Does cultural background influence the dissemination and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic?

How culture orientation influences the COVID-19 pandemic: An empirical analysis

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the mediational path of the influence of cultural orientation on the COVID-19 pandemic outcome at the national level and find out whether some culture-related factors can have a moderating effect on the influence of culture.

Methodology

Cultural dimension theory of Hofstede is used to quantify the degree of each dimension of culture orientation. The cross-section regression model is adopted to test if culture orientations affect the pandemic outcome, controlling for democracy, economy, education, population, age, and time. Then, a mediational analysis is conducted to examine if policy response is the mediator that culture makes an impact on the pandemic outcome. Finally, a moderation analysis is carried out to determine how each control variable has moderated the influence.

Findings

The cross-section regression results showed that culture orientation influences the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic at the 99% confidence level and that among the six cultural dimensions, collectivism-individualism has the most significant impact. It has also been found that policy response is the mediator of cultural influence, and culture-related factors can moderate the influence.

Contribution

The contribution of this research lies in developing the assertion that culture influences pandemic outcomes. Our findings indicate that collectivism-individualism culture orientation affects the effectiveness of epidemic controls the most among the six culture dimensions. Additionally, our research is the first to study the mediating effect of policy responses and the moderating effect of culture-related factors on the influence of cultural orientation on the pandemic outcome.

The Contributions of Pandemic Severity, Government Stringency, Cultural Values and Internet Usage to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Data From 35 Countries

Emergent symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been frequently reported in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and may affect up to 17-18% of individuals. There is preliminary evidence that pandemic severity, cultural values, restrictions imposed by governments, and Internet usage may all influence the emergence of PTSD symptomatology. In this study, possible linear- and non-linear associations between these factors and the prevalence of PTSD symptoms across 35 countries were examined based on data from existing research. Evidence was found for a positive logarithmic relationship between the COVID-19 case-fatality ratio and PTSD (p = 0.046), a positive logarithmic relationship between power distance and PTSD (p = 0.047), and a trend toward a negative quadratic association with Internet usage (p = 0.051). No significant cross-national effect was observed for government restrictiveness. These findings suggest that strategies aimed at minimizing COVID-19 deaths, and at ensuring equitable access to essential resources, may be of use in reducing the emergence of PTSD symptoms at a population level during this pandemic.