School of Psychology, University of Keele, Staffordshire, UK.
School of Psychology, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
Br J Psychol. 2020 May;111(2):200-214. doi: 10.1111/bjop.12398. Epub 2019 Apr 3.
Social group membership and its social-relational corollaries, for example, social contact, trust, and support, are prophylactic for health. Research has tended to focus on how direct social interactions between members of small-scale groups (i.e., a local sports team or community group) are conducive to positive health outcomes. The current study provides evidence from a longitudinal cross-cultural sample (N = 6,748; 18 countries/societies) that the prophylactic effect of group membership is not isolated to small-scale groups, and that members of groups do not have to directly interact, or in fact know of each other to benefit from membership. Our longitudinal analyses suggest that national identification (strength of association with the country/society of which one is a citizen) predicts lower anxiety and improved health; national identification was in fact almost as positively predictive of health status as anxiety was negatively predictive. The findings indicate that identification with large-scale groups, like small-scale groups, is palliative, and are discussed in terms of globalization and banal nationalism.
社会群体成员身份及其社会关系的必然结果，例如社会接触、信任和支持，对健康具有预防作用。研究往往侧重于小规模群体成员之间的直接社会互动（例如，当地运动队或社区团体）如何促进积极的健康结果。本研究从纵向跨文化样本（N=6748；18 个国家/社会）提供证据表明，群体成员身份的预防作用不仅限于小规模群体，而且群体成员不必直接互动，或者实际上彼此了解才能从中受益。我们的纵向分析表明，国家认同（与一个人作为公民的国家/社会的关联强度）预测焦虑程度较低和健康状况改善；国家认同实际上几乎与焦虑对健康状况的负面影响一样具有积极的预测作用。这些发现表明，对大规模群体的认同与对小规模群体的认同一样具有缓解作用，并从全球化和平凡民族主义的角度进行了讨论。
