Pathways from collectivist coping to life satisfaction among Chinese: The roles of locus-of-hope

Collectivist coping styles describe approaches to coping in collectivist cultures, but there is not much research on these coping styles and their relationship to well-being. We propose that two collectivistic coping styles (acceptance/reframing/striving and family support) contribute to life satisfaction by drawing from both personal and relational resources, and these resources are reflected in the distinct roles of internal and external-family loci-of-hope. Chinese students completed scales on collectivist coping, locus-of-hope, and life satisfaction. Path analysis of three models indicates that the most parsimonious model describes distinct pathways where acceptance/reframing/striving relates to life satisfaction through internal locus-of-hope and family support relates to life satisfaction through external-family locus-of-hope. The use of specific collectivist coping styles and reports of life satisfaction involves distinct personal and relational resources for coping that are valued in collectivist societies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.