Ph.D., Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2008 / The ‘two-world hypothesis’ argues that women may employ self-starvation as a means of coping with the demands of ‘straddling two worlds’ which occurs during periods of transition such as adolescence, industrialization, emancipation of women and culture clash, where women are required to ‘juggle’ the demands of conflicting socio-cultural expectations (Katzman & Lee, 1997). This resonates with the construct of acculturative stress proposed by Rodriguez, Myers, Mira et al., (2002) as the simultaneous ‘push and pull’ of opposing pressures to acculturate to a new culture and pressures against this acculturation from the culture of origin; and suggests that acculturative stress may mediate the development of eating disorders during periods of sociocultural transition. This study aimed to identify relationships between acculturative stress and eating disorder by exploring associations between the Multidimensional Acculturative Stress Scale (MASI: Rodriguez et al., 2002), the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT26; Garner, Olmsted, Bohr & Garfinkel, 1982) and the Eating Disorders Diagnostic Scale (EDDS: Stice, Telch & Rizvi, 2000) as a substitute for follow-up clinical interview, in a sample of black adolescent schoolgirls in the rapidly changing socio-cultural context of South Africa. Focus Groups were conducted to evaluate the validity of these instruments within the South African context. Groups suggested that the EAT26 needed to be qualified and the MASI needed to be modified and revised. The 34-item MASI-Revised contained three subscales, Pressure to Acculturate, Pressure against Acculturation, and a new subscale, Conflict, which appeared to reflect the sum of opposing acculturative pressures as cultural-identity confusion. The General Health Questionnaire-12 was used as a ‘gold standard’ measure of stress. The study selected a sample of 5 urban state high schools from which 187 black female learners were sampled from grades 9-12. Response rate was low and random sampling was not possible. Results indicated that 24.5% of the sample scored positively on the EAT26 and 13.9% qualified for a diagnosis of eating disorder as measured by the EDDS; while a further 24% engaged in regular dysfunctional eating patterns worthy of clinical attention. Subjects scoring positively on both the EAT26 and the MASI-R were significantly more likely (Odds Ratio=29.408; p<0.001) to have an eating disorder on EDDS than those who were negative on both scales. Eating disorders were also significantly and independently predicted by the MASI-R and the EAT26, where subjects scoring positively on either of these scales were significantly (Odds Ratio=4.917; p<0.001) more likely to have an eating disorder than those scoring negatively on both scales. Results suggested that acculturative stress may be a significant risk factor in the development of eating disorders in black South African females and that adolescents experiencing cultural identity confusion may be most at risk.

<p>A growing body of research has indicated the challenges and difficulties international students face including but not limited to language barriers, academic struggles, social isolation, discrimination, and psychological distress. Among international students, East Asian international students represent a large subgroup and report higher acculturative stress and struggles due to their deep and complex cultural and language differences from the U.S. culture, compared to students from other areas. Using Tweed and Conway’s (2006) framework, the current research examined a model to understand the roles of culturally relevant coping strategies (e.g., perseverance, meaning-focused coping) and acculturative stress in explaining well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and peace of mind) among 200 East Asian international students. The results indicated that acculturative stress was a strong predictor of all well-being variables, perseverance was a predictor of well-being except for negative affect, and meaning-focused coping was a predictor of life satisfaction and positive affect. Tests of indirect effects revealed that perseverance partially mediates the relationship between acculturative stress and positive affect and peace of mind. The results also suggested that meaning-focused coping does not mediate the relationships between acculturative stress and well-being variables. The discussion addresses limitations of the study, suggestions for future research, and implications for literature and counseling psychology practice for East Asian international students. </p>

Depression seems to affect a large portion of Americans living the U.S. Specifically, it has been found to affect the Latino population more so than other ethnicities. When considering Latino immigrants, it is important to take into consideration the additional challenges (e.g. adaptation, acculturation) that may lead to the development of depression. In the current study, the aim is to find a relationship between depression and other psychological constructs (e.g. dominant group and intragroup marginalization, acculturative stress) in order to determine high risk factors for depressive symptoms among Latino immigrants in the Florida community. 128 Latino immigrants (44 males, 81 females, 3 indicated no specific gender) residing in the Central Florida Community completed scales assessing Marginalization by non-Latinos, Marginalization by Latinos, Symptoms of Depression, and Social Support. Marginalization by Whites and by Latinos/as was not associated significantly with symptoms of depression (rs = .16 and -.02, ps > .05, respectively). In contrast, acculturative stress correlated significantly with symptoms of depression (r = .33, p < .01). It was also predicted that social support would mitigate the association between acculturative stress and symptoms of depression. To test this, I first established that social support correlated significantly with symptoms of depression (r = -.39, p < .001). Next, a partial correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relation between acculturative stress and symptoms of depression while partialing social support. The resulting correlation (r = .30, p < .01) suggested that social support did not account for the observed association between acculturative stress and symptoms of depression. From a clinical perspective, this research is beneficial in knowing what may contribute to depressive symptoms among a growing population, which could then create additional components to consider in treatments.

No description available.

No description available.

Acculturative stress has a significant impact on any individual that experiences it. This type of stress is felt specifically within various immigrant populations brought on by the differences (culture, language, systems, supports, etc.) from host nation to country of origin. The effects of acculturative stress can manifest psychologically, physiologically or as some combination of the two. This research used an online survey and individual interviews to review and examine the current supports at Conestoga College in order to assess their role in reducing the impacts of acculturative stress in first year, full-time, international students. The data from the online survey (n= 57) and in-person interviews (n=16) determined that the majority of participants felt varying levels of acculturative stress after arriving to Canada for their program of study. The data displayed that although the majority of students were aware of and accessed many of the supports provided by Conestoga College, it did not reduce the experiences of acculturative stress. Four emergent themes were also revealed through the data; navigation, emotional impacts, independence and belonging which further contribute to the understanding of acculturative stress and the field of acculturation more broadly. These emergent themes are ones which can be applied to a multitude of immigrant groups and can help to unify the field of acculturation. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

When Latino children immigrate to the United States, they encounter challenges and opportunities associated with immigration (Alba & Foner, 2015; Arbona et al., 2010). Although there were nearly 2.5 million foreign-born children living in the United States in 2016 (U.S. CensusBureau, 2016), little is known about these children’s perspectives on immigration, particularly their perspectives on homesickness. The current research study investigated Latino immigrant children’s perspectives on homesickness and bilingual picture books containing stories of homesick Latino immigrant children. The children’s experiences were compared with current theories ofacculturative stress.Through semi-structured interviews using the hermeneutic method, the researchers interviewed 12 Latino children, aged 8-12, who immigrated to the United States within the current school year. Contributions to homesickness included missing family, friends, and the familiarity of their home countries as well as difficulty learning English. The children reported feeling safer in the United States and recognized greater opportunities for their future because of immigration. Subjects identified with the books in which characters’ experiences were similar to their own. Like current theories of acculturative stress, the children have found relief in homesickness through socialsupport.It is recommended that future mental health practitioners and educators working with Latino immigrant children help them recognize and express their feelings about immigration, provide reassurance, and tailor response strategies to the needs of each individual child. Additional research is needed to better understand Latino immigrant children’s perspectives on homesickness and other challenges and opportunities that accompany immigration.

Acquisitions are growing in popularity as a way for organizations to grow. Yet the proportion of acquisitions that fail to meet their performance goals are high. The reason behind this failure rate can be many, but one often cited cause is differences in organizational culture and acculturative stress.    This thesis aims to gain a fuller understanding of how acculturation and acculturative stress are perceived by the members of staff of an acquired firm. This thesis took a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews as the method of data collection. The sample consisted of four members of staff of a firm who had been acquired part of an international acquisition.    The results showed that they perceived the acquirers preferred mode of acculturation to be more intrusive than the one preferred by the members of staff of the acquired firm. Furthermore, the participants expressed that the organization suffered from common symptoms of acculturative stress, such as increased turnover among management.

Thesis advisor: Karen Kayser / Purpose: Acculturative stress has been found to mediate the relationship between acculturation and psychological distress, yet research investigating the impact of contextual factors on acculturative stress is non-existent. Based on family stress management theory (Boss, 2002), the current study investigates the contextual influence on acculturative stress and psychological distress of Latina women. Acculturation and systems of support were tested for their capacity to moderate the relationships between various significant contexts, acculturative stress and psychological distress. Unique experiences of women born in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico were delineated and compared. Methods: Using the National Latino Asian American Survey, the current study involves 639 Latina women born in Mexico (N=257), Cuba (N=264) and Puerto Rico (N=118). A mediated moderation analysis was conducted through Path Analysis in MPLUS. Results: Findings indicate an inconsistent relationship between acculturative stress and psychological distress. For the combined group of Latina women, racial and daily discrimination shaped acculturative stress and psychological distress most often, followed by age and family-cultural conflict. Income and structural components of internal contexts (i.e. household decision-making power) impacted their psychological distress only. Country-specific variations argue against treating Latina women as a monolithic group. Biculturalism emerged as a more effective integration form. Only spousal support moderated the relationships between contextual factors, psychological distress and acculturative stress. Implications: These findings will inform the development of culturally sensitive clinical interventions. Social work policy makers will gain a comprehensive understanding of resources needed to promote a healthy integration of Latina women into the U.S. Community organizers are encouraged to advocate on behalf of multi-cultural immigration policies that enable the retention of aspects of native culture deemed to buffer Latina women from the negative impact of contextual factors and acculturative stress. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

The proposed study will investigate the effects of animal companionship on the acculturative stress of international students at American universities and colleges. Language constraint will be examined as a possible moderator, and sense of belonging will be examined as a possible mediator in the effects of animal companionship on acculturative stress. Participants will be international students at the Claremont Colleges. They will first fill out demographic information, a sense of belonging scale, and an acculturative stress scale online. They will then come to the lab weekly, and be randomly assigned to either hang out with their peers, or engage in animal-assisted activities with dogs for one hour. The study will last four weeks, and at the end of the study, participants will fill out the sense of belonging scale and the acculturative stress scale again online. Participants in the animal condition are expected to report greater decreases in acculturative stress than participants in the game condition. Participants who are non-native English speakers will experience greater decreases in their acculturative stress than participants who are native English speakers in the animal group. Sense of belonging will mediate the effect of interaction with animals/people on acculturative stress. The results would then suggest that animal companionship helps alleviate international students’ acculturative stress, and future college counseling programs designed for international students should consider animal-assisted activities or therapy.