Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
1-2021
Abstract
Objective: Research on subjective social status (SSS) and inflammation risk suffers from a lack of cross-cultural data as well as inconsistent findings between SSS and the biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP). The current study addressed these issues by examining possible cultural differences in the SSS-CRP link with anger control as an underlying mechanism while controlling for potential confounds such as wealth, education, and health factors. Method: Participants comprised 1,435 adults from the Biomarker Project of the MIDUS (American) and MIDJA (Japanese) studies. Participants’ SSS and tendency to control anger were assessed through surveys, and their CRP levels were measured through fasting blood samples. Results: Results showed that for Americans, CRP levels increased as SSS decreased, but for the Japanese, there was no relationship between SSS and CRP. Furthermore, this moderating effect of culture was mediated by anger control such that Americans controlled their anger less as SSS decreased, which then predicted higher levels of CRP, whereas the Japanese controlled their anger less as SSS increased, but this relationship did not predict CRP levels. These findings were specific to anger control (and not other varieties of anger) and robust to adjustment for a variety of potential confounds. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that culture exerts a moderating effect on the relationship between SSS and CRP, and this effect occurs through cultural differences in how SSS relates to anger control. The current study also highlights the need to consider cultural factors and psychosocial processes in further research on SSS and health.
Keywords
subjective social status, biomarker C-reactive protein, cultural differences, anger control
Discipline
Social Psychology | Social Psychology and Interaction
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Health Psychology
Volume
40
Issue
1
First Page
62
Last Page
70
ISSN
0278-6133
Identifier
10.1037/hea0001029
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Citation
YONG, Jose C., HARTANTO, Andree, & TAN, Jacinth Jia Xin.(2021). Subjective social status and inflammation: The role of culture and anger control. Health Psychology, 40(1), 62-70.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3245
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001029