Revisiting the powerful-not-lonely effect across cultures: The mediating role of self-construal and social support

The prevalence of loneliness has dramatically increased in recent decades, rendering it a significant worldwide risk factor for both physical and mental health. This study examined the relationship between sense of power and loneliness in two cultures. It was hypothesized that high sense of power is associated with reduced loneliness, and that this relationship is mediated by perceived social support and the individual’s self-construal (relative independent self-construal for the West and relative interdependent self-construal for the East). Two studies and 476 participants (200 from the U.K. and 276 from the Chinese mainland) completed the Sense of Power Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Self-Construal Scale. Results from the multiple mediation analyses supported the hypotheses. It showed that power is negatively related to loneliness across cultures. Also, a high sense of power was related to greater perceived social support and individual’s dominant self-construal which decreased loneliness. These findings contribute to the understanding of social power and loneliness from a cross-cultural perspective, shed light on practices in social and personal relationships, provide explanations for loneliness in interpersonal relationships, and provide potential buffers against loneliness that can increase positive emotions and wellbeing in social life.