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Based upon a mixed-methods follow-up exploratory model, we examined the link between trust and coping during the early outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic at the society level. Qualitative data were collected from the supportive messages written by 10,072 community adults across 35 societies. Trust and coping were used as the two pre-defined themes in the conceptual content analysis. Five subthemes emerged from the theme trust, depicting five distinct trusted targets: God, a larger us, country/government, science/healthcare, and the affected. Six subthemes emerged from the theme coping, depicting six distinct coping strategies: interpersonal/social coping, religious/spiritual coping, acceptance, blame, wishful thinking, and strength-based coping. A follow-up quantitative investigation also showed that four society-level factors (viz., individualism, cultural tightness, globalization, and severity of pandemic) had differential effects on people's trusted targets and ways of coping with the pandemic. Our study made both methodological and practical contributions to cross-cultural research on COVID-19 by using a mixed-methods approach in a multinational study and demonstrating the importance of making meaningful virtual connection during a time of physical distancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultural theory of naïve dialecticism, denoting Chinese lay beliefs about expectation of change and tolerance of contradiction, was employed to examine Chinese and European Americans' representation and evaluation of their romantic partners and relationships across three studies. We found that Chinese were more likely than Euro‐Americans to spontaneously describe their partners with contradictory attributes (Study 1). While Chinese and Euro‐Americans organized their evaluative partner knowledge in equally compartmentalized ways, Chinese were more likely to hold complex knowledge structures and to value both positive and negative partner knowledge (Study 2). Moreover, Chinese were more likely than Euro‐Americans to simultaneously hold positive and negative attitudes toward their partner and relationship (i.e., being ambivalent), both implicitly and explicitly (Study 3). These findings illuminate theories and research on contradictions in intimate relationships from a cultural perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living together in culturally plural societies poses numerous challenges for members of ethnocultural groups and for the larger society. An important goal of these societies is to achieve positive intercultural relations among all their peoples. Successful management of these relations depends on many factors including a research‐based understanding of the historical, political, economic, religious and psychological features of the groups that are in contact. The core question is 'how we shall we all live together?' In the project reported in this paper (Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies; MIRIPS), we seek to provide such research by reviewing three core psychological hypotheses of intercultural relations (multiculturalism, contact and integration) in 21 culturally plural societies. The main goal of the project is to evaluate these hypotheses across societies within the MIRIPS project in order to identify if there are some basic psychological principles that underlie intercultural relations panculturally. If there are, the eventual goal is to employ the findings to propose some policies and programmes that may improve the quality of intercultural relationship globally. An internal meta‐analysis using the MIRIPS project data showed that the empirical findings from these societies generally support the validity of the three hypotheses. Implications for the development of policies and programmes to enhance the quality of intercultural relations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected both physical health and mental well-being around the world. Stress-related reactions, if prolonged, may result in mental health problems. We examined the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in a multinational study and explored the effects of government responses to the outbreak. We sampled 18,171 community adults from 35 countries/societies, stratified by age, gender, and region of residence. Across the 35 societies, 26.6% of participants reported moderate to extremely severe depression symptoms, 28.2% moderate to extremely severe anxiety symptoms, and 18.3% moderate to extremely severe stress symptoms. Coronavirus anxiety comprises two factors, namely Perceived Vulnerability and Threat Response. After controlling for age, gender, and education level, perceived vulnerability predicted higher levels of negative emotional symptoms and psychological distress, whereas threat response predicted higher levels of self-rated health and subjective well-being. People in societies with more stringent control policies had more threat response and reported better subjective health. Coronavirus anxiety exerts detrimental effects on subjective health and well-being, but also has the adaptive function in mobilizing safety behaviors, providing support for an evolutionary perspective on psychological adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between dispositional envy and subjective well-being has been well-investigated in the literature. Nevertheless, most of these investigations have predominantly (1) focused on the hedonic component of subjective well-being, (2) employed a cross-sectional design, (3) targeted at young adults, and (4) tested the main effects instead of the mediating mechanisms. These limitations might restrict the robustness and generalizability of the observed association between dispositional envy and subjective well-being. To address these gaps, the present research focused on the eudaimonic component of subjective well-being, which highlights a purposeful, psychologically flourishing life. Conceptually, the association between dispositional envy and flourishing is paradoxical, such that both a positive and a negative association can be predicted. To examine this unexplored association, three studies were conducted to provide longitudinal evidence for this association as well as to investigate its intrapersonal and interpersonal mediating mechanisms among young adults and adolescents. Converging results indicated that dispositional malicious envy was negatively associated with flourishing, while dispositional benign envy was positively linked with it. In this research, a series of model comparisons was conducted to strengthen our understanding of dispositional envy. Specifically, we compared (1) the extent that dispositional envy was associated with eudaimonic well-being and hedonic well-being, (2) the associations among the two age groups, and (3) the importance of the intrapersonal and interpersonal mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]