Suchday, S. (2015). Anger and globalization among young people in India. In E. L. Grigorenko (Ed.), The global context for new directions for child and adolescent development. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 147, 77–84.

9 Anger and Globalization Among Young People in India Sonia Suchday Abstract This article addresses the challenges faced by youth in developing countries. Using India as an example of a fast-globalizing country, this article highlights the experience and challenges faced by adolescents and emerging adults as they search for their interpersonal and professional identities. The difficulties of defining identity in the context of rapid globalization where people are exposed to diverse cultural forces that may conflict with each other are particularly salient when dealing with anger. Anger frequently results from thwarted wants and needs. In globalizing developing economies, young people often face inequitable access and opportunities that may be cause for distress—anger and depression. However, the skills to deal with anger are frequently culturally determined and may not be effective in situations where multiple cultural rules are operational. For example, India being a collectivist culture traditionally encourages the suppression of anger. However, situations and rules of conduct in a global economic order require the assertive expression of anger and the confrontation of conflict. Research that is methodologically and culturally appropriate is needed in exploring these issues and ameliorating distress associated with inequity, conflicts, and challenges. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT, no. 147, Spring 2015 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). • DOI: 10.1002/cad.20084

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Globalization and Youth Globalization implies enhanced communication and interchange between economies, cultures, values, and people. This accelerated interaction among global economies/cultures/people provides new avenues of growth and opportunity on one hand, and also brings change that requires adaptation by individuals, society, and culture, and exacts a physical and mental toll (Gupta & Bhugra, 2009). Although globalization is a worldwide phenomenon, the impact of globalization in developing countries, such as India, is compounded by a rapid pace of development. Additionally, globalization and development enhance already existing inequality, since the benefits of globalization and development and access to these benefits are not equitably or justly distributed. This inequitable access to the glittering promise of globalization leads to increased marginalization among vulnerable groups of people all over the world (Alphonse, George, & Moffatt, 2008; Gupta & Bhugra, 2009). Although various groups of people are vulnerable, including the elderly, women, migrant workers, and poor people, the focus for the purposes of the current article will be on youth, adolescents, and emerging adults. Adolescence and emerging adulthood are a stage of life characterized by confusion and challenges associated with defining personal values and beliefs, interpersonal relationships, and career within a cultural framework (Erikson, 1968). Even when conditions are optimal, this life stage is difficult. In developing countries that are globalizing at an accelerated pace, the inherent challenge and vulnerability of adolescence and emerging adulthood are compounded by many diverse and sometimes contradictory influences. This multicultural exposure includes the traditional and local culture and the diverse cultures that are not native to a particular geopolitical region through electronic media (Jensen & Arnett, 2012). Exposure of young people worldwide to the effects of globalization can be categorized from two developmental perspectives: (a) shifts in morbidity and mortality from infectious to social etiologies such as unintentional injury, homicide, war, and interpersonal violence (Blum & Nelson-Mmari, 2004); and (b) sociocultural transition to being well-functioning adults in a rapidly changing, multicultural society (Fatusi & Hindin, 2010). Both perspectives carry a myriad and complicated set of issues with costs and benefits entwined. Whereas the decline in infectious disease is welcome, the shift toward lifestyle-related morbidity and mortality create increased pressure to learn complex survival skills at an accelerated pace ranging from physical safety needs to learning health-promoting and disease-preventing habits. The second developmental challenge, the sociocultural transition to appropriate functioning in a multicultural society, is compounded by exposure to multiple cultures, values, norms, and beliefs that may contradict each other and may be divergent from and challenge traditional local values. While this exposure creates multiple opportunities for personal and NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT • DOI: 10.1002/cad

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professional growth, a multitude of personal and professional choices may create confusion for young people and their families and mentors.

Youth in India India is a country with a long history of traditions and cultural values that have survived despite many challenges stemming from trade and colonization. At this time, India is also a fast-globalizing economy; as systems, societies, and people adapt to the forces of globalization, significant stress is experienced by the society and culture and individuals that comprise it. India is characterized by a high proportion of young people compared to developed countries, transition and health challenges experienced by the youth, clash of traditional and newer values, and paucity of resources, all of which make the youth in India particularly vulnerable to the harmful impact of globalization (Fatusi & Hindin, 2010). Young people in India grapple with increasing wants and needs, which come with exposure to the world of consumer goods, and inadequate and inequitable access (Gala & Kapadia, 2014). Material aspirations are frustrated by inequitable access and conflict with traditional Indian thought that emphasizes spiritual growth and the psychology of consciousness that includes metaphysical experiences (Rao, 2008). In other words, there is an emphasis on the internal life versus the external world, or mind versus matter. Globalization contributes to conflict between the attraction toward material goods and values and the traditional intrinsic value system that eschews material achievement compared to internal growth (Rao et al., 2013). This conflict is enhanced among young adults who are already experiencing stress and strain due to the developmental challenge of identity formation during this stage. In addition to defining their life trajectory, young people need to grapple with the conflict between aspirations to succeed in a global world, the need and desire to develop skills appropriate to the global challenge, and the need to function in a culture steeped in traditions, despite the forces of globalization.

Globalization and Anger The impact of multiple and competing intrinsic and extrinsic wants, needs, issues, challenges, and values, and the possibility of injustice and inequity in the distribution of the benefits of globalization may result in significant distress among young people. Potential reasons for this distress may include perceived injustice in distribution of resources, jealousy toward people who appear to have more personal or material resources, and emotions such as anger, anxiety, fear, sadness, and depression. The focus in this article is on anger. Both anger and depression result from stress and goal impediment, which sometimes characterize globalization, and have health consequences such as heart disease (e.g., Beck, 1999; Everson-Rose & Lewis, NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT • DOI: 10.1002/cad

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2005). However, anger is an active emotion compared to depression (associated with passivity and withdrawal) and impacts on individuals’ social health and the health of society (Hubbard, Romano, McAuliffe, & Morrow, 2010). Culture modulates the experience and expression of anger to enable social order (Matsumoto, Yoo, & Chung, 2010). Collectivist cultures, and even some individualist cultures (e.g., Belgium), consider anger and the sequelae of thoughts and behaviors associated with anger inconsistent with collectivist cultural values, and cultural norms encourage the suppression of anger (Boiger, De Deyne, Mesquita, 2013). Developmentally, the experience and physiological expression of anger is considered to be evolutionary and universal (Lewis, 2010). Anger, provoked by real or perceived injustice, thwarted needs, wants, or rights, being blocked from goals, has the potential to inspire goal attainment and to manifest itself into acts of violence and acting out behaviors toward perceived perpetrators of this injustice based on the general strain theory and Beck’s conceptualization of anger (Agnew, 1992; Beck, 1999; Lemerise & Harper, 2010). Culturally, independent or individualist cultures and interdependent or collectivist cultures differ on the emphasis on interpersonal cooperation and synergy with the former emphasizing achievement and the latter emphasizing social synergy (Markus & Kitayama, 2010). India is a collectivist culture that emphasizes the importance of family over individual achievement reflected in an emphasis on social relationships over autonomous achievement in the upbringing of children based on self-reports (Raval, Raval, & Deo, 2014). Semistructured interviews indicate that the inhibition of negative emotions that are not socially approved, such as anger and sadness, is considered to be the key to healthy physiological and psychological development among Indian kids (Raval, Martini, & Raval, 2007). Data indicate that Indian children distinguish between experienced and expressed emotion at an earlier age compared to British children (Joshi & McLean, 1994). Theories of emotion regulation applied to anger distinguish between antecedent strategies, such as cognitive appraisal that influences selection, perception, and interpretation of stimuli, and response modulation strategies, such as the expression or suppression of anger (John & Gross, 2004; Spielberger & Reheiser, 2009). Both antecedent strategies and responses to anger provocation are influenced by and impact on context, circumstances, and developmental factors—including contextual factors such as culture, work organizations, and interpersonal relationships (e.g., romantic relationships versus friendships) (Kocur & Deffenbacher, 2014; Zhou & Bishop, 2012).

India and Anger In India, given its traditional culture with strong collectivist roots where family and interpersonal relationships are salient, socialization of children NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT • DOI: 10.1002/cad

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with respect to anger is focused on maintaining social relationships and harmony over autonomous achievement (Raval & Martini, 2011; Raval et al., 2014). Anger, its experience, its effects, and the management of anger may be particularly challenging and distressing given its interpersonal impact within this social context (de Greck et al., 2012). Factors such as paucity of resources and family structure (joint versus nuclear families) influence the emotional climate in families, including the development and use of anger management strategies such as control and expression of anger (Abbott, Sharma, & Verma, 2004), and the inhibition of negative emotions that are not socially approved (e.g., anger and sadness) is considered to be key to healthy physiological and psychological development (Raval et al., 2007). In India, depression and anger are entwined (Painuly, Sharan, & Mattoo, 2007). Research on Tibetan refugees in India has indicated that they report experiencing a lower intensity of anger and are more likely to report experiencing the harmful and negative effects of anger compared to Americans (Horton, Rice, Piquero, & Piquero, 2012), highlighting the impact of anger within the Indian cultural context. Data from our own laboratory indicated that Indian immigrants when provoked in the laboratory were more likely to utilize strategies aimed at managing their anger and internal responses to provocation rather than externally based strategies (Suchday & Larkin, 2004). Moreover, Indian participants also experienced delayed cardiovascular recovery following provocation when forced to express anger based on situational demands. Among urban Indian participants in India, there was a strong preference for strategies that focused on the internal reactions rather than external reaction and the harmful effects of rumination focused on injustice experienced (Suchday, Friedberg, Almeida, Larkin, & Adonis, 2007). Young people in India are facing significant challenges that include creating their identities, occupational and interpersonal relationships, and their future within a globalizing culture. India is a country steeped in diverse traditions that have become increasingly complicated. Traditions in India have absorbed and survived multiple external challenges such as invasions and occupations. Globalization has further complicated an already complicated landscape by its allure of untold opportunities that require attitudes, values, and skills that may be dissonant with traditional culture.

Poverty, Inequity, and Anger Poverty and inequity in India contribute to anger experienced in relation to globalization; poverty influences lower levels of expressing attachment and caring in families and increases abusive and violent interactions (Abbott et al., 2004). Inequity in access to even basic needs and the perceived injustice of a fortunate few enjoying unprecedented benefits of globalization would be a basis for anger regardless of the individual’s beliefs or upbringing (e.g., Beck, 1999; Gupta & Bhugra, 2009). The negative impact NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT • DOI: 10.1002/cad

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of this anger and difficulty of dealing with anger is intensified in globalizing, collectivist cultures like India where interpersonal harmony is emphasized over individual rights and there is an emphasis on internal over extrinsic rewards. Although most cultures have strictures on the management of anger because of its impact on society, collectivist/traditional Indian culture emphasizes minimizing external expression of anger and even internal acknowledgment of the experience of anger. Anger management techniques preferred in the West emphasize its assertive expression. Globalization brings with it the necessity of healthy management of anger via assertive expression rather than the suppression of anger. If young Indian people are to succeed in the globalized world, they need to learn the “tricks of the trade” and embrace the search for material well-being. This search needs to be embodied in skills that are culturally dissonant such as assertive expression of anger. Although anger is one example of the conflict between managing traditional values and expectations emerging from globalization, there are many such challenges. For example, traditional cultures frequently emphasize metaphysical realities and experiences as a part of everyday functioning, whereas Western cultures have focused on creating a science of observable and measureable realities and eschews metaphysical experiences in the scientific arena. Recent evidence from neuroscientists’ efforts to understand Buddhism and meditation are also rooted in applying scientific methodology to demystify the experience and its health benefits. Research needs to be done on the intersection of traditional Eastern beliefs and values and Western value systems, and on the impact of these interactions on the lives and identities of young people. Adequate methodology also needs to be developed to create an accurate picture of multicultural realities to enhance the benefits of globalization and mitigate the harmful effects.

Conclusion: Potential Solutions Globalization implies rapid change and adaptation by individuals and cultures to the change. Young people in developing countries are at the forefront of globalization, facing novel opportunities and challenges. Anger and other forms of distress are likely to occur as young people cope with rapid change, if these challenges and opportunities are inadequately managed. Novel challenges will require novel solutions that may perhaps be best proposed by the youth themselves. Indeed, recent approaches to research such as community-based participatory research provide an avenue of engaging and empowering communities in identifying challenges and strengths/solutions. As the East and West interact, boundaries between cultures and people become porous. Although this article has used anger to illustrate the impact of globalization in the developing world, particularly India, both the developed and the developing world, individuals and societies, are impacted. The NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT • DOI: 10.1002/cad

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nature of an emergent globalized world does not simply include values from the East and West but actually reflects the creation of a “new” world with lifestyles and ideas from the West and East intimately entwined. Positive and healthy growth and resilience against stress in a globalized world will require exploring avenues that creatively integrate ideas and values from both the developing and developed world. Or perhaps ideas that emerge from within the globalized world!

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SONIA SUCHDAY is a professor and chair of the Department of Psychology, Pace University, New York, USA. NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT • DOI: 10.1002/cad

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Anger and globalization among young people in India.

This article addresses the challenges faced by youth in developing countries. Using India as an example of a fast-globalizing country, this article hi...
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