REFLECTING THE WORLD OUT THERE - A CROSS-CULTURAL-PERSPECTIVE ON WORRIES, VALUES AND WELL-BEING

The study deals with the interrelation of values, worries, and well-be ing. It assumes that values govern worries, a central source of well-/ ill-being. Relying on Schwartz's value theory, the hypothesis is teste d that people with self-transcendence values (universalism, benevolenc e) experience macrosocial worries, whereas people with self-enhancemen t values (power, achievement) experience personal/microsocial worries. Furthermore, the hypothesis is tested that personal/microsocial worri es are related to poor mental health, that macrosocial worries are rel ated to good mental health, and that no direct relation between values and mental health exists. Samples from Germany (formerly East/West), Nepal, and Fiji are included. Predictions are supported that values re late differentially to worries and that personal/microsocial worries a re related negatively to well-being, whereas macrosocial worries are r elated positively. Additionally, concordance with modal values of one' s cultural reference group influences the strength of one's macrosocia l worries, which are higher, the more similar individual values are to mean values in a culture.