Hamamura Toshitaka, Mearns Jack
Division of Clinical Psychology, Department of Integrated Educational Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Int J Psychol. 2019 Jun;54(3):351-359. doi: 10.1002/ijop.12467. Epub 2017 Nov 26.
This study clarified contradictory findings regarding whether depression and somatic symptoms are associated more strongly with each other in non-Western countries than in Western countries, by examining the relationships of the two variables with negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE). NMRE are beliefs about one's ability to improve one's negative moods. Participants were 155 Japanese and 176 American undergraduates. They completed self-report measures of NMRE, coping, depression and somatic symptoms. Results showed that depression significantly correlated with somatic symptoms for both men and women in both countries, and there was no cultural difference in the relationship between depression and somatic symptoms. The relationships of depression and somatic symptoms with NMRE did not differ between cultures. NMRE explained variance in depression in both countries but variance in somatic symptoms only for women in both countries. The relationship of NMRE with depression and somatic symptoms paralleled that between depression and somatic symptoms for both cultures. These results were consistent with the previous literature that found no difference between cultures. Results support the cross-cultural validity of measuring NMRE in the context of coping and distress.
本研究通过考察抑郁和躯体症状这两个变量与消极情绪调节预期（NMRE）之间的关系，澄清了关于在非西方国家抑郁和躯体症状之间的关联是否比在西方国家更为紧密这一相互矛盾的研究结果。NMRE是关于一个人改善自身消极情绪能力的信念。参与者为155名日本本科生和176名美国本科生。他们完成了关于NMRE、应对方式、抑郁和躯体症状的自我报告测量。结果显示，在两个国家，男性和女性的抑郁与躯体症状均显著相关，且抑郁与躯体症状之间的关系不存在文化差异。抑郁和躯体症状与NMRE之间的关系在不同文化间并无差异。NMRE在两个国家均解释了抑郁的方差变异，但仅解释了两个国家女性躯体症状的方差变异。对于两种文化而言，NMRE与抑郁和躯体症状之间的关系与抑郁和躯体症状之间的关系相似。这些结果与之前未发现文化差异的文献一致。研究结果支持了在应对和痛苦情境下测量NMRE的跨文化效度。
