Cultural Collectivism and Tightness Moderate Responses to Norm Violators: Effects on Power Perception, Moral Emotions, and Leader Support.

Responses to norm violators are poorly understood. On one hand, norm violators are perceived as powerful, which may help them to get ahead. On the other hand, norm violators evoke moral outrage, which may frustrate their upward social mobility. We addressed this paradox by considering the role of culture. Collectivistic cultures value group harmony and tight cultures value social order. We therefore hypothesized that collectivism and tightness moderate reactions to norm violators. We presented 2,369 participants in 19 countries with a norm violation or a norm adherence scenario. In individualistic cultures, norm violators were considered more powerful than norm abiders and evoked less moral outrage, whereas in collectivistic cultures, norm violators were considered less powerful and evoked more moral outrage. Moreover, respondents in tighter cultures expressed a stronger preference for norm followers as leaders. Cultural values thus influence responses to norm violators, which may have downstream consequences for violators' hierarchical positions.

Predicting suicide ideation through intrapersonal and interpersonal factors: The interplay of Big-Five personality traits and social support.

While a specific personality trait may escalate suicide ideation, contextual factors such as social support, when provided effectively, may alleviate the effects of such personality traits. This study examined the moderating role of social support in the relationship between the Big-Five personality traits and suicide ideation. Significant interactions were found between social support and extraversion and emotional stability. Specifically, the relationship between emotional stability and extraversion to suicide ideation was exacerbated when social support was low. Slope analysis showed openness also interacted with low social support. Results were computed for frequency, duration and attitude dimensions of suicide ideation. Extraversion interacted with social support to predict all three dimensions. Social support moderated emotional stability to predict frequency and duration, moderated conscientiousness towards frequency and attitude, and moderated openness towards attitude. The results imply that whereas personality traits may be difficult to alter, social support may play a significant role in saving a life. Psychologists should include family and friends when treating a suicidal youth, guiding them to awareness of one's personality and being more supportive.

Measuring hopelessness and life orientation in Pakistani adolescents.

BACKGROUND: To gain information on the attitudes and life orientations of Pakistani adolescents, the present study aimed at measuring hopelessness and hopefulness in Pakistani adolescents. METHODS: The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS; Beck, Weissman, Lester, & Trexler, 1974) and the Life Orientation Test (LOT; Scheier & Carver, 1985; Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994) were translated into Urdu and validated for use in Pakistan. Back translation with a committee approach was used to translate the scales. The translated versions were administered to 723 adolescents and young adults in Pakistan. RESULTS: For the Urdu-BHS, all item-total correlation coefficients were significant and yielded a single component. The principal component analysis on the Urdu-LOT yielded two components representing positively worded Optimism items and negatively worded Pessimism items. The BHS, as well as the two subscales of the LOT, were found to be predictive of suicide ideation. Gender comparisons showed that the two genders differed significantly on Hopelessness and the Optimism component of the Urdu-LOT. CONCLUSIONS: The Urdu version of the BHS and the LOT are established for use with young Pakistanis, after translations, and reliability and validity analyses. The need for further empirical research is emphasized for understanding the concepts and antecedents of hopelessness, optimism, and pessimism in adolescents, generally and in Pakistani adolescents, specifically.

Validation of the Urdu translation of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation.

This study aimed at developing an Urdu version of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSI) for use with Pakistani adolescents and young adults. For this purpose, the English BSI was translated into Urdu and tested for psychometric properties. The analyses were carried out with data from a sample of 904 adolescents and young adults from eight major cities of Pakistan. The Cronbach's alpha of .75 showed that the Urdu version of the BSI has reasonable internal consistency. Principal Component Analysis gave one meaningful component that indicated Active Suicidal Desire. This preliminary validation study of the Urdu version of the BSI showed that it is an acceptable measure to be used with Pakistani adolescents and young adults. The need for further research on suicide in Pakistan is discussed.