The number of senior missionaries serving missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has increased in recent years. Many of these volunteers travel overseas and are therefore immersed in a different culture. Some of them adjust successfully and others do not. The purpose of this research was to assess senior missionaries' perceptions of the type of preparation they made and training they received before departure, the expectations they had of their assignment, the people and way of life in the islands, and the accuracy of those expectations, the challenges they faced, the factors that they felt helped them adjust to these challenges, the advice they would give to future senior missionaries, and the recommendations if any they would give to improve their training. Participants consisted of 37 senior missionaries currently serving on the islands of Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, and Kiribati. The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire containing both quantitative and qualitative questions. Analysis of the quantitative data showed that subjects identified their previous experience living in the country and conversations with other Americans who had been to the country as the most helpful way to prepare for their assignment. The subjects felt that the most helpful aspect of the formal training was training that focused on their specific area of responsibility. The subjects reported having some challenges with the climate, the people, and the language barriers they encountered. Factors that were identified as being very helpful to participants in adjusting to the challenges included spiritual factors (such as prayer and scripture study), building good relationships with the local people and other missionary couples, maintaining contact with home, maintaining a positive attitude, striving to be tolerant, support from non-native supervisors, and staying active/busy. Analysis of the qualitative data showed that the participants felt that learning some of the host language, and learning more about the host culture prior to departure would be particularly beneficial. They also indicated that although training was provided prior to departure, the training needed to be more specific to their individual assignments, and it needed to involve some language and cultural training. In addition, it was also apparent that regardless of whether or not the missionaries had had previous experience living overseas, most of the subjects had a good idea what they where undertaking before they left home.

Loneliness is a widespread public health concern. Loneliness may be less frequent but have more severe consequences for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a collectivist (e.g., Japanese) versus individualist (e.g., United States [U.S.]) culture but little is known about cross-cultural associations of loneliness. This study determined if loneliness would be higher in the U.S. and in persons lower in collectivism. We also studied if loneliness would be positively associated with CVD indicators and if these associations would be stronger in (1) Japan than the U.S. and (2) individuals higher in collectivism. U.S. (n = 529) and Japanese (n = 292) adults from the Midlife in the United States Series, aged 36 to 78, completed psychosocial questionnaires, provided blood samples, and underwent a physical exam. Logistic regression and path analyses using structural equation modeling determined individual differences in loneliness, whether loneliness predicted CVD indicators (e.g., metabolic dysregulation, inflammation, blood pressure, and sleep dysfunction), and whether nationality and collectivism moderated these associations. Japanese adults reported less loneliness compared to the U.S. Unexpectedly, loneliness did not predict any CVD indicators. For U.S. adults with low interdependence, loneliness was associated with elevated metabolic dysregulation. For Japanese adults, loneliness was associated with decreased metabolic dysregulation. We decided to test additional models that included gender as a moderator of the association between loneliness and CVD indicators. Complex associations between gender, nationality, interdependence, and loneliness were found. Clinicians should consider addressing metabolic dysregulation and sleep in lonely patients, especially males and U.S. females. Future work could investigate how loneliness is appraised by Japanese men and U.S. women, and how loneliness affects the health behaviors and eating patterns of these groups.

Psychometric tests are often translated from one language into another for use in cultural and cross-cultural psychological research. This tradition has long been a primary method for studying psychological concepts across cultures. A body of literature has been emerging that raises concerns with this process of translation and suggests that psychological concepts may not always translate smoothly across cultures. In what follows, I examine these issues surrounding the translation of psychometric tests. To do this, I gathered survey data for an English translation of the Nunchi Scale, to examine the process of translation and various analytic techniques devised to demonstrate the validity and reliability of scales. The Nunchi Scale was developed by Korean researchers to measure the Korean psychosocial competency of nunchi (Heo & Park, 2013) which involves heightened awareness of others. Using ethnographic data and focus group data gathered by my team of Korean researchers, this paper critiques the psychometric translation process. In this paper, I will show that when this psychometric scale was translated from Korean to English, the very concept that was supposed to be measured by the scale, namely nunchi, was lost. From this process of translation, I will argue that the current practices of cross-cultural equivalence testing are not sufficient. This research offers a few cultural research methodologies to help check and correct against the issues that appear in translating or using foreign psychological concepts in cultural research. It is hoped that this research will help shed light on the complexities and problems involved in translating psychological concepts from one cultural context to another. It is also hoped that by understanding these complexities and problems, we will be able to better understand the psychological concepts that are purportedly measured by these psychometric measures. In sum, this paper offers a critical voice cautioning the use of untranslatable psychological concepts.

In our increasingly interconnected world, intercultural communication has gained paramount significance, particularly in contexts characterized by unprecedented cultural diversity, such as healthcare settings. The influx of newcomers from diverse cultural backgrounds necessitates effective intercultural communication, yet this challenge remains uncharted. Nonverbal behaviours, a key communication component, also remain understudied despite their significant cultural variation and influence on the perception of effective communication. Thus, healthcare professionals face the challenge of navigating intricate cultural norms and communication styles without evidence-based guidelines. This dissertation seeks to unravel the interplay between cultural intelligence and empathic communication through three papers exploring the communication recipient's perspective, nonverbal behaviours' role, and the communication senders' implications. The findings challenge the previous focus on empathy senders and highlight the role of empathy recipients. Nonverbal cues are recognized as pivotal in communication, and culture plays a significant role in interpreting these cues, influencing how empathy is conveyed across cultural boundaries. The dissertation's significance extends beyond healthcare, offering valuable insights for policymakers, international managers, and individuals engaged in intercultural interactions. Education on culturally specific nonverbal cues can enhance self-awareness and improve the capability to provide empathic services to clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. In conclusion, this dissertation is a substantial stride forward in understanding intercultural communication within healthcare, emphasizing the importance of empathy, cultural intelligence, and nonverbal communication. Recognizing cultural differences in nonverbal cues and fostering cultural competence is crucial for healthcare providers to improve patient experiences and their quality of care.

This qualitative phenomenological collective case study examined the explicit and implicit cultural messages in our current national, New York State, and New York City dance standards through the eyes of their writers and users and a content analysis of the texts, to re-evaluate racial justice and cultural equity in these policy documents. My data were drawn from 15 individual semi-structured interviews with standards writers to unearth the cultural messages they intended to convey; 6 semi-structured small group discussions with 25 PK-12 dance teachers and teaching artists to discover how they perceived these messages; and the 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 12th grade benchmarks of the texts. Participant data were analyzed using emic inductive coding, while the text was analyzed using etic theoretical coding. The spectrum of participant viewpoints revealed both alignments and gaps between writer intentions, teacher perceptions, and the texts. My findings suggested that a Euro Western framework is implicitly embedded in aspects of the standards’ creating, performing, and responding processes, which are presented and may be perceived as colorblind and universal, and that the documents promote multiculturalism but not the social activist goals of culturally relevant pedagogy. Based on this analysis, I propose that the standards reflect a dance education archival discourse that stems from a creative modern dance lineage, and that including other cultural frameworks for dance across all processes/strands will enhance their equity and multicultural applicability. Issues and implications identified by this research are offered for consideration by future standards writing committees, by dance educators who use the documents, and by the field at large in our ongoing dialogue about cultural equity in dance education theory and practice.

Thesis advisor: Jacqueline V. Lerner / Positive youth development (PYD) emerged from the relational developmental systems metatheory which focuses on the coactions between individuals and their contexts as the fundamental process of development. Within this theory, individuals and contexts (e.g., families, communities) thrive when their coactions are mutually beneficial (Overton, 2015). Within youth programs, researchers and practitioners have focused on how contextual and programmatic resources might work together with attributes of youth in mutually beneficial ways to promote thriving. When such youth attributes align with the resources of the context, PYD, and, in turn, positive contributions to self and society have been found to occur (Lerner, Lerner, et al., 2015). While still in its early stages, research on spirituality and religiosity among adolescents has grown alongside research on PYD over the past 20 years (e.g., Hardy et al., 2019). In the mid-to-late 20th century, religion and spirituality came to be distinct constructs, each contributing unique variance to individual development. That is, whereas some people were found to experience religion and spirituality as isomorphic, others identified with each to different degrees, and still others rejected one while embracing the other (e.g., “spiritual but not religious”). This dissertation seeks to contribute to the growing body of knowledge around spirituality within the context of adolescent development. Paper One presents an argument for spirituality to be recognized as a developmental asset for youth globally. Paper Two focuses on youth perceptions of safety within a faith-based youth development program in El Salvador finding that while safe spaces are integral for effective delivery of any PYD program, they are not well understood and the youth perspective is overlooked. In addition, youth in this program described a spiritual component of safety, such that their connection to God supported a sense of safety despite the unsafe community context. Paper Three, using the same data as Paper two, explores semi-structured interviews to understand how youth relate with God and how this youth <=> God relationship functions within the broader developmental context. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

The current generation of college students commonly use the Internet for sexual purposes (Boies, 2002; Boies, Cooper, & Osborne, 2004), including finding sexual partners, searching for sex-related information, and viewing sexually explicit materials (SEM) (Boies, 2002). Yet, some authors have suggested that the use of the Internet for sexual purposes might lead to psychological problems (Cooper et al., 2001). However, it is unclear if the problems that are commonly reported (i.e., Internet dependency, isolation, and psychological distress) are caused by using the Internet for sexual purposes. Hence, it is important to examine how college students use the Internet for sexual purposes cross-culturally to determine how common the practice is, how it relates to maladjustment, and to examine if any culture variables are associated with use. Undergraduate students (n = 320) from a public university in the United States and Peruvian undergraduate students (n = 135) from a public university in Lima, Peru filled out questionnaires addressing their online sexual activities, psychological adjustment, and family communication. Peruvian young adults used the Internet significantly more than U.S. young adults to view SEM, find sexual partners, and search for sex-related information. Men, regardless of nationality, used the Internet to view SEM significantly more than women. Peruvian women used the Internet significantly more to view SEM and find sexual partners than U.S. women. Social support, religiosity, and erotophilia were found to moderate the relations between nationality and OSA. Further, for Peruvians and U.S. young adults, using the Internet for OSA was associated with mild distress, but no serious psychological maladjustment. Implications for college students are discussed.

The prevalence rate for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is between 0.8% to 2%. Many of these individuals experience scrupulosity or religious obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although scrupulosity is a salient theme for those who suffer from OCD, there is limited amount of research on scrupulosity across cultures. Research is particularly limited in relation to individuals from Latin American countries, including Mexico. In response to this limitation, the purpose of this study is to determine if there is a significant difference in symptoms of scrupulosity in non-referred samples of college students from the U.S. and Mexico. Results indicated that scrupulosity is a valid and reliable construct in the Mexican sample, not different in structure or intensity relative to an American sample.

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