PSYCHOLOGICAL ADAPTATION AND ACCULTURATION OF THE TURKISH STUDENTS IN THE UNITES STATES BektaS, Dilek Yelda Ph.D., Department of Educational Sciences Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ayhan Demir 2004, 162 pages The purpose of this present study was to examine the psychological adaptation of the Turkish students in the U.S. by examining the acculturation variables in Berry&rsquo / s (1997) acculturation framework. The sample of this study was the 132 voluntary Turkish students enrolled in various colleges in the U.S. contacted through various Turkish Students Associations of colleges in the U.S., Yahoo groups of the Turkish people who live in the U.S., and Intercollegiate Turkish Student Society. The participants in San Antonio, Texas were contacted by the researcher. The scales used in the study were / a demographic variable questionnaire prepared by the researcher, Perceived Social Support by Friends Questionnaire, modified version of Acculturation Attitudes Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Satisfaction with Life Inventory, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Cultural Distance Scale developed for the present study. Reliability studies of the scales used for the sample of the present study were conducted. Data were analyzed by various statistical analyses. The analyses used in the present study were, multiple hierarchical regression analyses, correlations, t-tests and ANOVAs. Results of the study indicated that Turkish students are found psychologically well adjusted to their new environments in the U.S., satisfied with their new cultural contexts and mentally healthy. Self-esteem, previous travel experience, and met expectations predicted 51 % of the variance in depression / self-esteem, met expectations, English proficiency, perceived social support, and perceived discrimination predicted 41 % of the variance in satisfaction with life. In terms of acculturation attitudes, separation attitude was found to be the most preferred acculturation attitude among the Turkish students and female students were found to prefer integration attitude more than male students. Keywords: Acculturation process, psychological adaptation, acculturation attitudes

This study examined Americans' perceptions of immigrants as threats and their implications on immigration policy views as well as immigrants' actual involvement in crime. Images of immigrant groups result from the perceived threats they pose to the crime rate, economy, political power, and nativism (Blumer 1958). I argued that these perceptions result in opposition to immigrants and support for stronger measures to exclude undocumented immigrants. Of special interest for this study was the "criminal immigrant" stereotype. Previous studies demonstrate that immigrants are not highly crime-involved even when they experience additional stressors during their adaptation processes. Yet, according to Agnew's (1992) general strain theory, immigrants may be prone to criminality due to additional strains they experience while adjusting to the new country. However, many immigrants, through transnational activities maintain ties with family and friends overseas, thereby making the immigration experience less stressful. I argued in this study that immigrants' underinvolvement in crime is partly due to their transnational ties, which may serve a protective role as social support and thus condition the effects of strains. To examine the implications for policy views of perceptions of immigrants and immigrants' actual crime involvement, the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS) and the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey (CILS) were used. The hypotheses were tested by conducting univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. Overall, perceived immigrant threat affects opposition to immigrants and support for stronger measures to exclude undocumented immigrants. Among the various groups examined, the levels of opposition to immigrants differ from that of support for stronger measures to exclude undocumented immigrants. In terms of immigrants and crime, immigrants were not disproportionately involved in crime, as is widely believed by the American public. Contrary to hypotheses, however, immigrants' strains were not significant predictors of crime, and transnational ties did not condition the effects of strains on crime. It is recommended that future research be designed using more comprehensive data set(s) that represent and reflect the growing immigration population in the United States. Particularly, research should include measurements of micro-level social dynamics specific to immigrants such as additional measures of transnational ties and resilience.

Er’rentai, or Mongolian dance and song duets, is a genre of folk opera in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. Er’rentai performances can be categorized into two styles—the “western-style” and the “eastern-style.” The aim of this thesis is to explore the acculturation in Chinese-Mongolian er’rentai genre in the following ways. First, I address the historical background of the western-style er’rentai. Then, I draw on fieldwork with Huo Banzhu, a famous er’rentai musician, to introduce contemporary state of er’rentai's development. Finally, I employ musical analysis to demonstrate the borrowings of Mongolian music and culture in the formation and transmission of Chinese-Mongolian er’rentai.

This diploma thesis deals with the process of acculturation of immigrants in the Czech Republic. The aim is to analyze the process of acculturation and its particular phases in case of foreigners with different nationalities and identify a possible tendency in ways they are able to integrate into the new society, including factors, which can possibly affect this process. Outcomes of the thesis are concrete recommendations for immigration authorities in the Czech Republic and determination of acculturation strategy, which is characteristic for immigrants.

<p>This study aimed at investigating the divergence in attitudes between Saudi students who have lived in the United States for four years or more compared to Saudi students who have not lived outside Saudi Arabia for more than a three-month period. A survey was designed based on the main aspects of Saudi culture for this study as surveys are found to be the most common means for measuring attitudes. Two samples of Saudi students were recruited, one sample included students who have lived in the United States for four years or more, and the other sample consisted of those who have not lived outside Saudi Arabia for more than three months. A statistically significant difference between the two samples was found; students who have lived in the United States for four years or more were found to be more tolerant than those who have not lived abroad for more than three months towards the issue of sex segregation in mixed environments.<br> </p>