Page 229 - Cultures and Organizations

202 DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURES

Family life in high-UAI societies is inherently more stressful than
where UAI is low. Feelings are more intense, and both parents and children
express their positive sentiments as well as their negative sentiments more
emotionally. Data from the World Values Survey showed that in balance,
satisfaction with home life was negatively correlated with UAI, at least in

the more affluent countries. When poorer countries were included, satisfac-
tion with home life related more to individualism and femininity. 17
Eurobarometer data from 2008 showed that differences in percentages

of EU citizens scoring “very satisfied with the life I lead” were explained by
national wealth (GNI per capita) when all twenty-six countries in the study
were included. When the analysis was limited to the nineteen more affl uent
countries, the differences were explained by (low) UAI, low MAS, plus high
GNI per capita. Percentages scoring “very satisfied with my family life”

showed a similar pattern: across all EU countries they related to national

wealth, but for the affluent countries they also related to low UAI. 18
In the same Eurobarometer study, EU citizens were asked about diffi -
culties faced by families in daily life. Percentages marking “the cost of rais-
ing children” were, not surprisingly, related to GNI per capita. However, in

the affluent countries they were also related to high UAI. 19
Table 6.2 summarizes the key differences between weak and strong
uncertainty- avoidance societies described so far. Obviously, the descrip-
tions refer to the extreme poles of the dimension, and most real coun-
tries are somewhere in between, with considerable variation within each
country.

Uncertainty Avoidance, Health, and
(Un)happiness

Self-ratings of health across countries tend to correlate negatively with

UAI. Where medical statistics show no evidence of objective health differ-
ences, people in uncertainty- tolerant countries still feel healthier. One is
as healthy as one feels. 20
Health-care practices vary considerable among countries, as any trav-
eler who has consulted a doctor abroad can testify. Theories and practices
of medicine are tightly interwoven with cultural traditions, in which uncer-
tainty avoidance plays an important role. Lynn Payer, a medical journalist,