Understanding cultural factors in mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: when collectivism meets a tight culture

The long-standing pathogen prevalence hypothesis suggests that collectivism can protect from epidemics and pandemics in terms of psychological well-being. However, studies exploring the protective mechanism induced when collectivism meets cultural tightness (the strength of social norms and tolerance for deviant behavior) are few. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the protective effect of collectivism in detail considering loose and tight cultural contexts. The sample comprised 2001 Chinese participants (M(age) = 18.41 ± 2.388 years; 50.2% female). Moderated regression analyses indicated that more perceived risk of COVID-19 predicted severe mental health responses (i.e., depression and anxiety), collectivism moderated this positive relationship but individualism did not. Notably, the protective effect of collectivism is especially evident in tight cultures but ineffective in loose cultures. This study emphasized that the protective effects of collectivism on mental health during a pandemic should be considered within the framework of cultural tightness. This study’s findings may advance knowledge about the relationship between cultural type and mental health during epidemics.