Fast Modernization of China

Mainland China has experienced profound changes since the 19th century. This includes a period of rapid modernization in the 1980s. These dramatic changes have had a profound impact on the daily lives and livelihoods of Chinese people. This paper examines the psychological consequences of sociocultural change in China. We focus on two main themes. First, rising individualism: Findings from developmental and social psychology indicate that China's rapid growth has been accompanied with an increasing adherence to individualistic values. The second is rising depression rates: Psychiatric epidemiology has shown that depression rates have increased over the same period, especially in rural areas. The links between psychological and sociocultural shifts in China can best be studied through the lens of cultural psychology, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of mind, culture, and brain. We are particularly concerned with the relationship between individualism and social change. We conclude that changing values and socialization practices influence emotion norms of concealment, display and presentation. This has implications for the presentation of depressive symptoms. Interpretation is the challenge. The increasing prevalence of depression could be due to rapid sociocultural changes or a specific consequence rising individualism. However, it may also be a result of increasingly Western patterns of symptom presentation or better diagnostic practices. Let us conclude by examining the difficulties presented to universally accepted models of psychological phenomena.
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