Power and Loneliness: The Role of Cultural Values

ABSTRACT

Loneliness–the subjective, unpleasant state of social disconnectedness–has long been recognised as a public health concern and is estimated to affect 16% of the global population. There is some evidence for the social benefits of power in protecting one from loneliness, but theories and evidence remain inconsistent. We argued and hypothesised that cultural values would moderate the negative power‐loneliness relationship. With a four‐culture (China, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and the United States) dataset from 733 university students, we found that subjective power, collectivism and horizontalism had negative associations with loneliness. Further, amongst participants who identified strongly with horizontal‐individualistic cultural values (i.e., emphasising freedom and equality), the negative power‐loneliness relationship was weakened. We discuss the conceptual and practical implications of the interrelationships of power, culture and loneliness.