International Journal of Intercultural Relations最新文献

Polyculturalism is the lay theory that cultures are connected and mutually influencing each other. Previous studies demonstrate that polyculturalism is associated with different positive intergroup processes in intercultural contexts, but evidence has been mixed regarding attitudes toward different minority groups. Two studies explore whether polyculturalism is associated with positive attitudes toward cultural minority groups in the Philippines – indigenous peoples, Filipino-Chinese, and Filipino-Muslims. Participants completed questionnaires on polyculturalism, outgroup attitudes, and different control variables associated with intergroup attitudes. Across two studies, there was mostly consistent evidence on the positive relationship of polyculturalism with attitudes towards Filipino cultural minorities. In the only contrary result, high outgroup knowledge, but not polyculturalism, predicted positive attitudes towards Filipino-Chinese in Study 2. The results provide further evidence on how a dynamic view of culture has positive implications for intercultural relations.

This study aimed to evaluate the measurement characteristics of a newly developed scale to assess interculturally sensitive parenting for mothers and fathers of children and adolescents ranging from 4 to 18 years of age. The development of the Interculturally Sensitive Parenting Scale (ISPAS) ended up with five separate samples, with a total of 1522 parents (884 mothers and 638 fathers), in a five-step process. In the first phase, we generated a pool with 28 items and received input from content experts (n = 5) and cognitive interviews (n = 10), resulting in 23 items. In Study 2 (n = 602), which included inter-item and item-total correlations, eigenvalues, exploratory factor analysis, scree plots, and parallel analysis, six more items were excluded from the item pool, resulting in a one-dimensional construct with 17 items. In Study 3 (n = 607), along with parenting role (mother and father) invariance, confirmatory factor analysis supported the single-factor construct with 17 items, with excellent internal consistency with a high Cronbach's alpha. In Study 4 (n = 303), the analyses indicated that the ISPAS with a one-dimensional construct had good discriminant and convergent validity. Lastly, the 4-week test-retest reliability analysis of the ISPAS in Study 5 (n = 204) supported the stability of the measure. Taken together, the findings validated the usage of the 17-item ISPAS in reliably assessing mothers' and fathers' interculturally sensitive parenting. We hope academics from different disciplines, practitioners, mental health professionals, and educators will benefit from the assessment of the ISPAS presented in this study.

This study combines insights from contact theory and social capital literature to study how ethnic diversity at work is associated to ethnic tolerance. It is argued that workplace ethnic diversity is related to ethnic tolerance in two ways: through interethnic contact and through interethnic social resources. The interrelation between these two mechanisms is also considered. The study relies on unique workplace survey data from the Netherlands (N = 3800) with information on ethnic tolerance, measured as support for immigrant entitlements. The results show that ethnic diversity in the workplace is positively related to interethnic contact and interethnic resources at work, and both of these are positively related to ethnic tolerance. However, the initial positive effect of interethnic contact on support for immigrant entitlements is mediated by interethnic resources, thereby showing that the interethnic resources mechanism is more insightful as to how ethnically diverse workplaces matter for ethnic tolerance.

This study draws upon the person-environment (P-E) fit model and the literature on expatriate adjustment to reveal the expatriate adjustment factors in Estonia and Lithuania—two countries that are usually known as expatriate-sending countries. A total of 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with expatriates in our two case study countries, Estonia and Lithuania. We explored work-related and non-work-related environmental supply and demand of expatriate adjustment. Also, we studied the personal characteristics of expatriate adjustment. The results indicate that the interviewed expatriates felt well-adjusted to their host countries. However, the environmental supply required further development to fulfil expatriates’ needs in the studied countries. This study expands the scope and relevance of the adjustment of expatriates in countries usually known as expatriate-sending countries. Additionally, this research extends the use of the P-E fit model in the adjustment context by advancing our knowledge of the interplay between environmental supply and demand.

Objectives

Adapting an exploratory quantitative approach, this study explores the relationship between dispositional empathy, cultural values, and cultural sensitivity among Iranians, U.S. citizens, and bicultural-Iranian individuals.

Methods

Using self-reported questionnaires, data were collected from 226 adult participants living in Iran and the U.S.

Result

The findings reveal that affective empathy consistently outweighs cognitive empathy across all groups. Bicultural-Iranian individuals demonstrate a unique profile, blending Persian cultural norms with a preference for individualistic values, along with heightened interaction, engagement, and attentiveness. Differences in cultural sensitivity are observed, with bicultural-Iranian individuals exhibiting greater engagement, attentiveness, and adherence to individualistic cultural values compared to U.S. citizens and Iranians.

Conclusion

These insights contribute to our understanding of empathy, cultural orientation, and intercultural interactions, emphasizing the complexity of biculturalism and its implications for fostering inclusive and empathetic societies.

Background

The aim of the study was to examine the transmission of intergenerational trauma in survivors of the Lebanese civil war and their adult offspring. To examine potential mechanisms, it was hypothesized that the relationship between parental war exposure and offspring psychopathology was statistically mediated by (i) parental psychopathology and (ii) offspring exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE). Finally, it was predicted that spirituality and social support might buffer against the effects of adversity and therefore moderate the association between trauma exposure and psychopathology.

Method

An online questionnaire-based study was conducted, recruiting 110 dyads of parents who had lived through the Lebanese civil war and their post-war born adult offspring. Parental war exposure and trauma symptoms [with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ)] and offspring adverse childhood experiences and trauma symptoms [with Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) and Impact of Events Scale Revised (IES-R)] were assessed. Both parents and offspring’s distress [with Beirut Distress Scale (BDS-10)], depression and anxiety symptoms [with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21)], perceived social support [with Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS)], and perceived spirituality [with Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS)] were measured.

Results

Parental war exposure and offspring psychopathology were statistically mediated by parental psychopathology, but not ACE exposure. Offspring of parents with (vs without) high levels of psychopathology had 3.72 times higher odds of reporting high levels of psychopathology themselves. Findings showed that the correlation between trauma exposure and psychopathology was moderated by perceived social support and spirituality. However, the correlation was only significant for higher levels of social support and spirituality.

Discussion

These results suggest that the presence of the proximal risk factor "low social support” may affect psychopathology negatively no matter the amount of adverse experiences consistent with a recency model of adversity. If social support is at least moderate, the distal risk factor “adverse experiences/ war trauma” impacts psychopathology. Overall, these findings highlight the need for trauma-informed mental health support for people fleeing from or residing in countries with ongoing or recent armed conflicts.

This paper examines national identities and collective violence beliefs in a sample of Syrian diaspora members (N = 521). Most of the Syria diaspora fled the ongoing civil war and are therefore opposed to President Assad and his regime, which still control most of their homeland. It is therefore a compelling question if national identities, which remain strong in the diaspora despite displacement, shape attitudes towards the regime at home. To this end, we contrast national narcissism (i.e., defensive national identity), an exaggerated belief in one’s national ingroup’s greatness, and national identification (i.e., secure national identity), a feeling of belonging to the nation and evaluating it positively, as differential predictors of collective violence beliefs. We find that a defensive national identity was related to support for both upward (i.e., violence targeted at regime leaders) and diffuse (i.e., violence targeted at regime supporters) collective violence. Meanwhile, secure national identity was linked to opposition to diffuse collective violence and was unrelated to upward collective violence. Thus, in a sample of displaced, non-WEIRD people, a pattern often found in similar research in the West is replicated, in that secure national identity can relate to benevolent and peaceful group processes. Meanwhile, national narcissism seems to be a driver of hostile intergroup attitudes. National sentiments should therefore be central in any discussion on diasporic attitudes towards the Syrian homeland’s regime and fellow citizens. The results could be utilised in designing interventions to promote harmony in diaspora communities around the world, and ultimately reconciliation once peace is finally restored.

This large-scale study aims to test Byram’s model of intercultural competence (IC) (1997) and examine the relationships among the five IC components – attitudes, knowledge, skills of interpreting and relating, skills of discovery and interaction, and critical cultural awareness. Although different IC models have been put forward each year, little empirical effort has been made to validate the theoretic IC models. The current study thus intends to fill the gap in the literature by testing Byram’s model and examining the relationships among the model’s components. Data were collected from 2599 students enrolled in 11 Chinese universities and colleges. Structural equation modelling was employed, and the reliability and validity of the research model were tested. The results indicated that 53% of the variance in critical cultural awareness was explained by attitudes and skills. Individuals’ attitudes significantly influenced their skills of discovery and interaction, while knowledge significantly influenced their skills of interpreting and relating. In addition, an individual’s cultural knowledge is not directly associated with their critical cultural awareness. This study provides implications for IC cultivation in foreign language teaching in the Chinese higher education context.

Korean immigrants have migrated to New Zealand over the past three decades in search of a happier and more balanced life. While they anticipated that their children would be integrated into New Zealand society, they have primarily settled in Korean ethnic enclaves. In this context, younger Korean New Zealanders have been exposed to and influenced by New Zealand’s national and Korean ethnic cultures. This study examined success beliefs and well-being among Korean youth in New Zealand with a Third Culture Kid background (TCK K-NZ) in comparison to Korean youth in Korea (K-Korean) and European New Zealand youth (Pākehā). Results indicated that TCK K-NZ youth endorsed extrinsic success similarly to K-Korean youth, but that valuing extrinsic success predicted lowered well-being only for K-Korean youth. Conversely, valuing intrinsic success predicted higher well-being across the three groups. Results also revealed that TCK K-NZ youth's well-being levels were between those of K-Korean and Pākehā youth, potentially influenced by different structural relations between success beliefs and well-being, as well as their position as “third culture kids” in New Zealand. This study contributes to understanding cultures' roles in formulating success beliefs and the relationship between success beliefs and well-being for Korean New Zealander youth.

A successful integration of refugees is a key challenge for many receiving countries. Existing research advocates refugees’ levels of experienced migration forcedness and associated perils as a key factor in this process. However, a standardized measure for these experiences is yet lacking. We introduce the PMF-Mig, a new questionnaire that captures migrants’ experiences of migration forcedness and associated perils after arrival in the receiving country. Based on theoretical considerations and a qualitative interview study with N = 22 migrants (68% male, 32% female; M_age = 33.73, SD_age = 5.91), we developed an initial set of 14 items, which was further validated in an online study with N = 244 migrants (52% male, 47% female, 1% no information; M_age = 37.37, SD_age = 9.16). A confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized fourdimensional factor structure, i.e., locus of causality, options for choice, pre-migration perils, and migration perils. In addition, results provided evidence for the reliability, construct validity, criterion validity, and sensitivity of the PMF-Mig. Overall, results support the PMF-Mig as a psychometrically sound measure.