Psychological
and Socio-Cultural Variables as Predictors of Adjustment in Cross-Cultural
Transitions
A. Furnham & S. Erdmann |
A
multinational sample (n = 96) of sojourners in London participated
in this study which was a part replication of the work of Ward and
Kennedy (1993). Their psychological adjustment, measured by mood
and stress reaction, was predicted from various psychological and
socio-cultural predictor variables. A number of both types of predictors
were found to be correlated with the dependent variables. This finding
contradicts previous research, advocating a clear separation of socio-cultural
and psychological adjustment factors. The multinational sample was
split into three culturally-similar groups (Latin/Southern European,
n=31; Central/Northern European, n = 36; East Asian, n =19) for the
investigtion of culture-specific adjustment predictors. It was found
that culture-specific predictors were closely connected to psychological
variables. The multinational sample did not show the usual `overseas'
student friendship patterns, although a special role can be assigned
to the conational friend. Results are discussed in terms of recent
research in this area.
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