Week 4: Literature Review and Event Preparation
Hi Everyone, I hope your week went well. This week is technically Spring Break, so I took this week to focus more on the literature review aspect of my paper, as well as continue volunteering.
Firstly, while I was doing more research, I saw a very interesting paper that talked about the impact of collectivism and individualism on coping and improving well-being. Specifically, the article, titled “Individualism-Collectivism Orientations and Coping Styles of Cyberbullying Victims in Chinese Culture,” examined how a reliance on individualism or collectivism helped victims of cyberbullying and bullying cope and strengthen their psychological well-being. To do this, researchers used the Collectivist Coping Styles Inventory, which “describes five theoretically and empirically derived types of coping strategies that
are proposed to capture the range of coping strategies in collectivist Asian cultures” (Hu et. al 2). The five strategies are: Striving and reframing, seeking familial comfort, religion and spirituality, detachment, and emotional outlets. These 5 coping strategies are reflective of different ideals found in individualism and collectivism. For example, the act of striving, to independently overcome an event or problem, is closely linked to individualism, whereas reframing, or changing the way an action affects just oneself and modifying one’s own reactions, is found in collectivistic societies. To understand how these coping strategies related to well-being, Hu et. al gave a sample of 360 Chinese cyberbullying victims 2 surveys: the Auckland Individualism-Collectivism Scale, and the Collectivist Coping Styles Inventory.
Then, based on the participants’ answers, the researchers found that “the choice of coping strategies is related, in part, to the cultural orientation that the cyberbullying victim has” (Hu et. al 5). This critical because it revealed how deeply individualism and collectivism are intertwined with mental health and wellbeing; for example, collectivists prioritize social harmony and interpersonal relationships and dependence, and in the case of cyberbullying victims, many chose to accept and reframe the bullying they experienced. This coping strategy, reflective of collectivism, led to a better outlook through the bullying victim’s decision to use this traumatic experience and to move forward and grow as a person, demonstrating both personal responsibility and social awareness.
In relation to my project, this study shows that in regards to Asian countries, collectivism is key in better outlook and wellbeing, especially when dealing with trauma or stress. This has the potential to be reflected through the surveys I am collecting, if higher wellbeing is linked to either horizontal or vertical collectivism. In order to determine that, I will have to continue with data analysis based on the survey results.
Lastly, I also went to my site placement this week, and I was able to participate in packing food bags and giving them to patients. These food bags consist of different non-perishable items that are nutritious as well as some fruits and vegetables grown at local farms. Gaining an inside look at how drives and events work has been really interesting, and I’ve been able to see how much thought and planning goes into each event. See you all next week.