International Journal of Intercultural Relations最新文献

International education offers transformative potential for personal and professional growth. Yet, navigating a new culture can be challenging due to language barriers and cultural differences. This longitudinal research delves into the potential of cultural empathy in promoting adjustment-related well-being of international students, particularly through enhancing their intercultural communication competence (ICC). Drawing upon the Process Model of Intercultural Competence and the Integrated Model of Intercultural Communication Competence, the current study (1) examines the interrelations of English Proficiency, Behavioral Flexibility, Ease of Interactions, Communication Effectiveness, and Communication Appropriateness as factors underlying a higher-order construct of communicative competence; and (2) explores the cross-temporal associations between cultural empathy, the five factors of ICC, and the psychosocial adjustment of international students to their host country. Students from a western Canadian university (N = 213) participated in the current study, who were surveyed three times over a 7-month period. The findings from confirmatory factor analysis underscore the integral role of interaction comfort, as well as effective and appropriate intercultural communication in fostering ICC. The random-intercept cross-lagged panel models reveal differential associations between cultural empathy, psychosocial adjustment, and the ICC factors, highlighting the merits of examining ICC in its constituent elements, as well as the importance of harbouring empathic, effective, and appropriate intercultural communication in cultivating positive intercultural experiences for international students. Together, the present findings provide insights for (1) advancing research on intercultural competence, and (2) developing initiatives in building a more empathic and inclusive global community that welcomes and supports international students in their sojourn.

Intercultural interactions and encounters offer valuable opportunities not only for cultural exchange and mutual stimulation but also for individual development. The central assumption of the current research is that cultural heterogeneity is a supporting condition for the development of flexibility in goal adjustment (FGA). We used measures for linguistic heterogeneity (i.e., number of languages, language switching, degree of multilingualism), cultural heterogeneity (i.e., cultural frame switching, alternating thinking style, hybrid thinking style, engagement with cultures, contact to cultures, number of cultures, migration background), and heterogeneity regarding living conditions (i.e., siblings, relocation) to predict FGA in an online-sample of 348 individuals using a forward linear regression. Engagement with cultures and hybrid thinking style positively and language switching negatively predicted flexible goal adjustment, while all other variables did not. The findings suggest that the adaptive performance required in heterogeneous sociocultural encounters and relations can be a supportive developmental condition for FGA. The same seems not to be valid for pure linguistic heterogeneity or heterogeneity of living conditions.

This study used a qualitative descriptive design to explore the perceptions of Syrian refugee university students and academics regarding the behavioral and psychological aspects of campus climate. The participants were final-year undergraduates (Bachelor of Science), 114 Syrian refugee students who were enrolled in Turkish higher education institutions, and 19 academics. Data were collected by conducting in-depth, semi-structured online interviews using a pilot-tested interview guide. The responses of the students and academics were subsumed under the following two main themes: (1) being outside the circle, and (2) squaring the circle. Our findings illuminated the negative campus experiences of marginalization and social isolation, which in turn affect a sense of belonging to a campus community, diminished self-esteem, and active academic participation among students. However, refugee university students had unwavering resilience despite financial difficulties. This study showed the low expectations of academics regarding their educational and career paths. This study also pointed out that the support of academics is instrumental in pursuing the education of students and fosters connections within the academic community. Consequently, a comprehensive support system for refugee students’ educational and social needs is required to create an inclusive campus environment.

This paper examines how the social and built environment shapes preference on protectionist immigration policy, generalised trust, and life satisfaction. It seeks to understand the intergroup processes that underpin intergroup contact and acculturation in the neighbourhoods by combining an individual-level survey (n = 1188) with census information on housing resale transactions (as proxy of socio-economic class) and other geospatial points of interest. Analyses of spatial big data revealed that neighbourhoods with a higher density of ethnic minorities and immigrant households are characterised by lower trust and quality of life. In contrast, neighbourhoods with a higher density of immigrant households are associated with a preference for a protectionist immigration policy (mitigated by proximity to community clubs). These environmental factors are associated with the outcome even after controlling for individual-level differences. Importantly, the findings underscore the enduring influence of ethnicity and immigrant identities more than the socio-economic background of the neighbourhood. Intergroup contact alone is insufficient to foster inclusion, especially in locales densely populated with ethnic minorities and immigrant communities. Shared amenities, such as community clubs, were found to play a crucial role in creating a conducive environment for meaninful contact.

While intergroup contact in online contexts has been acknowledged as effective in reducing stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, i.e. intergroup bias, the underlying processes remain unclear. This study focuses on intersubjective processes and tests perceived social presence and closeness, as a means for strengthening the effects of online intergroup contact on attitudes towards the outgroup member and intergroup bias. We conducted a pre-post multigroup (White and Black) study on 267 participants (females n = 162, 60.7%; M_age = 22.19, SD = 4.90) who chatted online with a fictitious outgroup member (online bot). Multigroup path analysis results showed that, regardless of the participant’s membership in the majority group (White people) or minority group (Black people), social presence and closeness, i.e. intersubjective processes occurring during online intergroup contact, are positively related to attitude toward the outgroup member, but not to intergroup bias, which is positively related to attitude toward the outgroup member. Theoretical implications for the literature on online intergroup contact will be discussed.

The current study examines Israel's national resilience during the first week of the war with Gaza, as perceived by the Hebrew-speaking population. We examined the psychological variables (indicators of coping) and demographic characteristics as predictors of the mean national resilience score as well as four national resilience (NR) factors separately. Validated quantitative tools were used to collect the data from a sample of adult Israelis (n = 2002) through an internet panel. Path analyses were used to identify the variables that are associated with national resilience. The results indicate a difference between the variables found to relate to the mean composite NR index and that of each of the four factors as tested separately. The best variable that was found to relate to the composite NR as well as factor 1 (patriotism) and factor 3 (solidarity) means was hope: the higher the hope, the higher the composite NR, patriotism and solidarity reported. In contrast, the best associated with Factor 2 (trust in the government) was the degree of supporting the government, while the best associated of factor 4 (trust in state institutions was the level of religiosity. Community resilience was the second-best predictor of all factors and the composite NR score. The demographic variables of age and family income were positively associated, while religiosity and education were negatively associated with the composite NR average score. However, the demographic characteristics together explained only a small percentage of the NR average and each of its four factors. At the same time, the five coping and government support together explained more than 40 % of the composite NR mean. Practitioners and policymakers should thus invest efforts during crises to build public trust and enhance solidarity and patriotism, thereby sustaining national resilience that is vital for coping with adversities.

Objective

Second-generation Vietnamese individuals are a prominent group in the U.S. with unique experiences, such as their parents’ heavy involvement in the nail salon industry, which shapes their identity. Yet, the experiences of Vietnamese American children who are exposed to the industry through their parents’ occupation and its impact on their ethnic identity has not been explored. This study of second-generation Vietnamese Americans with nail salon worker parents in Michigan aims to address this gap and understand the resulting effects of this biculturalism on ethnic identity development.

Methods

This qualitative study utilized interpretive phenomenology to capture the essence of second-generation Vietnamese Americans’ lived experiences. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

Twenty-four individuals participated in the interviews and three major themes emerged with respective subthemes. Theme 1 focused on second-generation child and immigrant child responsibilities, as it relates to their parents’ occupation. Theme 2 focused on top-of-the-mind reactions to nail salons. Theme 3 focused on ethnic identity development while growing up in Michigan.

Conclusions

This study on the lived experiences of second-generation Vietnamese Americans with parents in the nail salon industry in Michigan has implications for better understanding the influence of racialized or migrant-based U.S. economies on ethnic identity development.

This study investigates the dynamics between perceived cultural distance (PCD), cultural intelligence (CQ), and international students’ sociocultural, psychological, and academic adjustment. It examines whether CQ (its total score and four sub-components separately from the total CQ) moderates the relationship between PCD and adjustment. By investigating all three dimensions of students’ adjustment, and also distinguishing the four aspects of the CQ, it provides an especially fine-grained analysis of the link between PCD, CQ and international students’ adjustment. In a cross-sectional study, 341 international college students from several universities in the Netherlands participated in an online survey. Moderation analysis (Hayes Process Macro) indicated that overall CQ and motivational CQ moderated only the relationship between PCD and sociocultural adjustment. Further analysis show that when age, gender, level of study, and region of origin controlled, PCD consistently predicted all aspects of students' adjustment negatively. Overall CQ predicted only sociocultural and academic adjusment, but motivational CQ influenced all aspects of adjustment. Together, these results provide an insightful understanding of the role of international students' CQ in their adjustment in the face of cultural differences.

While the prejudice-reduction effect of intergroup contact has been extensively demonstrated, research identifying antecedents of positive contact and underlying mechanisms is limited. Two studies, in Italy (N = 239 Italian adolescents) and the UK (N = 299 White British adults), examined dispositional empathy and personality traits as predictors of contact quality, with effort towards contact and contact self-efficacy as underlying mechanisms. Study 1 revealed that empathic concern and extraversion was associated with higher contact quality with immigrants in Italy via greater contact effort. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings, showing that contact self-efficacy and then contact effort sequentially mediated the associations of empathic concern and personality (extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness) with contact quality with Asian British in the UK. Perspective-taking was not associated with contact quality. Our findings highlight the value of integrating dispositional/personality, social cognitive and intergroup approaches in the study of antecedents of contact quality and underlying mechanisms, with implications for the design of prejudice-interventions.

Purpose

This paper summarizes available qualitative studies on various kinds of ethnic foods, focusing on their potential to build cultural bridges in multicultural societies globally. This systematic literature review provides a detailed account of extracted themes, presents the extent of marketing literature, and indicates the research gaps to be addressed in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

The PRISMA methodology for a systematic literature review (SLR) was adopted. Based on specified inclusion and exclusion criteria (i.e. only qualitative studies on ethnic foods published between 1990–2020), a total of 39 studies were found eligible for analysis. The major explored themes from these studies are presented in the form of comparative tables along with interpretations.

Findings

It was found that most of the marketing literature has explored some superficial aspects of ethnic foods, including quality, taste, and extrinsic cues, etc. A second stream of research has focused on exploring the potential roles of ethnic food as a source of either cultural bridge or barrier in a multicultural world. This SLR has identified the cultural bridging aspect of ethnic foods as a major research gap in this area and invites subscription from future researchers, not only in marketing but also in other related disciplines.

Research limitations/implications

The major limitation is that this SLR included only qualitative studies. This work would have implications for marketers of ethnic foods in multicultural countries as they can attract people from various ethnic groups considering it as a cultural bridging tool.

Originality/value

This is the first-ever systematic literature review conducted on ethnic foods from the perspective of its importance for multicultural societies.