Unpacking Cultural Variations in Social Anxiety and the Offensive-Type of Taijin Kyofusho Through the Indirect Effects of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Self-Construals

This paper presents two studies that aim to unpack cultural variations in general social anxiety and the offensive-type of Taijin Kyofusho (OTKS) – a type of social anxiety characterized by the extreme fear of offending others. Cultural variations in the expression and manifestation of social anxiety are well established; however, the mechanisms underpinning this relation are unclear. The present studies use the Parallel Multiple Mediation Model to study how social anxiety and OTKS are jointly shaped by self-construal and intolerance of uncertainty. Study 1 compared Euro-Canadians and Chinese migrants in Canada. Results showed a mean group difference in OTKS, but not social anxiety, with the difference mediated by intolerance of uncertainty (IU). Study 2 tested this pattern of multiple mediations in Japanese, Chinese and Euro-Canadian cultural contexts. Results showed significant differences among these three cultural groups on both social anxiety and OTKS via multiple mediators (e.g., independent vs. interdependent self-construals and IU). Findings in both studies revealed that OTKS seems to be a psychopathology that is not specific to Japanese participants. The underlying mechanisms and processes of OTKS are also significantly different from social anxiety. Significant cultural variations in social anxiety and OTKS between Chinese vs. Japanese cultural contexts were observed in Study 2. These studies demonstrate the conceptual and empirical advantages of using more complex models to unpack the psychological mechanisms shaping cultural variations in social anxiety and OTKS

From culture to symptom: Testing a structural model of “Chinese somatization”

“Chinese somatization” has been frequently discussed over the past three decades of cultural psychiatry, and has more recently been demonstrated in cross-national com- parisons. Empirical studies of potential explanations are lacking, however. Ryder and Chentsova-Dutton (2012) proposed that Chinese somatization can be understood as a cultural script for depression, noting that the literature is divided on whether this script primarily involves felt bodily experience or a stigma-avoiding communication strategy. Two samples from Hunan province, China - one of undergraduate students (n = 213) and one of depressed psychiatric outpatients (n = 281) - completed the same set of self-report questionnaires, including a somatization questionnaire developed in Chinese. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that Chinese somatization could be under-stood as two correlated factors: one focusing on the experience and expression of distress, the other on its conceptualization and communication. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that traditional Chinese cultural values are associated with both of these factors, but only bodily experience is associated with somatic depressive symptoms. This study takes a first step towards directly evaluating explanations for Chinese somatization, pointing the way to future multimethod investigations of this cultural script

Extending a structural model of somatization to South Koreans: Cultural values, somatization tendency, and the presentation of depressive symptoms

Background: Somatization refers to the tendency to emphasize somatic symptoms when experiencing a psychiatric disturbance. This tendency has been widely reported in patients from East Asian cultural contexts suffering from depression. Recent research in two Chinese samples have demonstrated that the local cultural script for depression, involving two aspects—the experience and expression of distress (EED) and conceptualization and communication of distress (CCD)—can be evoked to help explain somatization. Given the beliefs and practices broadly shared across Chinese and South Korean cultural contexts, the current study seeks to replicate this explanatory model in South Koreans. Methods: Our sample included 209 psychiatric outpatients from Seoul and Wonju, South Korea. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess somatization tendency, adherence to traditional values, and psychological and somatic symptoms of depression. Results: Results from SEM showed that the EED and CCD factors of somatization tendency were differently associated with cultural values and somatic symptoms, replicating our previous findings in Chinese outpatients. Limitations: The reliance on a brief self-report measure of somatization tendency, not originally designed to assess separate EED and CCD factors, highlights the need for measurement tools for the assessment of cultural scripts in cross-cultural depression research. Conclusions: The replication of the Chinese structural model of somatization in South Korealends empirical support to the view that somatization can be understood as the consequence of specific cultural scripts. These scripts involve the experience and expression of distress as well as culturally meaningful ways in which this distress is conceptualized and communicated to other

Unpacking Cultural Variations in Social Anxiety and the Offensive-Type of Taijin Kyofusho Through the Indirect Effects of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Self-Construals

International audienceThis paper presents two studies that aim to unpack cultural variations in general social anxiety and the offensive-type of \emph{Taijin Kyofusho} (OTKS) -- a type of social anxiety characterized by the extreme fear of offending others. Cultural variations in the expression and manifestation of social anxiety are well established; however, the mechanisms underpinning this relation are unclear. The present studies use the Parallel Multiple Mediation Model to study how social anxiety and OTKS are jointly shaped by self-construal and intolerance of uncertainty. Study 1 compared Euro-Canadians and Chinese migrants in Canada. Results showed a mean group difference in OTKS, but not social anxiety, with the difference mediated by intolerance of uncertainty (IU). Study 2 tested this pattern of multiple mediations in Japanese, Chinese and Euro-Canadian cultural contexts. Results showed significant differences among these three cultural groups on both social anxiety and OTKS via multiple mediators (e.g., independent vs. interdependent self-construals and IU). Findings in both studies revealed that OTKS seems to be a psychopathology that is not specific to Japanese participants. The underlying mechanisms and processes of OTKS are also significantly different from social anxiety. Significant cultural variations in social anxiety and OTKS between Chinese vs. Japanese cultural contexts were observed in Study 2. These studies demonstrate the conceptual and empirical advantages of using more complex models to unpack the psychological mechanisms shaping cultural variations in social anxiety and OTKS

Mechanism of the Transfer of AuCl₄^– and TOA⁺ Ions Across the Liquid/Liquid Interface

The Brust–Schiffrin (BS) two-phase method to synthesize nanoparticles has been widely used. In this method, the transfer of tetrachloroaurate (AuCl₄^–) from aqueous phase into organic phase is the first step. However, the mechanism of the transfer of AuCl₄^– is still not clear. In this paper, we studied the mechanism of the transfer of AuCl₄^– across a micrometer-sized interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES). Our results revealed that the presence of TOA⁺ can enhance the transfer of AuCl₄^– from aqueous phase into organic phase. The enhanced transfer of AuCl₄^– is explained by the shuttling mechanism which has been developed by Laforge et al