Magdalena Bobowik

Health-related quality of life, ethnicity and perceived discrimination among immigrants and natives in Spain

Objectives The current study compares subjective mental and physical health among native Spaniards and immigrant groups, and examines the effects of ethnicity and perceived discrimination (PD) on subjective health in immigrants. Design Two random samples of 1250 immigrants to Spain from Colombia, Bolivia, Romania, Morocco, and Sub-Saharan Africa and 500 native Spaniards, aged between 18 and 65, were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Several hierarchical regression analyses of ethnicity and PD on subjective mental and physical health (assessed using the health-related quality of life items, HRQLSF-12) were carried out separately for men and women. Results Male immigrants from Colombia and Sub-Saharan Africa showed better physical health than natives, controlling for age and socioeconomic and marital status. The immigrants – except for the Colombians – had poorer mental health than natives, especially African men and Bolivian women. Socioeconomic status had no impact on these differences. Among immigrants, PD was the best predictor of physical and mental health (controlling for socio-demographic variables). African men, Bolivian women and women without legal status exhibited the poorest self-rated mental health. Conclusion Clear differences in health status among natives and immigrants were recorded. The self-selection hypothesis was plausible for physical health of Colombians and Sub-Saharan African men. Acculturation stress could explain poorer mental health in immigrants compared with natives. The association between ethnicity and poor self-reported mental health appears to be partially mediated by discrimination.

The bright side of migration: Hedonic, psychological, and social well-being in immigrants in Spain

The aim of this study was to examine the multi-dimensional structure of well-being in immigrant population, as well as to explore the complexity of well-being disparities between immigrants and host nationals. We analyzed hedonic, psychological, and social well-being in a sample of 1250 immigrants from Bolivia, Colombia, Morocco, Romania and Sub-Saharan Africa, together with that of 500 matched host nationals from Spain. Participants were selected by means of probability sampling with stratification by age and sex. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the re-specified tripartite model of well-being, including hedonic, psychological, and social components of the individuals functioning, was the best fitting model, as compared to alternative models. Importantly, after adjustment for perceived friendship and support, marital status, income, sex and age, immigrants presented higher levels of well-being than host nationals. Compared to host nationals, immigrants reported especially higher eudaimonic well-being: social contribution and actualization, personal growth, self-acceptance, and purpose in life, and lower levels of well-being only in terms of positive relations with others and negative affect. These results are discussed in the context of positive psychology.

Socially desirable responding : enhancement and denial in 20 countries

This article investigated the dimensionality, measurement invariance, and cross-cultural variations of social desirability. A total of 3,471 university students from 20 countries completed an adapted version of the Marlowe–Crowne scale. A two-dimensional structure was revealed in the pooled sample, distinguishing enhancement (endorsement of positive self-description) and denial (rejection of negative self-description). The factor structure was supported in most countries; medium-sized item bias was found in two denial items. In a multilevel analysis, we found that (a) there was more cross-cultural variation in denial than enhancement; (b) females tended to score higher on enhancement whereas males tended to score higher on denial; (c) the Human Development Index, an indicator of country socioeconomic development, was the best (negative) predictor of denial; and (d) both enhancement and denial seemed to be associated with country-level values and personality pertinent to “fitting in.” We conclude that social desirability has a positive and a negative impression management dimension that are meaningfully associated with country-level characteristics, and we argue that social desirability is better interpreted as culturally regulated response amplification.

Social representations of history, wars and politics in Latin America, Europe and Africa

Abstract This study analyzes how people perceive world history on three continents: Latin America, Europe and Africa. A total of 1179 university students form Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde were asked to evaluate world events and leaders in terms of their valence and importance. The results demonstrated that social representations of history show a Euro/North American-centric, long-term positive evaluation, recency, and socio-centric bias. Euro/North American-centric events and leaders were found to be rated as more important and were more positively perceived in general. Distant political events, like French or American Revolution, were considered to be more positive than XX century similar events, which supports the long-term positive evaluation bias hypothesis. The hypothesis on recency bias was partially substantiated. Confirming the existence of such bias, World War II was rated as more important than the previous XX century wars and revolutions. Socio-centric bias also received partial support. African participants rated Mandela as a more important leader than other participants did. Latin Americans rated Che Guevara less positively, which suggests that some leaders are generally idealized icons, not based on group belongingness. However, results did not bring support to the centrality of war hypothesis. Wars were indeed negatively evaluated and World War II was rated as an important and negative event. Nevertheless, war- and politics-related events were not perceived as more important than the Industrial Revolution, suggesting that people appraise the importance of long-term socioeconomic factors of history when responding to close-ended quantitative measures (vs. open-ended salience measures). Results are discussed in the framework of social representations of history.

Psychosocial effects of forgiveness petition and “self-criticism” by the Basque Government and Parliament directed to the victims of collective violence

Abstract This experimental study analyses the psychosocial effects of apologies directed to the victims of collective violence by the Basque Government and Parliament on Basque participants. It was expected that institutional apology would lead to an increase in collective guilt, shame and sorrow, while at the same time it would induce a more positive perception of emotional climate, as well as increasing positive beliefs and support for reparative actions towards the victims. As expected, when reminded of apology and past collective violence, participants reported higher shame and sorrow and agreed more with new reparations in comparison with the control condition, in which people were only reminded of past collective violence. Low identifiers exhibited a more positive perception of the social climate in the apology condition than in the control group, whereas high identifiers displayed the opposite pattern. In addition, high identifiers agreed more with defensive opinions related to past collective violence and reported lower agreement with reparations, although they did not express less collective guilt, or shame and sorrow.

Adaptación sociocultural de inmigrantes brasileños en el País Vasco: bienestar y aculturación

Resumen Esta investigación ha examinado el proceso de adaptación sociocultural de los inmigrantes y su relación con la adaptación psicológica y las estrategias de aculturación. Se entrevistó a 91 inmigrantes brasileños en el País Vasco. Se midieron las dificultades de adaptación sociocultural a través de la escala SCAS, las dificultades socio-económicas, la afectividad (PNA), la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS-SF-12), la satisfacción con la vida, el control percibido, la confianza interpersonal, así como el apoyo social percibido respecto a las personas del país de origen y de acogida, y las estrategias de aculturación (conductas y actitudes). Se hallaron dos dimensiones de la adaptación sociocultural: el “aprendizaje cultural y comunicación”, y el “manejo de la distancia social”. Las dificultades socioculturales son mayores al inicio del proceso de adaptación, disminuyendo con el tiempo de estancia, y se asocian a las dificultades socio-económicas, al apoyo social, al bienestar hedónico y al control percibido. La separación conductual se relaciona con más problemas de adaptación sociocultural, mientras que a nivel actitudinal la marginación dificultaría el aprendizaje cultural y la comunicación. Se confirma la existencia de dos tipos básicos de dificultades de adaptación sociocultural, el rápido aprendizaje sociocultural, así como los factores protectores.

Affect regulation strategies and perceived emotional adjustment for negative and positive affect: A study on anger, sadness and joy

This study examines affect regulation and adaptive goals with regard to negative and positive emotional episodes. A sample of 355 undergraduate students were asked to recall an important past-year interpersonal episode of joy, anger, and sadness. Participants reported how they regulated mood and emotions associated with those episodes, filling in an expanded version of Larsen and Prizmic’s Measure of Affect Regulation Styles and also responded to measures of perceived attainment of adaptive goals for each emotional episode and psychological well-being. Affect regulation based on gratitude/self-reward, reappraisal, helping others, and seeking informative and emotional social support showed similarly high frequencies in all emotional episodes. Problem-directed action and planning, low withdrawal, seeking instrumental social support, reappraisal, rumination, active physiological regulation, gratitude/self-reward, acceptance/self-control and regulated emotional expression were related to perceived improvement in adaptive goals in all episodes. Seeking emotional and informative social support, spiritual activities, and humor were associated with adaptive goals in anger and joy. Suppression was dysfunctional in sadness and anger episodes, whereas isolation was only in anger episode. Distraction, wishful thinking, venting and confrontation were functional only in joy episode. Overall, these strategies were congruently associated with dispositional suppression and re-evaluation and psychological well-being. Regulation was globally higher in sadness and anger episodes, but venting and expression of humor and affection were higher in joy. Correlations between affect regulation strategies and adaptive goals were stronger in joy. Regulation of positive emotion is discussed as less intense but more successful than in the case of negative emotion. However, the core of adaptive regulation is importantly common to positive and negative affect.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The impact of Christmas rituals on subjective well-being and family's emotional climate

Abstract This study assessed subjective well-being before and after Christmas and New Year holidays. In contradiction to lay beliefs about these holidays, stress and conflict caused by its experience was weak, while participation in rituals was high and satisfactory, and positive emotions were dominant. High frequency of participation in ritualised family celebrations increased positive well-being: satisfaction with life, perceived social well-being, and the balance of affective well-being. Satisfaction with rituals had an impact on positive affect, satisfaction with life and positive family climate, while participation frequency was more relevant for social support and lower loneliness level. Conflict experienced during Christmas increased negative affect and negative emotional family climate, while it undermined positive affect, satisfaction with life and social well-being.

Social Representations of the Past and Competences in History Education

Research on social representations (SR) of history within the field of social psychology may provide guidelines that can strengthen meta-cognitive competences in history teaching. This chapter reviews existing empirical research on SR of history in order to enrich the discussion on history education and the formation of political culture, first explaining how collective memory may be a result of history education. Then, theoretical and empirical evidence that may serve as guidelines for strengthening meta-cognitive competences in history education is reviewed, presenting biases that may exist in determining what is historically significant and explaining the importance of understanding historical continuity and change when learning history. Lastly, tools are presented that may enhance learning to identify multiple causes and consequences in history through perspective-taking. Some major implications and conclusions are considered.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Colonial past and intercultural relations

Abstract The consequences of colonialism are important not only because they shape our “world of nations” at the level of international relations, but because their contemporary repercussions are also present in the psychosocial dynamics at work among former colonized and former colonizing peoples, such as identity building, collective emotions, traumatic processes, intergroup relations, prejudice, discrimination, and acculturation processes. However, there is still a scarce amount of cultural and social psychological studies dealing with the current implications of colonial history and memories in contemporary societies. This Special Issue aims to fill this gap. The main focus here is on the relevance of historical representations and collective memories of the colonial past with regard to contemporary intercultural relations. In this vein, this Special Issue includes eight papers that shed light on the content and structure of social representations of colonial history; the emotional and cognitive impacts of the colonial past; and how colonial past is shaping contemporary acculturation processes and intergroup attitudes and relations. This Special Issue hosts original empirical research employing different methodologies (e.g., interviews, questionnaire surveys, experiments, and case studies), as well as theoretical papers that rely on a systematic review of the empirical literature. Together, the contributions in this Special Issue stress the importance of considering colonial legacies in the study of contemporary intercultural relations. We call for dialogue and interdisciplinary work in this domain between social and cultural psychology and other social sciences, such as history, anthropology, and political science.