Holding on and letting go: identity and acculturation among Chinese immigrants

This study addresses the general question of whether ethnic identity and general acculturation would prove unique discriminators of quality of life for Chinese immigrants. Eighty-three Chinese immigrants served as participants. Survey data were collected regarding acculturation, Asian identity, and quality of life; observers provided ratings of certain home environment characteristics; and participants responded to open-ended interview questions about their immigration experiences that allowed for qualitative data analysis on perspectives of culture. Significant analysis of covariance and post hoc comparison results revealed meaningful main effects and interactions between acculturation and Asian identity in explaining the immigrants' quality of life and ecocultural aspects of their home environments. Interview responses illuminated important distinctions between groups distinguished by level of acculturation and ethnic identity. Findings are discussed in terms of methodological and conceptual issues in studying acculturation and ethnic identity in immigration experiences and practical implications for immigrants and those working with them.     

The malleable bicultural consumer: effects of cultural contexts on aesthetic judgments

• Grounded in the cognitive framework of processing fluency, this study proposes further support for the experiential perspective in aesthetics by positing that aesthetic response to the same object may be malleable, depending on how the symbolic properties of the object interact with different cultural contexts which either facilitate or debilitate the processing experience of the perceiver. The study employed an Internet experiment to test the hypotheses among 105 female Hispanic college‐aged students enrolled at a large midwestern university. The findings revealed that symbolic attributes of products interact with cultural contexts to affect aesthetic judgments of (Hispanic) consumers. Aesthetic judgments were more positive when evaluating culturally symbolic product attributes after exposure to congruent contextual cues that facilitate fluent processing. The study furnishes support for the impact of environment/context on consumer behavior and aesthetic judgment, thus establishing further support for the cognitive framework of conceptual fluency in explaining aesthetic response. The study also contributes to recent literature on “frame‐switching” among bicultural consumers by suggesting that these consumers navigate between competing cultural frames in response to visual primes, with resultant shifts in aesthetic judgments. Important marketing insights emerge from these findings.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding the family in multiple cultural contexts: Avoiding therapeutic traps

Developing a balanced picture of a family's functioning is difficult when the family is culturally different from the therapist. Open-minded family therapists often translate culturally different traits and behaviors as culturally appropriate and exclude them from clinical judgment, which can limit therapeutic range and effectiveness. The following case study about an Indian family with a mentally retarded child is especially illustrative of the dilemmas facing the therapist working with families of different backgrounds. Therapeutic traps were avoided by having the family assess its own differences, while the therapist held steadfast to social interconnectedness as essential to healthy family functioning.An earlier and somewhat different version of this material appeared under a different title in Families, published by the Family Institute of Philadelphia.     

Emotion suppression in multiple social contexts and its effects on psychosocial functioning: An investigation with Chinese samples

The present study examines the psychosocial consequences of emotion suppression and the moderating effect of social context in the link between emotion suppression and psychosocial functioning with two samples of Chinese undergraduate students. Suppression of happiness and sadness in five social contexts (with family members, close friends, classmates, teachers and strangers) and psychosocial functioning were investigated. The results indicate that the general level of happiness suppression negatively predicted individuals' psychosocial functioning, while sadness suppression was positively associated with psychosocial functioning. The moderating effect of social context was significant in the association between happiness suppression and psychosocial functioning, while its moderating effect was not significant for sadness. Moreover, the context differentiation (CD) of happiness suppression positively predicted psychosocial functioning, while the effect of CD of sadness suppression was not significant. The results of the present study extend the existing literature by suggesting the importance of taking social context and the specific type of emotion into account when examining the psychosocial adaptation of emotion suppression. New findings were also added to understand the effects of emotion suppression on psychosocial functioning for Chinese people. In the Chinese cultural context, which emphasizes regulating one's behaviours based on situational requirements, low levels of happiness suppression and high levels of sadness suppression appeared to be a psychosocially adaptive emotional display pattern.     

Perfectionism and eating disturbances in Korean immigrants: Moderating effects of acculturation and ethnic identity

Korean society highly values personal appearance. Given the established links between perfectionism and eating disorders in Western countries, the present project investigated such links and the extent to which these were moderated by the acculturation patterns of the participants. Korean immigrants to New Zealand (N = 123) completed measures of perfectionism, ethnic identity, eating disorders, and social desirability. Positive and negative perfectionism were associated with eating‐disorder symptoms. For males, but not females, negative perfectionism was more strongly associated with increased body satisfaction only among those who identified strongly as Korean.     

Chinese immigrant mothers of adolescents: self-perceptions of acculturation effects on parenting

Immigrant families in the United States experience many adjustments, including the challenge of parenting in a new context. The relationship between self-perceptions of parenting behavior and mothers' perceived acculturation levels for themselves and their children was examined in 95 Chinese immigrant mothers. Data showed that mothers perceived their children as more acculturated than themselves, mothers reported a great need to learn more about how their children are growing up today, a larger perceived acculturation gap was associated with more parenting difficulties, and several factors contributed to perceptions of a more favorable parenting experience. Culturally responsive methodologies used in the translation and administration of measures, and specific modifications made to develop the Chinese version of the Parent Success Indicator, are discussed.     

The developmental and cultural contexts of objectified body consciousness: a longitudinal analysis of two cohorts of women

Longitudinal analysis of 10-year follow-up data on objectified body consciousness, body esteem, weight-related attitudes and behaviors, and psychological well-being in 74 middle-aged and 72 young women tested hypotheses developed from age-related change and cohort differences models of body experience. Young women's body surveillance and body shame decreased, and their body esteem increased, supporting an age-related changes model. Relationships between variables were relatively consistent with the 2 cohorts across data waves, supporting a cohort differences model, although nonoverlapping cohorts limit the interpretation of the data. The importance of developmental context in understanding women's body experience is discussed.     

The effect of texture on tactually perceived length

A curvilinear relationship between texture and perceived length was investigated in. two experiments. In Experiment 1 the perceived lengths of four grades of emery cloth and an untextured stimulus were compared in a forced-choice procedure. Generally, as predicted, fine-texture stimuli were perceived as longer than coarse-textured stimuli. Experiment 2 attempted to modify the biasing effect of texture by employing preliminary training with fine or coarse textures. Although unsuccessful in modifying the bias, the curvilinear relationship between texture and perceived length was agmn supported. Some implications for constructing teaching materials for the blind are discussed.     

Differential effects of stimulus context on perceived length: Implications for the horizontal-vertical illusion

Six experiments examined orientation-specific effects of stimulus context on the visual perception of horizontal and vertical lengths: Using a paired-comparison method, Experiments 1–5 showed that the probability of judging a given vertical line to be longer than a given horizontal line was relatively great when the stimulus set comprised relatively long horizontals and short verticals, and relatively small when the stimulus set comprised short horizontals with long verticals. To the extent that stimulus context exerts orientation-specific effects on perceived length, it thereby modulates the degree to which verticals appear longer than physically equivalent horizontals: the horizontal—vertical illusion (HVI). Under various contextual conditions, the HVI was as small as 3% (horizontals had to be 3% greater than verticals to be perceived as equally long) and as great as 15%, equaling about 12% in a “neutral” context. In Experiment 6, subjects judged the absolute physical length of each stimulus, and the results indicated that stimulus context acted largely by decreasing perceived lengths. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that differential effects of context reflect a process of stimulus-specific perceptual attenuation.     

The impact of family functioning on family racial socialization processes

This longitudinal study evaluated the relationship between family functioning and family racial socialization processes in a clinical sample of African American youth referred for drug abuse treatment. Participants were 77 African American adolescents and their parents. Results showed that participants assigned to structural ecosystems therapy experienced a greater increase in family racial socialization processes during treatment than participants assigned to the treatment as usual in community settings condition. Participants in structural ecosystems therapy also demonstrated a greater increase in family functioning than participants in community settings condition, and this improvement in family functioning mediated the relationship between treatment condition and family racial socialization processes. Research and clinical implications are discussed.     

Chinese adolescents' perceptions of family functioning: personal,school-related,and family correlates

The author used two translated measures (Self-Report Family Inventory; D. T. L. Shek, 1998); and Family Assessment Device; N. B. Epstein, L. M. Baldwin, & D. S. Bishop, 1983) and a locally developed scale (Chinese Family Assessment Instrument; D. T. L. Shek, in press-a) to assess 3,649 Chinese adolescents' perceptions of how well their families function. He found that boys perceived their families to function worse than did girls and that younger adolescents perceived their families to function better than did older adolescents. Perceived family functioning was negatively related to grade level; students attending schools with higher academic standards perceived their families to function better than did students attending schools with lower academic standards; and students attending government and aided schools had higher levels of family functioning than did students attending private schools. Family types (intact vs. nonintact families) and the duration of parents' stay in Hong Kong were also related to the adolescents' perceptions of family functioning. Findings for the personal, school-related, and family correlates of perceived family functioning were statistically significant and stable across different measures of family functioning, but the practical significance of the findings was not high.     

Lives in a balance: perceived family functioning and the psychosocial adjustment of adolescent cancer survivors.

Childhood cancer patients have a greater likelihood of long-term survival than ever before. This study examined both the perceived family functioning of adolescents who had successfully completed treatment for pediatric cancer and the relationship between family functioning and post-treatment adjustment. Eighty-eight adolescent survivors of hematologic malignancies were assessed regarding their family functioning, mental health, self-esteem, global competence, and problem behaviors. Contrary to expectations about the influence of cancer on these families, adolescent cancer survivors reported lower levels of family cohesion than the normative sample of healthy adolescents and their families. While current age, gender, age at diagnosis, and time since treatment completion were generally not associated with adolescents' adjustment, perceived family cohesion and adaptability were strongly related to post-treatment psychological adjustment.     

Deferred imitation in 18-month-olds from two cultural contexts: The case of Cameroonian Nso farmer and German-middle class infants

Imitative learning has been described in naturalistic studies for different cultures, but lab-based research studying imitative learning across different cultural contexts is almost missing. Therefore, imitative learning was assessed with 18-month-old German middle-class and Cameroonian Nso farmer infants – representing two highly different eco-cultural contexts associated with different cultural models, the psychological autonomy and the hierarchical relatedness – by using the deferred imitation paradigm. Study 1 revealed that the infants from both cultural contexts performed a higher number of target actions in the deferred imitation than in the baseline phase. Moreover, it was found that German middle-class infants showed a higher mean imitation rate as they performed more target actions in the deferred imitation phase compared with Cameroonian Nso farmer infants. It was speculated that the opportunity to manipulate the test objects directly after the demonstration of the target actions could enhance the mean deferred imitation rate of the Cameroonian Nso farmer infants which was confirmed in Study 2. Possible explanations for the differences in the amount of imitated target actions of German middle-class and Cameroonian Nso farmer infants are discussed considering the object-related, dyadic setting of the imitation paradigm with respect to the different learning contexts underlying the different cultural models of learning.     

The Georgia family Q-sort: an observational measure of family functioning

The development of a new observational measure of family functioning using a Q-sort methodology is described. The Q-sort is one way of obtaining observer measures of family that complements both microcoding and global ratings of family processes. Evidence for construct validity is presented along with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the Q-sort approach to family observation.     

Contextual influences on acculturation processes: The roles of family,community and society

The paper outlines the major approaches to the psychological study of acculturation, drawing particular attention to the importance of context. Three significant contexts are highlighted: family, ethnic community, and society/nation. New perspectives from our evolving program of acculturation research are introduced to illustrate contextual influences on acculturation, and future directions for empirical work are recommended.     

Dyadic personality effects on family functioning in parents of newly hospitalized children

This study prospectively examined dyadic influences of parental personality on levels and change of family functioning in parents of a newly hospitalized child. A total of 183 couples whose child sought treatment for Type 1 diabetes, cancer, or an unintentional injury were assessed at 1 and 6 months posthospitalization with tests measuring personality, and family functioning. Analyses used structural equation modeling based on the actor–partner interdependence model. Family functioning in both parents showed substantial differential stability and interdependence. Mothers' Neuroticism and Agreeableness and fathers' Openness and Conscientiousness influenced their own family functioning. Fathers' Conscientiousness influenced their spouse's family functioning. Both parents' personalities influenced their family functioning over time, underlining that the parents' perspectives should be studied jointly.     

Correction to: Examining acculturation orientations and perceived cultural distance among immigrant adolescents in Portugal: links to performance in reading,mathematics, and science

The article “Examining acculturation orientations and perceived cultural distance among immigrant adolescents in Portugal: links to performance in reading, mathematics, and science”,...     

From prejudice to discrimination: The legitimizing role of perceived threat in discrimination against immigrants

This research analyses the mediational role of threat perception in the relationship between prejudice and discrimination (opposition to immigration and opposition to naturalization of immigrants). In the first study, using representative samples in 21 European countries (N = 36 566) from European Social Survey (2002), we showed that the relationship between prejudice and opposition to immigration was more strongly mediated by realistic than by symbolic threat perceptions. In Study 2, using representative samples in two countries with different traditions of immigration (Switzerland, N = 940; Portugal, N = 1514), we showed that realistic threat more strongly mediated the relationship between prejudice and opposition to immigration, while only symbolic threat perception mediated the link between prejudice and opposition to naturalization. The theoretical implications of considering threat perceptions as factors that legitimize discrimination are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of ethnicity and acculturation on early adolescent delinquency

We examined the influence of ethnicity and acculturation status on the relationship between parental monitoring, susceptibility to antisocial peer pressure, and delinquency. The sample consisted primarily of Caucasian (63%) and Mexican-American (24%) early adolescents. Self-report data were collected from 1021 sixth and seventh graders, equally divided by gender (mean age =12.7 years). The Mexican-American adolescents were categorized into one of three acculturation groups: (a) acculturated; (b) unacculturated by choice; and (c) recent immigrants. Acculturated Mexican-American early adolescents reported significantly more delinquent behaviors than the Caucasian, unacculturated by choice, and recent immigrant youth. Recent immigrant early adolescents reported more parental monitoring than the acculturated Mexican-American early adolescents. Level of perceived susceptibility to antisocial peer pressure did not differ between ethnic or acculturation groups. Regression analyses revealed that the relationship between parental monitoring and delinquency was mediated by susceptibility to antisocial peer pressure for all the groups regardless of ethnicity or level of acculturation. Findings emphasize the importance of: (a) examining level of acculturation when sampling ethnically diverse populations; and (b) comparing global mean level differences and specific relationships among independent variables.     

The development of 3- to 9-month-old infants in two cultural contexts: Bayley longitudinal results for Cameroonian and German infants

Based on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development III, this study provides the results of a longitudinal study on the development of Cameroonian Nso farmer and German middle-class infants. Complete longitudinal data were available for 253 infants (69 from Cameroon and 184 from Germany) with Bayley assessments at 3, 6 and 9 months. The results show large differences between Cameroonian Nso and German infants with regard to gross motor and language development. The developmental sequence within each Bayley scale is more in line with the original Bayley sequence for German than for Cameroonian Nso infants as is indicated by Goodman scalogram analyses. Path analyses show some basic similarities between the developmental paths across ages for Cameroonian Nso and German infants, but more interconnections between the scales in the German sample. The results underline the need to adjust developmental scales to the cultural background of the infants to be tested.