Cross-Cultural Research

Rituals that induce pain or instill fear occur in the majority of boys’ adolescent initiation ceremonies. They have been accounted for in several ways: as resolving a psychological conflict, as expressing dominance over juniors, as promoting male bonding, and as preparation for participation in war. This cross-cultural study examines these harsh rituals and concludes that they are a form of adult male control over adolescent boys and unmarried (sub-adult) youths. They occur in societies in which control over young males is an important social issue and other means of control are lacking. We also examine a subset of harsh rituals, those that include circumcision and other genital operations, and discuss the cultural features, particularly marriage practices, that are significantly associated with these operations.

The main goal of this article is to explore the role of individual sociodemographic characteristics and national social backgrounds in forming people’s decisions to engage in voluntary work. We have drawn data from the European Value Survey (1990, 1999, and 2008). We analyze voluntary work as an aggregate measure and also through four different categories. We have performed multilevel regression models taking into account a hierarchical structure of two levels: individual and country. There are no relevant gender and age differences, and, in fact, the most important differences lie in the impact of social factors rather than individual characteristics. We also highlight that geographical effects are diluted after controlling for social factors, but a certain level of geographical variance remains unclarified by the explanatory variables. This conclusion has important policy implications because it opens the door to implementing social policies that could be effective for all European countries.

This study examined the relations between core psychological self-schemas and the subjective well-being (SWB) of Turkish and California (United States) adolescents. The participants were 2,242 high school students (1,123 from Turkey and 1,119 from California). Core psychological self-schemas were measured with the Social and Emotional Health Survey–Secondary (SEHS-S) and SWB was measured by the combination of the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS; cognitive component) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C; affective component). Significant, small effect size differences were found for self-awareness, persistence, family coherence, and behavioral self-control, favoring the Turkish adolescents, and for school support, empathy, and SWB, favoring the California adolescents. Positive associations were found between the social and emotional health self-schemas and SWB for adolescents in both cultures. Multiple regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy, self-awareness, family coherence, and zest were significant predictors of SWB for both the Turkish and California samples. For the California sample only, peer support, gratitude, and optimism were significant predictors. The findings are discussed in the context of individualist and collectivist cultures.

Cultural differences in suicide can be indicative of varying social pressures placed on individuals. High suicide rates in U.S. honor cultures have been proposed to reflect pressures associated with maintaining one’s reputation. We extend this argument by highlighting that honor concerns differentially impact individuals based on gender, ethnicity, and age. Controlling for relevant confounds, we show that suicide rates were highest among older European American men from honor cultures, presumably because aging may render these men less capable of conforming to cultural ideals of masculinity. We discuss the need for process-focused and subgroup analyses when examining the effects of culture on suicide.