Does Cultural Fit Predict Well-Adapted Personality? A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between Turkey and Germany

Abstract

Using samples from Turkey and Germany, which at a country level differ along individualism–collectivism and vertical–horizontal focus, the present study, through measurement-invariant scales and multigroup SEM analysis, found that vertical collectivism and vertical individualism, which generally predict reduced well-being across groups and individuals, indicate unhealthy Big-Five personality factor levels for individuals in a country only when the country sample scores higher on these dimensions. Horizontal focus linked with improved well-being was more characteristic of the German than the Turkish sample and predicted adaptive personality factor levels linked with well-being equally in both country samples. Individuals' cultural self-construal deviance scores from their country sample mean did not produce any significant effects in any country sample. Both countries' individualism and collectivism predicted a healthy personality profile when connected with horizontal focus. The results show that cultural fit could be unhealthy when the cultural dimension (e.g., vertical focus) defining fit predicts reduced well-being and aversive outcomes across individuals and societies, with implications for the subjective well-being of individuals with a migration background in adapting to a host culture such as individuals of Turkish origin in Germany or Syrian refugees in Turkey. © 2025 International Union of Psychological Science.