AUTHOR=Moza Daniela , Lawrie Smaranda Ioana , Maricuțoiu Laurențiu P. , Gavreliuc Alin , Kim Heejung S. 

TITLE=Not All Forms of Independence Are Created Equal: Only Being Independent the “Right Way” Is Associated With Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.606354

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2020.606354

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>Past research has found a strong and positive association between the independent self-construal and life satisfaction, mediated through self-esteem, in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures. In Study 1, we collected data from four countries (the United States, Japan, Romania, and Hungary; <italic>N</italic> = 736) and replicated these findings in cultures which have received little attention in past research. In Study 2, we treated independence as a multifaceted construct and further examined its relationship with self-esteem and life satisfaction using samples from the United States and Romania (<italic>N</italic> = 370). Different ways of being independent are associated with self-esteem and life satisfaction in the two cultures, suggesting that it is not independence as a global concept that predicts self-esteem and life satisfaction, but rather, feeling independent in culturally appropriate ways is a signal that one’s way of being fits in and is valued in one’s context.</p>