The contribution of cultural identity to subjective well-being in collectivist countries: a study in the context of contemporary Chinese culture

Abstract

Introduction: Though the important effect of cultural identity on subjective well-being is widely acknowledged, the details of how different cultures' unique features influence well-being remain to be revealed. To address this issue in the context of Chinese culture, the present study investigates whether and how the prominent features of Chinese culture-collectivism and red culture-shape Chinese people's subjective well-being. Methods: The Red Cultural Identity Scale, Subjective Well-Being Scale, Collectivism Scale, and Perspective-Taking Scale were used to assess 1,045 Chinese residents. Results: The results showed that red cultural identity positively predicted participants' subjective well-being through the mediated role of collectivism. Furthermore, perspective-taking was found to moderate the mediating effect of collectivism. Discussion: These results demonstrate that the way cultural identity predicts subjective well-being is highly correlated to specific cultural features, e.g., the opinion of values, which was significant in practice with a cross-cultural background.