Culture, Self-Construal and Sexual Assertiveness; a Mediation Analysis Among Dutch and Greek Women

Are women from collectivist cultures, like the Greek culture, more sexually assertive than women from individualist cultures, like the Dutch culture? Is this because women from collectivist cultures have a more interconnected and less independent self than women from individualist cultures, meaning a stronger interdependent and a weaker independent self-construal? The present study was the first to examine these questions. The responses of 57 Greek and 65 Dutch women were included in a mediation analysis. Greek women reported higher levels of sexual assertiveness than Dutch women. The indirect effect of culture on sexual assertiveness through interdependent self-construal was significant; Greek women reported a stronger interdependent self-construal than Dutch women, which was negatively associated with sexual assertiveness. Independent self-construal was not a significant mediator as it was associated with higher levels of sexual assertiveness but not with culture. Differences in collectivism-individualism between the Greek and Dutch cultures and those previously studied, along with the timing of the data collection in Greece, might account for the findings. The present study extends knowledge on sexual assertiveness, informs interventions aiming to enhance it, and provides valuable directions to future cross-cultural research.