & Trond Heir, 2021. "Concerns in the Norwegian Population during the Initial Lockdown Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-9, June.
    2. Bazzi, Samuel & Fiszbein, Martin & Gebresilasse, Mesay, 2021. "“Rugged individualism” and collective (in)action during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    3. Joaquin Alberto Padilla-Bautista & Gilberto Manuel Galindo-Aldana, 2022. "Identifying Factors That Predict Behavioral Intention to Stay under Lockdown during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Using a Structural Equation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-11, February.
    4. Yining Ma & Hui Wang & Hao Chai & Jian Zhu & Xinyi Lin & Hui Huang & Zaoyi Sun, 2024. "Chinese college students’ post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19: a grounded theory study," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Chunhui Zheng & Jia Zhang & Lili Qian & Yuling Zhang, 2022. "Risk, Obligation, and Public Noncompliance with Mobility Directives in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-20, September.
    6. Giulia Ballarotto & Eleonora Marzilli & Luca Cerniglia & Silvia Cimino & Renata Tambelli, 2021. "How Does Psychological Distress Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Internet Addiction and Instagram Addiction in Emerging Adults?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-19, October.
    7. Wei Hong & Ru-De Liu & Yi Ding & Jacqueline Hwang & Jia Wang & Yi Yang, 2021. "Cross-Country Differences in Stay-at-Home Behaviors during Peaks in the COVID-19 Pandemic in China and the United States: The Roles of Health Beliefs and Behavioral Intention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-14, February.
    8. Carlos Ruiz-Frutos & Mónica Ortega-Moreno & Adriano Dias & João Marcos Bernardes & Juan Jesús García-Iglesias & Juan Gómez-Salgado, 2020. "Information on COVID-19 and Psychological Distress in a Sample of Non-Health Workers during the Pandemic Period," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-18, September.
    9. Shaul Kimhi & Yohanan Eshel & Hadas Marciano & Bruria Adini, 2020. "Distress and Resilience in the Days of COVID-19: Comparing Two Ethnicities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-11, June.
    10. Amanda Hiles Howard & Getrude Dadirai Gwenzi & Lindsey Newsom & Belay T. Gebru & Nicole Gilbertson Wilke, 2023. "The Relationship between Sense of Belonging and Well-Being Outcomes in Emerging Adults with Care Experience," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-12, July.
    11. Xiaozhe Peng & Jiajun Huang & Kaixin Liang & Xinli Chi, 2022. "The Association of Social Emotions, Perceived Efficiency, Transparency of the Government, Concerns about COVID-19, and Confidence in Fighting the Pandemic under the Week-Long Lockdown in Shenzhen, Chi," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-17, September.
    12. Sabrina Cipolletta & Gabriela Rios Andreghetti & Giovanna Mioni, 2022. "Risk Perception towards COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Synthesis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-25, April.
    13. Yi Yang & Ru-De Liu & Yi Ding & Jia Wang & Wei Hong & Ying Wu, 2021. "The Influence of Communication on College Students’ Self–Other Risk Perceptions of COVID-19: A Comparative Study of China and the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-16, November.
    14. Angel Christopher Zegarra-López & Brian Florentino-Santisteban & Jorge Flores-Romero & Ariana Delgado-Tenorio & Adriana Cernades-Ames, 2022. "A Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms and Its Associated Sociodemographic Factors in Peru during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-16, October.
    15. Donya Gilan & Markus Müssig & Omar Hahad & Angela M. Kunzler & Simon Samstag & Nikolaus Röthke & Johannes Thrul & Frauke Kreuter & Michael Bosnjak & Philipp Sprengholz & Cornelia Betsch & Daniel Wolls, 2021. "Protective and Risk Factors for Mental Distress and Its Impact on Health-Protective Behaviors during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic between March 2020 and March 2021 in Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-12, August.
    16. Daniele Di Tata & Dora Bianchi & Sara Pompili & Fiorenzo Laghi, 2023. "The Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Alcohol Abuse and Drunkorexia Behaviors in Young Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-12, February.
    17. Alvisa Palese & Erica Visintini & Valentina Bressan & Federico Fonda & Stefania Chiappinotto & Luca Grassetti & Maddalena Peghin & Carlo Tascini & Matteo Balestrieri & Marco Colizzi, 2023. "Using Metaphors to Understand Suffering in COVID-19 Survivors: A Two Time-Point Observational Follow-Up Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-13, January.
    18. Jian-Bin Li & An Yang & Kai Dou & Rebecca Y. M. Cheung, 2020. "Self-Control Moderates the Association Between Perceived Severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Mental Health Problems Among the Chinese Public," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-10, July.
    19. Young-Jae Kim & Seung-Woo Kang, 2020. "The Quality of Life, Psychological Health, and Occupational Calling of Korean Workers: Differences by the New Classes of Occupation Emerging Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-14, August.
    20. Amanda L. Folk & Brooke E. Wagner & Samantha L. Hahn & Nicole Larson & Daheia J. Barr-Anderson & Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, 2021. "Changes to Physical Activity during a Global Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Analysis among a Diverse Population-Based Sample of Emerging Adults in the U.S," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-14, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mengyue Yuan & Tong Liu & Chao Yang, 2022. "Exploring the Relationship among Human Activities, COVID-19 Morbidity, and At-Risk Areas Using Location-Based Social Media Data: Knowledge about the Early Pandemic Stage in Wuhan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-22, May.
    2. Min Huang & Daohong Gong & Hui Lin & Bisong Hu & Jiehong Chen & Changjiang Xiao & Jin Luo & Shuhua Qi & Orhan Altan, 2023. "Does COVID-19 Affect the Accessibility of Outdoor Sports Venues? A Case Study in Nanchang, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-22, January.
    3. Ngqabutho Moyo & Anita D. Bhappu & Moment Bhebhe & Farai Ncube, 2022. "Perceived Risk of COVID-19 and Employee Decision-Making: How Psychological Distress during the Pandemic Increases Negative Performance Outcomes among Healthcare Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Giulia Motta Zanin & Eleonora Gentile & Alessandro Parisi & Danilo Spasiano, 2020. "A Preliminary Evaluation of the Public Risk Perception Related to the COVID-19 Health Emergency in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-20, April.
    5. Tasos Stylianou & Konstantinos Ntelas, 2023. "Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Socioeconomic Aspects in Greece," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-21, January.
    6. Xiao Gu & Bojan Obrenovic & Wei Fu, 2023. "Empirical Study on Social Media Exposure and Fear as Drivers of Anxiety and Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Carlos Ruiz-Frutos & Mónica Ortega-Moreno & Adriano Dias & João Marcos Bernardes & Juan Jesús García-Iglesias & Juan Gómez-Salgado, 2020. "Information on COVID-19 and Psychological Distress in a Sample of Non-Health Workers during the Pandemic Period," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-18, September.
    8. Mario Rivera-Izquierdo & María del Carmen Valero-Ubierna & Silvia Martínez-Diz & Miguel Ángel Fernández-García & Divina Tatiana Martín-Romero & Francisco Maldonado-Rodríguez & María Rosa Sánchez-Pérez, 2020. "Clinical Factors, Preventive Behaviours and Temporal Outcomes Associated with COVID-19 Infection in Health Professionals at a Spanish Hospital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-13, June.
    9. Masoomeh Maarefvand & Samaneh Hosseinzadeh & Ozra Farmani & Atefeh Safarabadi Farahani & Jagdish Khubchandani, 2020. "Coronavirus Outbreak and Stress in Iranians," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-11, June.
    10. Irizar, Patricia & Kapadia, Dharmi & Amele, Sarah & Bécares, Laia & Divall, Pip & Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal & Kibuchi, Eliud & Kneale, Dylan & McCabe, Ronan & Nazroo, James & Nellums, Laura B. & T, 2023. "Pathways to ethnic inequalities in COVID-19 health outcomes in the United Kingdom: A systematic map," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    11. S. Brent Jackson & Kathryn T. Stevenson & Lincoln R. Larson & M. Nils Peterson & Erin Seekamp, 2021. "Outdoor Activity Participation Improves Adolescents’ Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-18, March.
    12. Mubango Hazel & Muzariri Calvin, 2022. "Employee Engagement and Competitive Advantage during Covid 19 Pandemic in Small to Medium Enterprises, Catering Industry, Harare," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 6(4), pages 288-292, April.
    13. Clemens Koestner & Viktoria Eggert & Theresa Dicks & Kristin Kalo & Carolina Zähme & Pavel Dietz & Stephan Letzel & Till Beutel, 2022. "Psychological Burdens among Teachers in Germany during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic—Subgroup Analysis from a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Online Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-16, August.
    14. Ankica Kosic & Tamara Džamonja Ignjatović & Nebojša Petrović, 2021. "A Cross-Cultural Study of Distress during COVID-19 Pandemic: Some Protective and Risk Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-15, July.
    15. Giulia Orilisi & Marco Mascitti & Lucrezia Togni & Riccardo Monterubbianesi & Vincenzo Tosco & Flavia Vitiello & Andrea Santarelli & Angelo Putignano & Giovanna Orsini, 2021. "Oral Manifestations of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Patients: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-19, November.
    16. Durmuş Burak, 2023. "The Effect of Risk and Protective Factors on Primary School Students’ COVID-19 Anxiety: Back to School After the Pandemic," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(1), pages 29-51, February.
    17. David Gomez-Zepeda & Danielle Arnold-Schild & Julian Beyrle & Arthur Declercq & Ralf Gabriels & Elena Kumm & Annica Preikschat & Mateusz Krzysztof Łącki & Aurélie Hirschler & Jeewan Babu Rijal & Chris, 2024. "Thunder-DDA-PASEF enables high-coverage immunopeptidomics and is boosted by MS2Rescore with MS2PIP timsTOF fragmentation prediction model," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    18. Francesco Gangi & Eugenio D'Angelo & Lucia Michela Daniele & Nicola Varrone, 2021. "Assessing the impact of socially responsible human resources management on company environmental performance and cost of debt," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1511-1527, September.
    19. Miquel Oliu-Barton & Bary S. R. Pradelski & Nicolas Woloszko & Lionel Guetta-Jeanrenaud & Philippe Aghion & Patrick Artus & Arnaud Fontanet & Philippe Martin & Guntram B. Wolff, 2022. "The effect of COVID certificates on vaccine uptake, health outcomes, and the economy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.
    20. Christian M. Hafner, 2020. "The Spread of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Time and Space," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-13, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:10:p:3497-:d:359270. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.