Global Cultural Change and Child Anxiety: Analyzing Socialization Goals Over Three Decades in 70 Countries

• DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/btk5h
• Publication Date: 2024-07-13T07:34:53Z
• Authors: Leonard Konstanti...; Ana Lorena Domíng...; Silvia Schneider; Babett Voigt
• Keywords: Cultural Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Health Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Anxiety Disorders

Around the globe, cultures seem to be leaning more towards an independent social orientation while turning away from a more interdependent social orientation. This shift also affects the cultural norms regarding the qualities favored in children, known as socialization goals. The cultural fraud hypothesis suggests that this cultural change has negative consequences for population health. An emphasis on individuation and individual achievement may particularly harm children's mental health. This study explored links between cohort changes in socialization goal norms and the incidence of anxiety disorders in children across 70 countries from all world regions. The World Value Survey provided data on socialization goals, while anxiety disorder incidence rates for 0-19-year-olds were estimated through the Global Burden of Disease study. Additionally, societal development indicators were obtained from the Human Development Report. Mixed-effects models were used to predict anxiety disorder incidence in 70 countries over six study waves (1989-2022). Results revealed expected global shifts towards socialization goals linked to an independent social orientation and away from those linked to an interdependent social orientation. The largest association emerged between religious faith as a quality in children (linked to an interdependent social orientation) and anxiety. When religious faith became less important, anxiety disorder incidence increased. Additionally, changes in the importance of tolerance and thrift were weakly related to changes in anxiety incidence among children. The correlation between thrift and anxiety incidence became insignificant when societal development was taken into account. Overall, a decline in religious socialization, rather than a general shift towards independent social orientations, may explain the increase in child anxiety incidences worldwide. Religion may serve as a protective factor by providing a sense of purpose and relatedness. This analysis underscores the relevance of cultural change for children's healthy development and the need for increased support of children in increasingly secular societies.