Meaning in Stressful Experiences and Coping Across Cultures

Abstract

We report three studies to examine how culture may influence people’s tendency to see meaning in stressful experiences (MISE), as well as their coping responses. Using a newly developed MISE scale with established measurement invariance across both cultures, we found that Chinese participants were more likely than Euro-Canadians to see meaning in stressful experiences (Studies 1 and 2), to adopt acceptance and positive reframing coping styles (Study 1), and to respond more positively to the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 2). To establish a causal link between MISE and coping, we primed MISE in Study 3 with Chinese participants and found an increase in resilient coping. The research highlights the important roles of culture and meaning making in coping.