This 1-year longitudinal study investigated the moderating role of classroom sociable norm on the relations between self- and group-oriented cultural values and adjustment among Chinese adolescents. Participants included 2,671 students (47.8% boys, M age = 12.90 years old) in seventh grade from 58 classrooms in China. Data on self- and group-orientations, sociability, and school and psychosocial adjustment were collected from multiple sources including self-reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and school records. Self-orientation was found to negatively predict later prosociality and positively predict later behavioral problems in classrooms with a low classroom sociable norm. In classrooms with a high sociable norm, self-orientation positively predicted later academic performance and social status. The results highlighted the importance of classroom context in shaping adjustment outcomes of adolescents with different cultural orientations.
Hei et al. (Tue,) studied this question.