Hopelessness, individualism, collectivism, and substance use among young rural-to-urban migrants in China

The current study aimed to investigate the impact of individualism, collectivism, and hopelessness on substance use. Hopelessness was hypothesized as a mediator between individualism and substance use, and between collectivism and substance use. We tested the hypothesis using a survey of 641 young rural-to-urban migrants in China. Consistent with our hypotheses, individualistic orientation predicted increased hopelessness and subsequently predicted more substance use, whereas collectivistic orientation was associated with decreased hopelessness and subsequently predicted less substance use. Hopelessness fully mediated the relations between individualism and substance use and between collectivism and substance use. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings were discussed.