Culture and risk behaviors

Culture is a phenomenon that is pervasive yet hard to define. The effects and consequences of culture can be seen in the traditions, norms, values, and day-to-day behaviors of societies and individuals. Culture and cultural components can also influence the risks and risk behaviors that individuals engage in, resulting in complex and varied life experiences across the world. Of importance, risk behaviors can determine and influence the physical and mental health, life quality, and social well-being of individuals in a culture. These consequences have larger health and societal implications for the communities that people live in, elucidate what social issues should be prioritized, and consequently influence treatment and policymaking to improve general well-being and address structural barriers to holistic health. This chapter seeks to first identify some of the contextual elements and mechanisms that are most prevalent in driving the differential development of risk behaviors across cultures, including social norms, cultural values, self-construal, religion, gender, regulatory focus, immigration and acculturation, as well as globalization and technological changes over time. Following this, we attempt to give an overview of the cultural differences in risk behaviors; aligning ourselves with much of the literature which takes a comparative approach, we examine the prevalence of risk factors across geographical and/or cultural locations. To orient and focus our comparisons, we have chosen three domains of common risk behaviors (sexual behaviors, antisocial behavior, and substance use) and preview the wide spectrum of differences in those domains across cultures. However, it is important to note that culture is dynamic and ever-changing, parallel to the multi-dimensional and complex experiences of individuals and societies. Thus, in this chapter, we merely attempt to capture some of the relevant cultural trends and changes in risk behaviors and hope to provide insight that can inform more holistic care and policy.