A Cross‐Cultural Study of Attachment and Depression: The Role of Pride

Greater attachment anxiety and avoidance are linked to more depressive symptoms. However, this association may present differently based on one's country of membership and expression of pride. In contrast to the Eurocentric definition of pride in the United States, pride means both pleasant and unpleasant/disengagement emotions in Chinese culture. This cross-cultural study aimed to examine the moderating effect of pride in the association between attachment anxiety/avoidance and depressive symptoms in both the United States and China. Adults (N = 770) from China (n = 410) and the United States (n = 360) completed self-report measures. The results of moderation analyses (PROCESS Model 1) indicated a marginally significant interaction effect of attachment insecurity × pride in predicting depressive symptoms among Chinese individuals, but not among US individuals. Specifically, greater attachment insecurity significantly exacerbated depressive symptoms for Chinese individuals who expressed heightened levels of pride. The role of attachment on depressive symptoms may vary significantly by levels of pride among Chinese individuals. This study highlights the importance of considering culturally congruent emotions such as pride when examining attachment-based mental health.