Zhongyong thinking (Doctrine of the Mean) is a traditional Confucius interpersonal style with emphasis on interpersonal harmony and connection. In contemporary society, is Zhongyong thinking beneficial to, or has Zhongyong thinking become an old-fashioned idea with trivial or even detrimental influence on mental health? The current study explored the relationship of Zhongyong thinking and mental health measures in two studies. Study 1 was a cross-sectional survey involving a large representative sample of 8,178 Chinese undergraduate students. We found that Zhongyong thinking was negatively associated with anxiety ( r = −.23, p &lt; .01) and depressive symptoms ( r = −.32, p &lt; .01), but positively associated with self-esteem ( r = .28, p &lt; .01). Compared with low-Zhongyong group, those who scored high on the Zhongyong Thinking Scale had substantially lower scores on anxiety and depressive symptoms, and had higher scores on self-esteem and life satisfaction. In Study 2, we experimentally intervened in Zhongyong thinking in 30 mildly depressed students, comparing mental health outcomes with a randomized control group ( n = 30) who received regular supportive group intervention. We found that training in Zhongyong thinking was more effective in alleviating depressive symptoms compared with the control group. The two studies prove from different aspects that Zhongyong thinking still plays an important role in regulating mental distress and maintaining subjective well-being among contemporary Chinese young adults. Why Zhongyong thinking is beneficial, and how to transmit this traditional cultural heritage to promote emotion regulation strategies are discussed.

Xueling Yang

Peining Zhang

Jingbo Zhao

Jiubo Zhao

Jiaqi Wang

Yu Chen

Siyuan Ding

Xiaoyuan Zhang

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology publishes papers that focus on the interrelationships between culture and psychological processes. Submitted manuscripts may report results from either cross-cultural comparative research or results from other types of research concerning the ways in which culture (and related concepts such as ethnicity) affect the thinking and behavior of individuals as well as how individual thought and behavior define and reflect aspects of culture. Review papers and innovative reformulations of cross-cultural theory will also be considered. Studies reporting data from within a single nation should focus on cross-cultural perspective. Empirical studies must be described in sufficient detail to be potentially replicable.

The Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology publishes papers that focus on the interrelationships between culture and psychological processes. Submitted manuscripts may report results from cross-cultural comparative research or other types of research concerning how culture (and related concepts such as ethnicity) affects individual thinking and behavior, as well as how individual thought and behavior define and reflect aspects of culture. Review papers and innovative reformulations of cross-cultural theory are also welcome. Studies reporting data from within a single nation should focus on a cross-cultural perspective. Empirical studies must be described in sufficient detail to be potentially replicable.

《Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology》致力于发表关注文化与心理过程之间相互关系的论文。提交的手稿可以报告跨文化比较研究的结果，也可以是其他类型的研究，探讨文化（及相关概念如民族性）如何影响个体的思维和行为，以及个体的思维和行为如何定义和反映文化的各个方面。我们也欢迎综述性论文和对跨文化理论的创新性重新阐述。报告来自单一国家的数据的研究应聚焦于跨文化视角。实证研究必须详细描述，以便于潜在的可重复性。

Category	Quartile
心理学	3
心理学, 心理学社会	3

Confucian Culture Still Matters

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL	2