Rigidity, Culture-Related Conflict and Depression

Since martial law was abolished in 1987 in Taiwan, the rate of depression has dramatically increased. The reason for this remains uncertain. Some researchers think that this phenomenon might be related to the psychological conflict between ‘social orientation’ and ‘personal orientation’ which is generated through the process of acculturation. Although the development of democractization increases personal freedom, it also increases anomie. Hence, being influenced by Chinese culture in which the values of social groups are highly valued, people in Taiwan might feel anxious and uncertain when personal orientation is strengthened. Accordingly, the researchers suggest that the tension between social and personal orientations might trigger the formation of psychological conflict. Depression could also occur when people feel that the psychological conflict is too high to cope with. In this paper, the author attempts to propose that psychological conflict is not related to depression but the ‘rigidity’ of the personal psychological construct system. In the dynamic process of social change, depression might occur when the individual’s construct system is rigid and not flexible enough to adapt to the tension between personal and social orientations, aroused by the changing society. This hypothesis is examined by conducting a survey and an interview in Taiwan. The survey has already been conducted and there was not enough statistical evidence to identify the relationship between depression and conflict. The interview is going to be conducted next month, and Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) will be adopted to qualitatively and quantitatively examine the relationship between the levels of the rigidity in terms of the construct system related to personal and social orientations and depression.