Research has demonstrated that certain genotypes are expressed in different forms, depending on input from the social environment. To examine sensitivity to cultural norms regarding emotional support seeking as a type of social environment, we explored the behavioral expression of oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) rs53576, a gene previously related to socio-emotional sensitivity. Seeking em...

Empathy is essential for healthy relationships and overall well-being. Affective empathy is the emotional response to others’ distress and can take two forms: personal distress or empathic concern. In Western cultures, high empathic concern and low personal distress have been implicated in increased prosocial behaviour (e.g., Eisenberg et al., 1989) and better emotion management and peer relati...

moral distress and professional stress are common problems that can have adverse effects on nurses, patients, and the healthcare system as a whole. thus, this cross-sectional study aims to examine the relationship between moral distress, professional stress, and intent to stay in the nursing profession. two hundred and twenty full-time nurses employed at teaching hospitals in the eastern region...

For people influenced by collectivistic cultures, the encounter of negative social exchanges may be particularly detrimental as harmonious and balanced interpersonal relationships are highly valued. Focusing on Asian Americans, this study examines the relative importance of three domains of negative versus positive social exchanges on psychological distress, and how acculturation-related factor...

Concepts from cultural attractor theory are now used in domains far from their original home in anthropology and cultural evolution. Yet these concepts have not been consistently characterised. I here distinguish four ways in which the cultural attractor concept has been used and identify three kinds of factors of attraction typically appealed to. Clarifying these explanatory concepts identifie...

The field of cultural psychiatry explores the link between clinical descriptions of mental distress, biological and physiological manifestations of distress, and social and environmental factors. Cultural psychiatry has expanded its field of interest from clinical psychiatry and treatment of the individual patient to public health and global health and well-being. Cultural psychiatry as a disci...

The foundation of most intellectual discourse is Western-centric to the exclusion of other views. This includes ideal patterns of social interaction, preference for aesthetic, accepted norms and values, and the concepts of dignity, respectability, morality and ethics. Such a position is culturally myopic. Western cultural influence colors all of them including moral precepts. The assumption is ...