Social Structure and Personality under Conditions of Radical Social Change: A Comparative Analysis of Poland and Ukraine

Abstract

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“…Even beyond China, few studies of mental health in less-developed countries include systematic analyses of the same population over time (Harpham 1994), and even fewer utilize information from the same individuals. Therefore, although much research on China and other rapidly industrializing countries considers the drastically changing social environments as explanations for the levels or patterns of mental health (e.g., Bobak et al 2006;Kohn et al 1997;Lai and Lee 2006;Phillips et al 1999;Yu 2008), we lack conclusive evidence about how and how much individuals' psychological well-being alters as their societies undergo transitions. By utilizing panel data that follow Chinese urbanites over time, this study contributes to not only the literature on China's market transition but also our understanding of mental health shifts in radically changing societies in general.…”

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