Social Self-Regulation and Antisocial Behavior: A Cross-Cultural Comparison between Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and American Adolescents

Abstract

This study examined adolescents' social self-regulation in four cultures and differences in the relationships between social self-regulation and antisocial behavior. A total of 1,270 adolescents from Japan, Korea, China, and the United States completed a questionnaire. The results of an ANOVA showed that adolescents in Japan showed lower self-assertion than those in Korea, China, and the United States. Adolescents in China showed more self-inhibition than those in Japan, Korea, and the United States. The results of an ANOVA showed the following. Only the main effect of self-inhibition on antisocial behavior was observed in Korea, China, and United States, whereas an interaction effect of self-assertion and self-inhibition on antisocial behavior was observed in Japan. Since the “assertive type,” showing high self-assertion and low self-inhibition, does not fit in Japanese culture, assertive-type people would be observed as having maladjusted behavior in Japan.