Understanding perceived COVID-19 changes, collectivism, and social exclusion: A cross-cultural study in 32 countries

Xiaoyu ZHOU; Alexander Scott ENGLISH; Liuqing WEI; Ananta YUDIARSO; Arobindu DASH; Arun TIPANDJAN; Ashley BIDDLE; Benjamin H. NAM; Chinun BOONROUNGRUT; Cicilia CHETTIAR; Paolini DANIELE; Dmitrii DUBROV; Dmitry GRIGORYEV; Dušana ŠAKAN; Eliza OLIVER; Elma MEDOSEVIC-KORJENIC; Adolfo Fabricio LICOA CAMPOS; Felipe NOVAS; Fridanna MARICCHIOLO; Ginés NAVARRO-CARRILLO; Hacer BELEN; Hendrik GUNAWAN; Huang JIANG; Joep HOFHUIS; Jonas R. KUNST; Joonha PARK; Jose Candido Pereira NETO; Kaiyue HUANG; Katharina ADDINGTON-LEFRINGHAUSEN; Kazi Nur HOSSAIN; Laura MARTÍNEZ-BUELVAS; Mahdi YOUSEFI; Masaki YUKI; Mehrdad F. FALAVARJANI; Miriam SCHWARZENTHAL; Monika KLIMEK-TULWIN; Natasza KOSAKOWSKA-BEREZECKA; Nicolas GEERAERT; Nuannut KHIEOWAN; Phatthanakit Chobthamkit; Qian SUN; Richard G. COWDEN; Rita CASTRO; Robert THOMSON; Rongtian TONG; Sadia MALIK; Samuel LINS; Sanja BATIĆ OČOVAJ; Shuang WANG; Sibele D. AQUINO; Steve KULICH; Tahir FARID; Tales ALVES; Thomas TALHELM; Veljko JOVANOVIĆ; Victoria Wai Lan YEUNG; Xiaoyuan LI; Xinyi ZHANG

doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102198

Understanding perceived COVID-19 changes, collectivism, and social exclusion: A cross-cultural study in 32 countries

Xiaoyu ZHOU
, Alexander Scott ENGLISH^*
, Liuqing WEI^*
, Ananta YUDIARSO
, Arobindu DASH
, Arun TIPANDJAN
, Ashley BIDDLE
, Benjamin H. NAM
, Chinun BOONROUNGRUT
, Cicilia CHETTIAR
, Paolini DANIELE
, Dmitrii DUBROV
, Dmitry GRIGORYEV
, Dušana ŠAKAN
, Eliza OLIVER
, Elma MEDOSEVIC-KORJENIC
, Adolfo Fabricio LICOA CAMPOS
, Felipe NOVAS
, Fridanna MARICCHIOLO
, Ginés NAVARRO-CARRILLO

Hacer BELEN, Hendrik GUNAWAN, Huang JIANG, Joep HOFHUIS, Jonas R. KUNST, Joonha PARK, Jose Candido Pereira NETO, Kaiyue HUANG, Katharina ADDINGTON-LEFRINGHAUSEN, Kazi Nur HOSSAIN, Laura MARTÍNEZ-BUELVAS, Mahdi YOUSEFI, Masaki YUKI, Mehrdad F. FALAVARJANI, Miriam SCHWARZENTHAL, Monika KLIMEK-TULWIN, Natasza KOSAKOWSKA-BEREZECKA, Nicolas GEERAERT, Nuannut KHIEOWAN, Phatthanakit Chobthamkit, Qian SUN, Richard G. COWDEN, Rita CASTRO, Robert THOMSON, Rongtian TONG, Sadia MALIK, Samuel LINS, Sanja BATIĆ OČOVAJ, Shuang WANG, Sibele D. AQUINO, Steve KULICH, Tahir FARID, Tales ALVES, Thomas TALHELM, Veljko JOVANOVIĆ, Victoria Wai Lan YEUNG, Xiaoyuan LI, Xinyi ZHANG

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Psychology

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

Abstract

This cross-cultural study examines the relationship between perceived COVID-19 changes due to the impacts on everyday life by the pandemic with social exclusion and across 32 cultures and their levels in collectivism. With data from the start of the first outbreak from March 2020 to June 2020 (N = 9245), multilevel analysis indicated that as individuals perceive greater daily life changes induced by the pandemic, they experience heightened levels of social exclusion, with this association being particularly pronounced in less collectivistic cultures. These findings underscore the importance of considering cultural context in understanding responses to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for culturally sensitive interventions aimed at promoting social inclusion across diverse cultural contexts.

Original language	English
Article number	102198
Pages (from-to)	102198
Journal	International Journal of Intercultural Relations
Volume	107
Early online date	10 May 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102198
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2025

Bibliographical note

Our appreciation also goes to the editors and reviewers whose insightful comments and feedback have been instrumental in improving the quality of our paper. We are also grateful for all of the individuals around the world who agreed to participate in this study at the start of the outbreak in 2020. A special thanks goes out to the worldwide research collaborators who assisted us in collecting data. We also extend our gratitude to the foundations for their support of our research.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier Ltd

Funding

This project was partially supported with funding from the Susan and Richard Kiphart Center for Global Health and Social Development at the University of Chicago and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Keywords

Collectivism
Perceived COVID-19 changes
Perceived social exclusion

Access to Document

10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102198

https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0147176725000616

Cite this

ZHOU, X., ENGLISH, A. S., WEI, L., YUDIARSO, A., DASH, A., TIPANDJAN, A., BIDDLE, A., NAM, B. H., BOONROUNGRUT, C., CHETTIAR, C., DANIELE, P., DUBROV, D., GRIGORYEV, D., ŠAKAN, D., OLIVER, E., MEDOSEVIC-KORJENIC, E., LICOA CAMPOS, A. F., NOVAS, F., MARICCHIOLO, F., ... ZHANG, X. (2025). Understanding perceived COVID-19 changes, collectivism, and social exclusion: A cross-cultural study in 32 countries. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 107, 102198. Article 102198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102198

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abstract = "This cross-cultural study examines the relationship between perceived COVID-19 changes due to the impacts on everyday life by the pandemic with social exclusion and across 32 cultures and their levels in collectivism. With data from the start of the first outbreak from March 2020 to June 2020 (N = 9245), multilevel analysis indicated that as individuals perceive greater daily life changes induced by the pandemic, they experience heightened levels of social exclusion, with this association being particularly pronounced in less collectivistic cultures. These findings underscore the importance of considering cultural context in understanding responses to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for culturally sensitive interventions aimed at promoting social inclusion across diverse cultural contexts.",

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author = "Xiaoyu ZHOU and ENGLISH, \{Alexander Scott\} and Liuqing WEI and Ananta YUDIARSO and Arobindu DASH and Arun TIPANDJAN and Ashley BIDDLE and NAM, \{Benjamin H.\} and Chinun BOONROUNGRUT and Cicilia CHETTIAR and Paolini DANIELE and Dmitrii DUBROV and Dmitry GRIGORYEV and Du{\v s}ana {\v S}AKAN and Eliza OLIVER and Elma MEDOSEVIC-KORJENIC and \{LICOA CAMPOS\}, \{Adolfo Fabricio\} and Felipe NOVAS and Fridanna MARICCHIOLO and Gin{\'e}s NAVARRO-CARRILLO and Hacer BELEN and Hendrik GUNAWAN and Huang JIANG and Joep HOFHUIS and KUNST, \{Jonas R.\} and Joonha PARK and NETO, \{Jose Candido Pereira\} and Kaiyue HUANG and Katharina ADDINGTON-LEFRINGHAUSEN and HOSSAIN, \{Kazi Nur\} and Laura MART{\'I}NEZ-BUELVAS and Mahdi YOUSEFI and Masaki YUKI and FALAVARJANI, \{Mehrdad F.\} and Miriam SCHWARZENTHAL and Monika KLIMEK-TULWIN and Natasza KOSAKOWSKA-BEREZECKA and Nicolas GEERAERT and Nuannut KHIEOWAN and Phatthanakit Chobthamkit and Qian SUN and COWDEN, \{Richard G.\} and Rita CASTRO and Robert THOMSON and Rongtian TONG and Sadia MALIK and Samuel LINS and \{BATI{\'C} O{\v C}OVAJ\}, Sanja and Shuang WANG and AQUINO, \{Sibele D.\} and Steve KULICH and Tahir FARID and Tales ALVES and Thomas TALHELM and Veljko JOVANOVI{\'C} and YEUNG, \{Victoria Wai Lan\} and Xiaoyuan LI and Xinyi ZHANG",

note = "Our appreciation also goes to the editors and reviewers whose insightful comments and feedback have been instrumental in improving the quality of our paper. We are also grateful for all of the individuals around the world who agreed to participate in this study at the start of the outbreak in 2020. A special thanks goes out to the worldwide research collaborators who assisted us in collecting data. We also extend our gratitude to the foundations for their support of our research. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 Elsevier Ltd",

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language = "English",

volume = "107",

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ZHOU, X, ENGLISH, AS, WEI, L, YUDIARSO, A, DASH, A, TIPANDJAN, A, BIDDLE, A, NAM, BH, BOONROUNGRUT, C, CHETTIAR, C, DANIELE, P, DUBROV, D, GRIGORYEV, D, ŠAKAN, D, OLIVER, E, MEDOSEVIC-KORJENIC, E, LICOA CAMPOS, AF, NOVAS, F, MARICCHIOLO, F, NAVARRO-CARRILLO, G, BELEN, H, GUNAWAN, H, JIANG, H, HOFHUIS, J, KUNST, JR, PARK, J, NETO, JCP, HUANG, K, ADDINGTON-LEFRINGHAUSEN, K, HOSSAIN, KN, MARTÍNEZ-BUELVAS, L, YOUSEFI, M, YUKI, M, FALAVARJANI, MF, SCHWARZENTHAL, M, KLIMEK-TULWIN, M, KOSAKOWSKA-BEREZECKA, N, GEERAERT, N, KHIEOWAN, N, Chobthamkit, P, SUN, Q, COWDEN, RG, CASTRO, R, THOMSON, R, TONG, R, MALIK, S, LINS, S, BATIĆ OČOVAJ, S, WANG, S, AQUINO, SD, KULICH, S, FARID, T, ALVES, T, TALHELM, T, JOVANOVIĆ, V, YEUNG, VWL, LI, X & ZHANG, X 2025, 'Understanding perceived COVID-19 changes, collectivism, and social exclusion: A cross-cultural study in 32 countries', International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol. 107, 102198, pp. 102198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102198

TY - JOUR

T1 - Understanding perceived COVID-19 changes, collectivism, and social exclusion: A cross-cultural study in 32 countries

AU - ZHOU, Xiaoyu

AU - ENGLISH, Alexander Scott

AU - WEI, Liuqing

AU - YUDIARSO, Ananta

AU - DASH, Arobindu

AU - TIPANDJAN, Arun

AU - BIDDLE, Ashley

AU - NAM, Benjamin H.

AU - BOONROUNGRUT, Chinun

AU - CHETTIAR, Cicilia

AU - DANIELE, Paolini

AU - DUBROV, Dmitrii

AU - GRIGORYEV, Dmitry

AU - ŠAKAN, Dušana

AU - OLIVER, Eliza

AU - MEDOSEVIC-KORJENIC, Elma

AU - LICOA CAMPOS, Adolfo Fabricio

AU - NOVAS, Felipe

AU - MARICCHIOLO, Fridanna

AU - NAVARRO-CARRILLO, Ginés

AU - BELEN, Hacer

AU - GUNAWAN, Hendrik

AU - JIANG, Huang

AU - HOFHUIS, Joep

AU - KUNST, Jonas R.

AU - PARK, Joonha

AU - NETO, Jose Candido Pereira

AU - HUANG, Kaiyue

AU - ADDINGTON-LEFRINGHAUSEN, Katharina

AU - HOSSAIN, Kazi Nur

AU - MARTÍNEZ-BUELVAS, Laura

AU - YOUSEFI, Mahdi

AU - YUKI, Masaki

AU - FALAVARJANI, Mehrdad F.

AU - SCHWARZENTHAL, Miriam

AU - KLIMEK-TULWIN, Monika

AU - KOSAKOWSKA-BEREZECKA, Natasza

AU - GEERAERT, Nicolas

AU - KHIEOWAN, Nuannut

AU - Chobthamkit, Phatthanakit

AU - SUN, Qian

AU - COWDEN, Richard G.

AU - CASTRO, Rita

AU - THOMSON, Robert

AU - TONG, Rongtian

AU - MALIK, Sadia

AU - LINS, Samuel

AU - BATIĆ OČOVAJ, Sanja

AU - WANG, Shuang

AU - AQUINO, Sibele D.

AU - KULICH, Steve

AU - FARID, Tahir

AU - ALVES, Tales

AU - TALHELM, Thomas

AU - JOVANOVIĆ, Veljko

AU - YEUNG, Victoria Wai Lan

AU - LI, Xiaoyuan

AU - ZHANG, Xinyi

N1 - Our appreciation also goes to the editors and reviewers whose insightful comments and feedback have been instrumental in improving the quality of our paper. We are also grateful for all of the individuals around the world who agreed to participate in this study at the start of the outbreak in 2020. A special thanks goes out to the worldwide research collaborators who assisted us in collecting data. We also extend our gratitude to the foundations for their support of our research. Publisher Copyright: © 2025 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2025/7/1

Y1 - 2025/7/1

N2 - This cross-cultural study examines the relationship between perceived COVID-19 changes due to the impacts on everyday life by the pandemic with social exclusion and across 32 cultures and their levels in collectivism. With data from the start of the first outbreak from March 2020 to June 2020 (N = 9245), multilevel analysis indicated that as individuals perceive greater daily life changes induced by the pandemic, they experience heightened levels of social exclusion, with this association being particularly pronounced in less collectivistic cultures. These findings underscore the importance of considering cultural context in understanding responses to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for culturally sensitive interventions aimed at promoting social inclusion across diverse cultural contexts.

AB - This cross-cultural study examines the relationship between perceived COVID-19 changes due to the impacts on everyday life by the pandemic with social exclusion and across 32 cultures and their levels in collectivism. With data from the start of the first outbreak from March 2020 to June 2020 (N = 9245), multilevel analysis indicated that as individuals perceive greater daily life changes induced by the pandemic, they experience heightened levels of social exclusion, with this association being particularly pronounced in less collectivistic cultures. These findings underscore the importance of considering cultural context in understanding responses to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for culturally sensitive interventions aimed at promoting social inclusion across diverse cultural contexts.

KW - Collectivism

KW - Perceived COVID-19 changes

KW - Perceived social exclusion

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105004579978

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102198

DO - 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102198

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

SN - 0147-1767

VL - 107

SP - 102198

JO - International Journal of Intercultural Relations

JF - International Journal of Intercultural Relations

M1 - 102198

ER -

Understanding perceived COVID-19 changes, collectivism, and social exclusion: A cross-cultural study in 32 countries

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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Cite this