Sunday Onsite Presentation Session 2

Mental Health

Session Chair: Kullaya Pisitsungkagarn

13:10-13:35

68972 | Serenity: Its Predictors and Mental Health Outcomes

Kullaya Pisitsungkagarn, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Somboon Jarukasemthawee, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Jireerat Sittiwong, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has encountered abrupt yet long-lasting changes. To effectively manage these changes, character strengths are required. Among these is a key psychological construct of serenity, which entails an inner peace independent of adverse circumstances or feelings. Its three subscales of acceptance, inner haven, and trust have been shown to contribute to the peacefulness essential in this turmoil period. The current study, hence, was conducted to investigate factors predicting serenity and to examine its mental health outcomes. Data were collected in two studies. In Study 1, 225 Thai adult community sample (Mage = 39.57 years, SDage = 10.60 years; Females = 167 or 74%) responded to the measures of serenity and its hypothesized predictors (i.e., mindfulness, meaning in life, hope, and social connectedness). In Study 2, 107 Thai undergraduates (Mage = 20.08 years, SDage= 1.00 year; Females = 69 or 64%) responded to the measures of serenity and mental health indicators (i.e., stress, depression, anxiety, positive-negative affect, and psychological well-being). Consistently, the hypotheses were supported. Altogether, mindfulness, meaning in life, hope, and social connectedness significantly and positively predicted serenity in Study 1. In Study 2, serenity, as well as its three subscales, was negatively associated with stress, depression, anxiety, and negative affect but positively associated with psychological well-being. Findings from the current study helped: 1) shed lights on factors contributing to serenity development and 2) attest the roles of serenity in mental health and well-being. Implications on serenity cultivation and mental health promotion were discussed.

13:35-14:00

67677 | Myanmar since the Coup: Mental Well-being and the Belief in a Just World Sai Nay Nay Win, Southwest University, China

Since February 1, 2021, Myanmar has been experiencing political instability. The purpose of this study is to explore the mental health of adults in Myanmar. The study also sought to identify variables that served as protective factors against exposure to political life event. The main variables of interest were: political life events, perceived stress, belief in a just world, as well as relevant symptomatology. Survey data was collected from 14 provinces and regions in Myanmar, with an N of 1688. Since there is no Burmese version of the scales in Myanmar, the reliability and validity of all questionnaires were also analyzed. The results of the study show that political life events are positively correlated with perceived stress and anxiety, depression, and somatization. Moreover, belief in both distributive and procedural justice are negatively correlated with mental wellbeing as measured by the same variables. A chain mediation was found between Political life events, perceived stress, two self-just world belief subscales and relevant symptomatology.

14:00-14:25

68865

| More Than Translation: Understanding and Decolonizing Mental Health Beliefs in East Asian Cultures

Charles Liu, Wheaton College, United States

Modern psychology, tied closely to coloniality, is heavily influenced by the Western bio-medical model. Assumptions of dualism that severs the mind and spirit from the body are a legacy of the European philosophical and theological tradition. However, among East Asian cultures with roots in Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, the holistic integration of physical, psychological, and spiritual realities situates mental illness as having social, spiritual, and metaphysical etiologies. Western treatment modalities are grounded in their own EuroAmerican cultural milieu and may not be optimal interventions if they are translated and imported into non-Western contexts. Furthermore, the uncritical adoption of Euro-American psychological frameworks risks perpetuating colonial mentalities on marginalized peoples and the Majority World. As such, this paper systematically presents the ways in which East Asian philosophies shape culturally congruent mental health beliefs, and challenges attendees to consider decolonizing psychological study by researching, understanding, and valuing indigenous knowledge. Examples of research and treatments will be provided to encourage attendees toward a more decolonized practice.

14:40-15:55 | Room 705