Saba Safdar

Culture-Level Dimensions of Social Axioms and Their Correlates across 41 Cultures

Leung and colleagues have revealed a five-dimensional structure of social axioms across individuals from five cultural groups. The present research was designed to reveal the culture level factor structure of social axioms and its correlates across 41 nations. An ecological factor analysis on the 60 items of the Social Axioms Survey extracted two factors: Dynamic Externality correlates with value measures tapping collectivism, hierarchy, and conservatism and with national indices indicative of lower social development. Societal Cynicism is less strongly and broadly correlated with previous values measures or other national indices and seems to define a novel cultural syndrome. Its national correlates suggest that it taps the cognitive component of a cultural constellation labeled maleficence, a cultural syndrome associated with a general mistrust of social systems and other people. Discussion focused on the meaning of these national level factors of beliefs and on their relationships with individual level factors of belief derived from the same data set.

The Process of Acculturation and Basic Goals: Testing a Multidimensional Individual Difference Acculturation Model with Iranian Immigrants in Canada

Trois des objectifs de base des immigrants dans les societes multiculturelles (la sauvegarde de l’heritage culturel, l’insertion dans la societe d’acceuil et la preservation de la sante physique et psychologique) ont ete retenus comme variables dependantes dans l’elaboration d’un modele portant sur les differences individuelles du processus d’acculturation. Les trois predicteurs composites du modele furent: 1. L’adaptation psychosociale englobant le bien-etre psychologique, le competence biculturelle et le soutien social percu de l’outgroup; 2. Le rattachement a la famille et a la culture englobant l’allocentrisme familial, l’identite ethnique et le soutien percu de l’ingroup; 3. L’experience des conflits quotidiens relevant ou non de l’acculturation. On a aussi pris en consideration la fonction des deux modes d’acculturation que sont la differenciation et l’assimilation. Ce sont 81 iraniennes et 85 iraniens immigres au Canada qui ont contribuea cette recherche; leur âge median etait de 34 ans et leur temps de sejour median au Canada de sept ans. La validite du modele a ete mise a l’epreuve grâce au Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). L’adaptation psychosociale est en relation directe avec le comportement de l’outgroup (qui represente le contact avec la culture d’accueil) et la detresse psychosomatique. Le rattachement a la famille et a la culture est en relation directe avec le comportement de l’ingroup, et les conflits quotidiens sont relies a la detresse psychosomatique. En outre, chacun de ces predicteurs est associe avec chacun des deux types d’acculturation. En retour, ces modes d’acculturation predisent les variables dependantes comportementales. On examine enfin les retombees de ce modele sur des recherches futures. Three of the basic goals of immigrants in multicultural societies—maintenance of heritage culture, participation in the host society, and maintenance of psychological and physical health—were examined as outcome variables in a proposed individual difference model of the acculturation process. The three composite predictor variables in the model were psychosocial adjustment, consisting of psychological well-being, bicultural competence, and perceived outgroup social support; connectedness to family and culture, consisting of family allocentrism, ethnic identity, and perceived ingroup support; and the experience of acculturation-specific and non-specific daily hassles. The roles of separation and assimilation modes of acculturation were also examined. The research participants were 85 male and 81 female Iranian immigrants to Canada. Their median age was 34 years; their median length of residence in Canada was seven years. The viability of the model was supported through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Psychosocial adjustment was directly related to outgroup behavior (reflecting contact with the host culture) and to psychophysical distress. Connectedness to family and culture was directly related to ingroup behavior, and daily hassles were directly related to psychophysical distress. Furthermore, each of these predictor variables was associated with either or both modes of acculturation. In turn, these modes of acculturation predicted the outcome behavior variables. Implications of the model for further research are discussed.

Acculturation of Iranians in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands: A Test of the Multidimensional Individual Difference Acculturation (MIDA) Model

The present study tested the generalizability of a multidimensional individual difference acculturation (MIDA) model in three cultural contexts. The model includes three predictor variables (Psychosocial Resources, Connectedness, and Hassles), predicting three outcome adaptation variables (In-Group Contact, Out-Group Contact, and Psychophysical Distress). The roles of two dimensions of acculturation attitudes (toward Own Culture Maintenance and New Culture Acquisition) were also included in the model. The model was tested and validated with three samples of Iranian immigrants living in the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The results provided support for the multidimensional model. The relations between each variable in the model are discussed with reference to the demographic variation of the samples and the complexity of societal context.

The Relationship Between Perceived Parental Rejection and Adjustment for Arab, Canadian, and Arab Canadian Youth

The present study examined whether psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and risk behavior differed among European Canadian (n = 147), Arab Canadian (n = 129), and Arab youth in Egypt and Lebanon (n = 131). Using parental acceptance-rejection theory, we also examined the strength of associations between perceived parental rejection and positive and negative outcomes for these youth. Our results suggested that European Canadian youth were less likely to perceive parental rejection and had higher life satisfaction than both Arab groups. However, although Arab Canadians and Arabs perceived more parental rejection than their European Canadian counterparts, it had less of an effect on their adjustment. We argued that culturally normative aspects of parent-youth relationships in Arab families may mitigate the effects of perceived parental rejection and that immigration may not exert a negative effect on Arab families in Canada. Instead, we suggested that researchers need to focus on the strengths of youth and families, rather than the negative effects of immigration and/or cultural group status.

An Examination of Proactive Coping and Social Beliefs among Christians and Muslims

In the present chapter, relations between religious affiliation, social beliefs, and proactive coping were examined. It was anticipated that members of different religions would have different social beliefs and would differ on Proactive Coping strategies. It was also predicted that social beliefs, specifically Reward for Application and Social Complexity, would mediate the relation between Religion and Proactive Coping. One hundred and eighty individuals who identified themselves as practising Muslims or Christians, living in three countries (Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom), participated in the study. The results indicated differences between the religious groups in their endorsement of social axioms, with Muslims scoring higher on the subscales Social Cynicism, Fate Control, and Religiosity. No difference between the two religious groups on Proactive Coping was found. Findings are interpreted in the light of socio-political circumstances as well as religious belief and practice. Limitations and possibilities for further work are discussed. A number of studies have shown that religion and well-being are related and that a focus on coping in the context of religion adds to our understanding of people’s attempts to maintain their well-being in the face of adversity (Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle, 1997; Graham, Furr, Flowers, & Burke, 2001; Kennedy, Davis, & Taylor, 1998). However, both religion and coping are complex constructs, and the subtle relationship between them is further complicated by the diversity of values and beliefs across (and within) different religious faiths. Most of the research to date has considered coping with samples from one religion, usually Christian (e.g., Pargament, Ensing, Falgout, Olsen, Reilly, Van Haitsma, & Warren, 1990; S. Safdar(*) and J.R. Lewis Psychology Department, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1 E. Greenglass York University, Canada M. Daneshpour St. Cloud State University, United States e-mail: ssafdar@uoguelph.ca 178 S. Safdar et al. Pargament, Ishler, Dubow, Stanik, Rouiller, Crowe, Cullman, Albert, & Royster, 1994; Pargament, Kennell, Hathaway, Grevengoed, Newman, & Jones, 1988; Pargament, Tarakeshwar, Ellison, & Wulff, 2001), sometimes Jewish (e.g., Zeidner & Hammer, 1992), and sometimes Muslim (e.g., Ai, Peterson, & Huang, 2003; Ai, Tice, Huang, & Ishisaka, 2005). There are, however, few studies comparing coping across faiths and relating coping styles to patterns of belief. The present paper represents an attempt to initiate this research as a step towards a better understanding of the “interplay of religion and culture” (Tarakeshwar, Stanton, & Pargament, 2003, p. 377), and of the relationship between the beliefs of different religious traditions and the coping styles of their adherents. Such an understanding has clinical as well as theoretical significance in healthcare systems with increasingly diverse clientele (Lewis, Gold, & Thorpe, in press; Peacock & Wilson, 2004).

The Inclusion of Culture in Canadian Social Psychology Textbooks: A Content Analysis of Introductory Texts

Cultural diversity features prominently in Canadian social and political life. Canadian social psychologists, for their part, have led a rich tradition of research on intercultural relations. We identified the undergraduate social psychology textbooks used to introduce students of psychology in Canada to the field and examined the extent that culture is incorporated into the teaching of introductory social psychology. Through a content analysis of Canadian-published introductory social psychology texts, we found that these textbooks are inclusive of cultural diversity, although not all textbooks covered culture with the same depth. Across textbooks, cultural coverage was broad, with many hits across textbooks, whereas discussion of cultural differences was not particularly deep, with most hits being elaborated under one page of text. Results are discussed alongside past research on the inclusion of culture in the teaching of generalized introductory psychology courses in the United States (Lonner & Murdock, 2012; Rumpel, 1988). . Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol11/iss1/2

Ethnic and Racial Self-Identifications of Second-Generation Canadians of African and Caribbean Heritage: An Analysis of Discourse

This study investigated how second-generation Canadian youth of African and Caribbean heritage constructed racial, ethnic, and national identities and categories. Twenty-two participants aged 13 to 18 years of East and West African, and Caribbean background, were recruited from communities in the Greater Toronto Area to participate in four discussion groups. Discourse analysis was used to demonstrate the fluidity and negotiability of racial and ethnic identities and categories. Participants constructed the category of “Black” using historical, social, and descriptive references and in support of their identifications or lack thereof with this category. Categories associated with “ethnicity” and nationality were also constructed to support participants’ identifications, with some contradictory representations. Disagreements over category constructions were also present. The study highlights the performative, as opposed to cognitive, features of identities. It also brings attention to how flexible the characterizations of racial and ethnic labels can be and argues for researcher consideration of this flexibility in relation to their participants and to the social contexts of their research. Implications for research in Canadian contexts are also discussed.

Evaluations of Men in Domestic Roles in Canada, Norway, Poland, and India

When a man decides to take a parental leave and become a “stay-at-home dad,” by focusing on domestic duties and parenting, he may risk penalization of stereotype-disconfirming behaviors. However, the degree at which men are allowed to violate gender norms varies from country to country. Our study sought to analyze cross-country differences in perception of men who resign from their professional career and focus on domestic duties. Canadian (N = 120), Norwegian (N = 97), Polish (N = 103), and Indian (N = 109) students were asked to evaluate agency and communality of men and women in domestic roles. The obtained results indicate that in Canada and Norway, men and women in domestic roles were judged similarly, whereas Polish and Indian students favored women over men in domestic roles, thus implying that domestic roles are perceived through the lens of gender stereotypes in these two countries.

Gender Through the Lens of Culture

Cross-cultural research on gender within a psychological framework is still in its infancy as there are few large-scale studies on the subject to date. Furthermore, gender research conducted cross-culturally risks ethnocentrism and androcentrism as the preponderance of contemporary gender theories have been built upon data collected mainly within Western cultural context and until relatively recently conducted mainly by men. In this book, we have made an attempt to show some of the emic aspects of the functioning of women and men in different cultures. The end result is a wide collection of cultural and cross-cultural studies relating to gender issues carried out by researchers from 18 countries presenting empirical data and reviewing gender relations in more than 20 nations and ethnic groups. The chapters include research from less frequently represented parts of the world in terms of gender studies, such as Africa, Latin America, and West Asia. “The psychology of gender through the lens of culture” makes an attempt to capture gender inequality in the chapters written by scholars who live and work in these societies and whose primary line of research is culture, gender, or both. Therefore, the interpretations of gender relations and proposed interventions provided in these chapters are by authors who are familiar with the cultural characteristics of their specific national and ethnic groups. We consider this publication a small step in joining the efforts of feminists, academics, policy makers, and activists who are working toward global gender equality.

Review of Cross-cultural research methods in psychology.

Cross-Cultural Research Methods in Psychology, by David Matsumoto and Fons J. R. Van de Vijver, (Eds.), Cambridge University Press, 2010, 404 pages (ISBN 978-0-521-76525-1, CA