Past Wrongs and Liberal Justice

Liberal theories of justice have often been unable to include the recognition of minority rights or of multiculturalism because of their emphasis on individuals. In contrast, recent theories of cultural recognition and minority rights have underestimated the tensions between group and individual rights. It is precisely the incorporation of past wrongs and their impact on present politics that can advance the liberal theory of justice for cultural minorities and their members.     

哈尼族中学生文化认同及其与学校生活满意度的关系

为考察哈尼族中学生文化认同特点及其与学校生活满意度的关系,采用哈尼族青少年学生文化认同问卷和青少年学校生活满意度评定问卷对621名哈尼族中学生施测。结果表明:(1)哈尼族中学生民族文化认同处于中等以上水平,其中族物喜好、民族接纳方面的认同较高,宗教信念、社会俗约的认同较低;在宗教信念、社会俗约、总问卷上,城乡学生的认同差异具有统计学意义,乡镇和农村学生之间无显著性差异;(2)哈尼族中学生文化认同存在年级差异,随年级递升呈下降变化趋势,不同维度表现出非平衡性发展特点,呈分化发展趋势;(3)哈尼族中学生的民族文化认同与学校生活满意度之间存在关联性,对学校生活满意度有显著的正向效用,其中民族接纳、社会俗约分别具有正向和负向预测作用。     

Perceived justice of available opportunities and self-esteem,collective esteem and social exclusion: A study of three religious groups in India

Groups have their own social realities which determine their perceptions of justice having impact on their well- being and consequent integration with the mainstream society. The objective of the present study was to understand variations in perceived justice in terms of opportunities existing in five different domains, i.e. social prestige, economic, educational, employment and political by the Hindu Majority (N = 100) and Muslim (N = 100) and Christian (N = 76) minorities in India. In addition, the study also aimed to understand the relationship of perceived justice with self-esteem, collective esteem and social exclusion. Male and female participants (N = 276) of the study were either of high or low caste, and were of employed or unemployed status from a north Indian city. The results indicate that justice perception is determined by religion and caste not by gender and employment status. The majority Hindus perceived significantly higher perceptions of justice than Christians and Muslims minorities on all four domains except education. For education the minority Muslim group had lower justice perceptions than Hindus and Christians who did not differ significantly. The three groups differed significantly in their ratings of social exclusion with maximum exclusion perceived by Christians and minimum by Hindus. Results have implications for development initiatives.     

Marriage and social support in a British–Asian community

People of South Asian origin represent one of the largest ethnic minority populations in Britain. However, research into the marital beliefs and practices of British South Asians has tended to conflate together different South Asian groups of different religious and geographical origins. This study focused on one large religious group originating from one region (Hindus from Gujarat) resident in one large British town, providing analyses drawn from theories of cultural values, acculturation and social identity. Seventy married couples participated in detailed interviews inquiring about the arrangement of their marriage, their attitude towards marriage, gender roles, and the formal and informal support available in times of marital crisis. Our analysis of these interviews suggested that whilst our respondents maintained largely collectivist values in the family, they also saw marriage very much as an expression of individual fulfilment. Marital choice and gender roles in marriage reflected an integrationist strategy combining the traditional cultural practices and identity priorities with the social preferences and economic realities of their new culture. Finally, social support was largely forthcoming from members of the Asian community, reflecting a degree of separation from the majority community particularly when emotional assistance was desired. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positive and negative intergroup contact and shared reality: Contact effects among host society and refugees

Two cross-sectional studies examined the relationship between positive and negative intergroup contact and shared reality from a majority and a minority group perspective and indirect effects via two types of intergroup threat (threat to identity for the majority, discrimination fear for the minority) and differential closeness. Research was conducted in the context of German–Syrian relations to contrast contact effects on shared reality among German host society members and Syrian refugees. Study 1 revealed unique and asymmetrical effects of valenced contact on shared reality and indirect effects via threat to identity and differential closeness (N = 226). In Study 2, positive contact among Syrian refugees (N = 121) increased shared reality via differential closeness. Negative contact showed no relation to shared reality, but mediation analyses indicated an indirect effect via discrimination fear. Differences between majority and minority contact effects on shared reality are discussed along with the studies’ limitations and implications.     

少数民族初中学生压力源调查

本调查采用中学生应激源量表,对广西某地区的363名少数民族初中学生进行压力源调查。结果表明少数民族初中学生的主要压力源是学习、家庭环境和社会文化等方面的问题,其中,家庭经济困难和令人讨厌的社会文化风俗与少数民族中学生的焦虑抑郁情绪密切相关。在心理健康教育中,我们应关注少数民族中学生的学习压力,还要设法减轻他们的家庭环境和社会文化压力。     

Psychology and African-American women: Findings from applied research

The current applied research on African-American women is characterized by a limited focus on primarily poor and single mothers and comparative studies with white women. The resulting research ignores the diversity within African-American women generalizing from noncomparative or restrictive samples to all African-American women and provides narrowly focused and/or inappropriate research models in which to study the development of these women across the life span. This review focuses on some of this research as it relates to social context factors in African-American women's lives: social supports and parenting, work and self-esteem, gender role attitudes and marital life, and mental health. An examination of methodological problems and suggestions for future research is discussed.     

Minority Group Membership and Perceptions of Self-help: Evidence from Israel

This study explores the meanings associated with the term ‘self-help’ in the general Arab population in Israel. It compares these associated meanings across various groups created by several demographic variables. The Arab population in Israel numbers nearly one million, comprising 18% of the total population of the state. The study used a random sample of 250 participants, representative of the general Arab population in Israel. Data was collected in a telephone survey which lasted 3–7 minutes. Three themes surfaced as the most prevalent meanings associated with the concept ‘self-help’: the individual meaning, which refers to one's ability to solve one's own problems and to rely on one's own strengths and resources; helping the ‘other’; and helping the needy. Significant differences in the associated meanings of the self-help concept related to level of education, marital status, and whether the respondent had heard of the self-help concept. The significance of the findings is discussed within several frames of reference. First, they are examined within the context of a particular minority culture which is constantly interacting with Israeli Jewish cultural values and is undergoing a change from traditional systems of values to modern Western ones. Second, the universal and particular attributes of the self-help phenomenon are outlined. Third, the initial developmental stages of self-help organizations within the Arab population living in Israel are discussed.     

The political glass cliff: When left-wing orientation leads to minority candidate choices for hard-to-win seats

IntroductionGlass cliff evidence shows that women and ethnic, racial, and immigration (ERI) groups are more likely to face precarious leadership positions than majority groups. In politics, this is illustrated by minority candidates running for harder-to-win seats than majority candidates.ObjectiveThe present research extends these correlational findings on ERI populations to an experimental setting and investigates the underlying reasons.MethodTwo scenario-based experimental studies were conducted with voting populations in France and Switzerland, who took the role of party decision-maker. In Study 1 (n = 64), we manipulated candidate origin and measured the choice of political ward (hard vs. easy-to-win), while in Study 2 (n = 151), we manipulated ward winnability and measured candidate choice (ERI minority vs. majority).ResultsOverall, findings suggest that ERI minority (compared to majority) political candidates were more likely to be matched with hard-to-win than easy-to-win political wards. Of interest, this finding only occurred for participants with a political left-wing orientation. Moreover, both studies investigated the reasons underlying such tendency and, in particular, focused on participants’ motivation to implement change.ConclusionThe discussion confronts hostile and benign motives for glass cliff decisions and highlights the potentially distinct consequences for minority candidates.