Outcomes and anomierelated collective-level constructs such as societal unease. The results of factor analyses also confirmed that PAS is distinct from other measures and constructs. Furthermore, we found evidence for the discriminant validity of PAS by showing that PAS was distinct from other measures of negativity such as collective angst about the threat posed by outsiders, and individual differences measures including social dominance orientation, personality traits, and political attitudes.The Relation between Anomie and PD98059 site indicators of Societal Stability: Study 3aNext, in Study 3a, we examined whether indicators of the social and economic stability of a society are associated with anomie as measured by PAS. Drawing on samples taken from 28 countries, we predicted that PAS would be able to differentiate countries and that there would be a positive relationship between PAS and country-level indicators tapping the malfunctioning of a social system. In particular, we Foretinib web focused on country-level indicators of corruption (indicating ineffective and often unfair leadership, see [101]), economic inequality [31], poverty [8], socioeconomic status [8, 74, 102], and unemployment [2, 8, 102]. Since economic instability and upheaval are predicted to fuel anomie perceptions [19], we predicted that there would be a negative relationship between PAS and economic performance indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. In addition, there should be a negative relationship between PAS and indicators that depict a healthy and functioning society, such as indices tapping the standard of living [2, 102], quality of life, and equality [8, 103].Ethics statementThis study obtained ethical clearance from the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland. In addition to this ethical clearance, covering data collection in all countries, further ethics approvals were also obtained from countries that have ethics committees in place: Canada (Research Ethics Board, Carleton University), Chile (School of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad Cat ica de Chile), China (School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University), Japan (School of Psychology, Nagoya University), the Netherlands (Ethical Committee for Psychology, University of Groningen), Poland (Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk), Singapore (Institutional Review Board, Nanyang Technological University), South Africa (Human Research Ethics Committee [non-medical], University of the Witwatersrand), UK (School of Psychology, University of Exeter), and the US (Institutional Review Board for Research Involving Human Subjects, University of Tennessee). Although the remaining countries (Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India,PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0158370 July 6,13 /Measuring AnomieIndonesia, Iran, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland) do not have ethical committees, data were collected in line with standard ethical guidelines, including reassuring participants of the confidentiality of responses, their anonymity, and their right to withdraw without penalty. The study procedure and aim were explained in the information sheet and participants were informed that by continuing with the questionnaire they were indicating their consent.ParticipantsA total of 6112 undergraduate university students residing in 28 countries were recruited from North America (Canada, and the US [one data set from Tennessee a.Outcomes and anomierelated collective-level constructs such as societal unease. The results of factor analyses also confirmed that PAS is distinct from other measures and constructs. Furthermore, we found evidence for the discriminant validity of PAS by showing that PAS was distinct from other measures of negativity such as collective angst about the threat posed by outsiders, and individual differences measures including social dominance orientation, personality traits, and political attitudes.The Relation between Anomie and Indicators of Societal Stability: Study 3aNext, in Study 3a, we examined whether indicators of the social and economic stability of a society are associated with anomie as measured by PAS. Drawing on samples taken from 28 countries, we predicted that PAS would be able to differentiate countries and that there would be a positive relationship between PAS and country-level indicators tapping the malfunctioning of a social system. In particular, we focused on country-level indicators of corruption (indicating ineffective and often unfair leadership, see [101]), economic inequality [31], poverty [8], socioeconomic status [8, 74, 102], and unemployment [2, 8, 102]. Since economic instability and upheaval are predicted to fuel anomie perceptions [19], we predicted that there would be a negative relationship between PAS and economic performance indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. In addition, there should be a negative relationship between PAS and indicators that depict a healthy and functioning society, such as indices tapping the standard of living [2, 102], quality of life, and equality [8, 103].Ethics statementThis study obtained ethical clearance from the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland. In addition to this ethical clearance, covering data collection in all countries, further ethics approvals were also obtained from countries that have ethics committees in place: Canada (Research Ethics Board, Carleton University), Chile (School of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad Cat ica de Chile), China (School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University), Japan (School of Psychology, Nagoya University), the Netherlands (Ethical Committee for Psychology, University of Groningen), Poland (Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk), Singapore (Institutional Review Board, Nanyang Technological University), South Africa (Human Research Ethics Committee [non-medical], University of the Witwatersrand), UK (School of Psychology, University of Exeter), and the US (Institutional Review Board for Research Involving Human Subjects, University of Tennessee). Although the remaining countries (Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India,PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0158370 July 6,13 /Measuring AnomieIndonesia, Iran, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland) do not have ethical committees, data were collected in line with standard ethical guidelines, including reassuring participants of the confidentiality of responses, their anonymity, and their right to withdraw without penalty. The study procedure and aim were explained in the information sheet and participants were informed that by continuing with the questionnaire they were indicating their consent.ParticipantsA total of 6112 undergraduate university students residing in 28 countries were recruited from North America (Canada, and the US [one data set from Tennessee a.
