The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect that information gathering and culture shock have on the relationship between individual characteristics and international adjustment. Participants for this study consisted of 95 international students within the California State University system.

Text in Afrikaans / Hierdie studie handel oor derdekultuur-kinders in Suid-Afrika met die fokus daarop om die fenomeen aan ouers, kinders, onderwysers, sielkundiges en ander belangstellendes bekend te stel. Derdekultuur-kinders is die term wat geskep is om kinders te benoem wat vir 'n tydperk tydens hulle ontwikkelingsjare saam met hulle ouers in die buiteland deurbring en hul daar vestig, maar weer na hul vaderland terugkeer. 'n Derdekultuur word geskep indien die kinders dele van hul ouers se kultuur en dele van die kultuur van die gasheerland integreer ten einde geredelik in die gasheerland te funksioneer. Die probleem ontstaan egter wanneer hierdie kinders na hul vaderland terugkeer, aangesien hulle dan nie meer binne hul portuurgroep inpas nie. Die aantal derdekultuur-kinders in Suid-Afrikaanse konteks het sedert 1994 met rasse skrede vermeerder, aangesien al hoe meer internasionale maatskappye Suid-Afrikaners in die buiteland in diens neem en Suid-Afrikaanse ambassades in bykans elke land in die wêreld gevestig is. Die tendens om gesinne saam op die internasionale plasing te neem, veroorsaak dat kinders in verskeie lande gevestig word en in hierdie tydperk aan 'n internasionale en bevoorregte leefwyse blootgestel word. In hierdie studie word 'n literatuurstudie onderneem om die profiel van derdekultuur-kinders, hul kulturele identiteitsvorming en omgekeerde kultuurskok met hul terugkeer na hul land van oorsprong, te ondersoek. 'n Empiriese studie is onderneem om te bepaal tot watter mate die profiele en omgekeerde kultuurskok waaraan Suid-Afrikaanse derdekultuur-kinders blootgestel word, vergelyk met dié soos beskryf in die literatuurstudie. Op grond van die inligting verkry uit vraelyste en individuele onderhoudvoering, en inligting verkry uit die literatuurstudie, is riglyne vir 'n hulpprogram saamgestel waarmee ouers hulle derdekultuur-kinders tydens hulle terugkeer na Suid-Afrika kan ondersteun. Terapeute sonder internasionale ondervinding sal ook hierdie hulpprogram nuttig kan vind. Die studie bevestig dat: * die profiel van Suid-Afrikaanse derdekultuur-kinders grootliks met dié van ander lande ooreenstem; * Suid-Afrikaanse derdekultuur-kinders problematiese her-aanpassing by hul terugkeer na hul paspoortland ondervind; * ouers en terapeute bemagtig moet word om derdekultuur-kinders met hul heraanpassingsprobleme te ondersteun. / This study deals with Third Culture Kids in South Africa, focusing on introducing the phenomenon to parents, children, teachers, psychologists and other concerned parties. “Third Culture Kids” is the term used to describe children who have spent a number of their developmental years with their parents abroad, after which they return to their country of origin. A third culture is created when children integrates the culture of their parents together with the culture of the host country in order to function readily in the host community. The problem arises when the children return to their home country as they then encounter problems adapting and fitting into the local community. The number of Third Culture Kids in the South African context has increased dramatically since 1994, as international companies employed more South Africans abroad and many new South African Embassies were established all over the world. The tendency of having the family accompanying the parents to other countries results in the children residing in various countries and being exposed to an international and privileged lifestyle This study consists of a literature study of the profile and cultural identity-formation of Third Culture Kids, as well as the reverse culture shock they experience on their return to their country of origin.An empirical study is conducted to establish how South African Third Culture Kids‟ profiles compare with that of the literature and whether they are affected by reverse culture shock upon their return to South Africa. The information, gathered by means of a survey and individual interviews and from the literature study, was then used to compile guidelines for a programme with which parents would be able to assist their Third Culture Kids during the repatriation to their country of origin. Therapists without international experience would also be able to benefit from using this programme to assist Third Culture Kids. The study confirms that: the profiles of South African Third Culture Kids have commonalities with those described in the literature; South African Third Culture Kids experience problems on re-entry adapting to the culture of the country of origin; parents and therapists should be empowered to assist and support Third Culture Kids with problems relating to their return to their passport country / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkundige)

The topic of this thesis is study abroad. The theoretical part presents knowledge about the process of adaptation in a new country and its culture; then it deals with acculturative and coping strategies, culture shock and its determinants and also reverse culture shock, which takes place after arrival home form a foreign country. It also introduces the age group of participants on study abroad (21 {--} 26 years old) from the developmental psychology point of view. Then it describes the already known correlation relationships between personality characteristics and some aspects of long term stays abroad. Finally, it outlines a personality profile of the ideal person for a long term study abroad. The research part informs the reader about knowledge we have found out from 3 research questionnaires that were completed by students before, during and after the experience of study abroad, and also knowledge we have gained thanks to interviews with the students. The main research areas are the following: the personality profile, changes of chosen characteristics that have taken place due to the experience of the study abroad, motivation, expectations and their fulfillment, process of culture shock and reverse culture shock.

<p>Allt fler svenskar är utlandsstationerade i Kina (Sveriges Ambassad 2008) och att anpassa sig till den kinesiska kulturen kan vara påfrestande för en utlandstjänstgörande. Problematiken kring kulturanpassning har lett till att olika teorier testats och utvecklats (Black & Mendenhall 1991). En av de modeller som tagits fram är U-kurvan som beskriver individens anpassningsprocess genom faserna kulturchock och kulturanpassning (Zapf 1991). Individuella faktorer, som exempelvis språkkunskaper och kulturell erfarenhet har varit centrala inom forskningsområdet (Earley & Mosakowski 2004, Shay & Baack 2004) och denna studie undersöker därför företagsrelaterade faktorer då en utlandstjänstgörandes förmåga att utföra sina arbetsuppgifter påverkas av hur pass anpassad individen är till kulturen (Aycan 1997, Jun m. fl. 2001). Syftet med denna uppsats är därför att ta reda på hur en svensk utlandstjänstgörandes anpassningsprocess till den kinesiska kulturen påverkas av faktorerna företagsstorlek, bransch och verksamhetstid i Kina.</p><p>Materialet till undersökningen har huvudsakligen samlats in genom webbenkäter som skickats ut till utlandstjänstgörande svenskar i Kina. Resultaten visar att det är branschen i vilken den utlandstjänstgörandes företag verkar som har högst påverkan på en utlandstjänstgörandes anpassningsprocess. Undersökningen visade även att utlandstjänstgörande i företag med mindre än 50 anställda i detaljindustrin som etablerade sig i Kina under 1990-talet var bäst anpassade till den kinesiska kulturen. Då resultaten från studien presenterades i diagram framgick att i två fall av tre var den bästa anpassningsprocessen den som mest liknade en U-kurva vilket tyder på att den bästa anpassningsprocessen är den då en utlandstjänstgörande går igenom faserna på ett balanserat sätt. Detta är dock ingen slutsats som kan dras av undersökningen eftersom resultaten inte gällde för alla faktorer.</p> / <p>The numbers of Swedish expatriates in China are increasing (Swedish Embassy 2008) and adaption to the Chinese culture can be demanding for an individual. The complexity of cultural adjustments has led to different theories being tested and developed (Black & Mendenhall 1991). One of the models that have been developed is the U-curve, which describes the process of individual adaption through the two phase's culture shock and cultural adaption (Zapf 1991). Factors related to the individual, such as language skills and cultural experience have been central in research of cultural adaption and this study therefore examines company related factors because an individual's ability to perform his/her work tasks is affected by the individual's adjustment to the culture (Aycan 1997, Jun et al. 2001). The purpose of this study is therefore to verify how a Swedish expatriate's process of adaption to the Chinese culture is affected by the company related factors firm size, industry and time of operation in China.</p><p>The data of the study has mainly been collected by web surveys which were sent to Swedish expatriates in China. The results show that the industry has the largest influence on the adaption process. The study also showed that expatriates in companies with less than 50 employees in the retail- and manufacturing industry which were established in China during the 1990s, were the ones that were the most adjusted. When the results were presented as diagrams it showed that the best adaption process was the one that most reminded of a U-curve which indicates that the best adaption process occurs when the expatriate passes the phases in balance. However, this is not a conclusion that can be drawn from this study since these results are not valid for all the factors.</p>

Till följd av internationalisering och globalisering har vikten av kunskap om interkulturella fenomen blivit allt viktigare. Genom att öka den kulturella medvetenheten, kan de kulturkrockar och missförstånd som okunskap ger upphov till i förlängningen förebyggas, och resultatet och utbytet av denna interaktion förbättras. Syftet med den här studien var att lyfta fram kunskap om hur interkulturell träning är uppbyggd och utifrån vilka antaganden om interkulturell kompetens utbildningsanordnare utformar sina träningsprogram. Vår teoretiska referensram utgjordes av bland annat centrala kulturella begrepp och Hofstedes kulturella dimensioner. Vi genomförde sju stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer med utbildningsanordnare runt om i Sverige. Ur materialet växte ett antal kategorier fram rörande interkulturell tränings utformning och syfte, rörande utvärdering av interkulturell träning, stöd för expatriater, utvecklingen av interkulturell träning i Sverige, samt kostnader förknippade med interkulturell träning. Resultaten pekade på att interkulturella träningsprogram i stort sett är utformade på liknande sätt, där teori kombineras med praktik, och element som kulturchock, anpassningsprocessen, interkulturell kommunikation och svårigheter kring repatriation belyses. Interkulturell träning skall ge en ökad förståelse och medvetenhet inom ramen av interkultur och skräddarsys efter varje individs och organisations specifika behov och önskemål. Studiens resultat stödde i mångt och mycket tidigare forskningsresultat, men konkluderade också att det fortfarande finns stora brister när det kommer till mängden träning och utvärdering av denna. Följaktligen lämnade resultatet mycket att önska av framtida forskning och inte minst av dagens internationella företag, som fortfarande inte insett vilken framgångsfaktor interkulturell träning är. / Due to internationalisation and globalisation, the significance of intercultural competence has become more and more important. By increasing cultural awareness, the culture shocks and misunderstandings that ignorance fuels can in the long run be prevented, and the result and exchange of this interaction can be improved. The purpose of this study was to bring knowledge to how intercultural training is composed and from which assumptions concerning intercultural competence, education organisers design their training programs. The theoretical frame of reference constituted central cultural elements as well as Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Seven semi-structured interviews, with education organisers in Sweden, were carried out. From the information gathered, a number of categories was found regarding intercultural training design, evaluation of intercultural training, support for expatriates, the development of intercultural training in Sweden, and costs associated with intercultural training. The results showed that intercultural training programs are mostly similarly designed where theory is combined with practice sessions and they illustrate culture shock, the U-curve, intercultural communication, and the difficulties concerning repatriation, among other things. Intercultural training shall give an increased understanding and awareness within the frame of interculture and be customised to fit the needs and desires of each individual and each organisation. The results of the study to great extent supported earlier research results, but also established that there are great flaws as regards to the amount of training and the evaluation of the same. Consequently, the results left much to desire of future research, not least from today’s international organisations, which still have not realized the success factor that intercultural training is.

Allt fler svenskar är utlandsstationerade i Kina (Sveriges Ambassad 2008) och att anpassa sig till den kinesiska kulturen kan vara påfrestande för en utlandstjänstgörande. Problematiken kring kulturanpassning har lett till att olika teorier testats och utvecklats (Black &amp; Mendenhall 1991). En av de modeller som tagits fram är U-kurvan som beskriver individens anpassningsprocess genom faserna kulturchock och kulturanpassning (Zapf 1991). Individuella faktorer, som exempelvis språkkunskaper och kulturell erfarenhet har varit centrala inom forskningsområdet (Earley &amp; Mosakowski 2004, Shay &amp; Baack 2004) och denna studie undersöker därför företagsrelaterade faktorer då en utlandstjänstgörandes förmåga att utföra sina arbetsuppgifter påverkas av hur pass anpassad individen är till kulturen (Aycan 1997, Jun m. fl. 2001). Syftet med denna uppsats är därför att ta reda på hur en svensk utlandstjänstgörandes anpassningsprocess till den kinesiska kulturen påverkas av faktorerna företagsstorlek, bransch och verksamhetstid i Kina. Materialet till undersökningen har huvudsakligen samlats in genom webbenkäter som skickats ut till utlandstjänstgörande svenskar i Kina. Resultaten visar att det är branschen i vilken den utlandstjänstgörandes företag verkar som har högst påverkan på en utlandstjänstgörandes anpassningsprocess. Undersökningen visade även att utlandstjänstgörande i företag med mindre än 50 anställda i detaljindustrin som etablerade sig i Kina under 1990-talet var bäst anpassade till den kinesiska kulturen. Då resultaten från studien presenterades i diagram framgick att i två fall av tre var den bästa anpassningsprocessen den som mest liknade en U-kurva vilket tyder på att den bästa anpassningsprocessen är den då en utlandstjänstgörande går igenom faserna på ett balanserat sätt. Detta är dock ingen slutsats som kan dras av undersökningen eftersom resultaten inte gällde för alla faktorer. / The numbers of Swedish expatriates in China are increasing (Swedish Embassy 2008) and adaption to the Chinese culture can be demanding for an individual. The complexity of cultural adjustments has led to different theories being tested and developed (Black &amp; Mendenhall 1991). One of the models that have been developed is the U-curve, which describes the process of individual adaption through the two phase's culture shock and cultural adaption (Zapf 1991). Factors related to the individual, such as language skills and cultural experience have been central in research of cultural adaption and this study therefore examines company related factors because an individual's ability to perform his/her work tasks is affected by the individual's adjustment to the culture (Aycan 1997, Jun et al. 2001). The purpose of this study is therefore to verify how a Swedish expatriate's process of adaption to the Chinese culture is affected by the company related factors firm size, industry and time of operation in China. The data of the study has mainly been collected by web surveys which were sent to Swedish expatriates in China. The results show that the industry has the largest influence on the adaption process. The study also showed that expatriates in companies with less than 50 employees in the retail- and manufacturing industry which were established in China during the 1990s, were the ones that were the most adjusted. When the results were presented as diagrams it showed that the best adaption process was the one that most reminded of a U-curve which indicates that the best adaption process occurs when the expatriate passes the phases in balance. However, this is not a conclusion that can be drawn from this study since these results are not valid for all the factors.

<p>Till följd av internationalisering och globalisering har vikten av kunskap om interkulturella fenomen blivit allt viktigare. Genom att öka den kulturella medvetenheten, kan de kulturkrockar och missförstånd som okunskap ger upphov till i förlängningen förebyggas, och resultatet och utbytet av denna interaktion förbättras. Syftet med den här studien var att lyfta fram kunskap om hur interkulturell träning är uppbyggd och utifrån vilka antaganden om interkulturell kompetens utbildningsanordnare utformar sina träningsprogram. Vår teoretiska referensram utgjordes av bland annat centrala kulturella begrepp och Hofstedes kulturella dimensioner. Vi genomförde sju stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer med utbildningsanordnare runt om i Sverige. Ur materialet växte ett antal kategorier fram rörande interkulturell tränings utformning och syfte, rörande utvärdering av interkulturell träning, stöd för expatriater, utvecklingen av interkulturell träning i Sverige, samt kostnader förknippade med interkulturell träning. Resultaten pekade på att interkulturella träningsprogram i stort sett är utformade på liknande sätt, där teori kombineras med praktik, och element som kulturchock, anpassningsprocessen, interkulturell kommunikation och svårigheter kring repatriation belyses. Interkulturell träning skall ge en ökad förståelse och medvetenhet inom ramen av interkultur och skräddarsys efter varje individs och organisations specifika behov och önskemål. Studiens resultat stödde i mångt och mycket tidigare forskningsresultat, men konkluderade också att det fortfarande finns stora brister när det kommer till mängden träning och utvärdering av denna. Följaktligen lämnade resultatet mycket att önska av framtida forskning och inte minst av dagens internationella företag, som fortfarande inte insett vilken framgångsfaktor interkulturell träning är.</p> / <p>Due to internationalisation and globalisation, the significance of intercultural competence has become more and more important. By increasing cultural awareness, the culture shocks and misunderstandings that ignorance fuels can in the long run be prevented, and the result and exchange of this interaction can be improved. The purpose of this study was to bring knowledge to how intercultural training is composed and from which assumptions concerning intercultural competence, education organisers design their training programs. The theoretical frame of reference constituted central cultural elements as well as Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Seven semi-structured interviews, with education organisers in Sweden, were carried out. From the information gathered, a number of categories was found regarding intercultural training design, evaluation of intercultural training, support for expatriates, the development of intercultural training in Sweden, and costs associated with intercultural training. The results showed that intercultural training programs are mostly similarly designed where theory is combined with practice sessions and they illustrate culture shock, the U-curve, intercultural communication, and the difficulties concerning repatriation, among other things. Intercultural training shall give an increased understanding and awareness within the frame of interculture and be customised to fit the needs and desires of each individual and each organisation. The results of the study to great extent supported earlier research results, but also established that there are great flaws as regards to the amount of training and the evaluation of the same. Consequently, the results left much to desire of future research, not least from today’s international organisations, which still have not realized the success factor that intercultural training is.</p>

On parle souvent de population en détresse, mais rarement d’humanitaires en détresse. Et pourtant ils sont sur le terrain et subissent les mêmes événements et « malheurs » que la population elle-même et il n'y a plus de mois maintenant sans qu'une organisation ne déplore de situations graves pour son personnel. Mission après mission, les humanitaires s’exposent de façon répétée à des situations hautement stressantes, voire traumatiques. Et garder son équilibre et un niveau de stress correctement géré concerne soi-même et le reste du groupe, et au final la réussite de la mission. Connaître ses propres limites et ses modes de réaction à des situations par définition stressantes font partie de l’hygiène de base de chacun, tant pour sa propre survie, que celle des équipes.Le problème étant connu et inévitable, il est éventuellement possible d’y remédier par ce qu’on ap-pelle les stratégies d’ajustement au stress, connues sous le nom de COPING. Cette thèse a pour but d’expliciter des différentes formes et facteurs de stress dont les humani-taires peuvent souffrir ainsi que de leurs conséquences au niveau professionnel, relationnel, compor-temental, somatique et émotionnel à court et à long terme. Elle se propose de cibler le thème d’ajustement du coping, ou les stratégies pour faire face au stress par rapport à chaque type de per-sonnalité. On doit bien préciser ici que le but de cette recherche n’est pas de prédire la réaction de chaque personnalité face au stress, mais de mieux comprendre et par la suite adapter les stratégies de coping à chaque type de personnalité du travailleur humanitaire, décrit selon le modèle de personna-lité en cinq facteurs. Nous explorons par la suite le lien entre ces domaines de personnalité et le ni-veau de pratique dans le domaine de l’aide humanitaire, assimilable à un niveau d’expertise. / We often talk about people in distress, but rarely about humanitarian distress. And yet they are on the ground and suffer the same events and "misfortune" that the population itself and there's no more months now without that an organization regrets the serious conditions for its staff.Mission after mission, humanitarians are repeatedly exposed to highly stressful situations and even traumatic. The humanitarian has to keep his balance and stress levels run properly for himself and the rest of the group, and ultimately for the success of the mission. Know our own limits and our ways of reaction to stressful situations by definition are part of the basic hygiene of each, and are important for our own survival.The problem is known and inevitable; it may be possible to remedy it by coping strategies to stress.This thesis aims to explain the different forms and stressors that humanitarians can suffer and their consequences at the professional level, relational, behavioral, somatic and emotional short and long term. It intends to focus the theme of coping adjustment, or strategies of coping with stress in relation to each personality type. We must make it clear here that the purpose of this research is not to predict the reaction of each person deal with stress, but to better understand and subsequently adapt coping strategies to each personality type of aid worker, described by the Five Factors personality model. We explore also the relationship between these domains of personality and level of practice in the field of humanitarian aid, similar to a level of expertise.

Abstract The aim of the thesis was to examine how Finnish mission organization missionaries, re-entering Finland, produce meanings related to their re-entry and re-entry shock in research interview speech. Textual data consisted of ten interviews conducted and transcribed by the researcher. Five of the interviews were conducted as individual interviews and the interviewees were single female missionaries. The rest of the five interviews were carried out as pair interviews and the informants were married missionary couples. I examined the textual data as a unit, I have named as missionary speech, which I have attempted to reconstruct by using discourse analysis. The central concepts are discourse and interpretation repertoire, and the rule of interpretation that conveys the relation between the two. The discourse is constructed in the tension between the interpretation repertoires which were in an opposing interactional relationship with each other. In re-entry shock research, related to culture shock research, culture shock has been approached from three different angles: as a mental crisis, as a learning experience, and as a crisis related to multicultural identity. In this dissertation the crisis perspective was also the starting point of interpreting culture shock, which the first discourse analytical interpretation rule was based on. The series of other interpretation rules was derived from this rule. For interpretation of the results of the analysis, I have used Milton Bennett's concept of intercultural sensitivity and the model of multicultural identity, founded on the former. The model of multicultural identity contains a form of multicultural identity crisis called internal culture shock which is one of the theoretical bases for my research. The discourse called missionary speech, mentioned above, is interpreted in my research on the basis of the concepts of Milton Bennett's six stage developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In the model, intercultural sensitivity is understood as sensitivity towards cultural differences and difference in general. This sensitivity can be ethnocentric when cultural differences are seen as negative or ethnorelativistic when cultural differences are experienced in a positive way. The central foundation is Jane Bennett's interpretation of multicultural identity through the concepts of constructive and encapsulated marginality. As the result of my research, I have established eight discourses: 1) geographical discourse, 2) discourse of mode of speaking, 3) emotive and feeling-based discourse, 4) attitude, 5) value discourse, 6) competence discourse, 7) discourse of intercultural sensitivity and 8) identity discourse. Each discourse was construed by two interpretation repertoires controversial to each other. The result of my research suggests that the multicultural identities, described by Milton Bennett and Janet Bennett, could be interpreted as open possibilities or "options" dynamizing the identity negotiation. Identity could thus be seen as a dynamic process by nature. On the basis of the results, I suggest interpreting intercultural sensitivity in the identity theoretical framework by taking advantage of the concepts of the model of intercultural sensitivity in a more multidimensional way, detached from sequentiality of the value-bound developmental model and drawing attention to the complexity and diverse nuances of intercultural sensitivity. / Tiivistelmä Väitöskirjassa tavoitteena oli tutkia, miten Suomeen palaavat suomalaisen lähetysorganisaation lähetystyöntekijät tuottavat paluutaan ja paluusokkiaan koskevia merkityksiä tutkimushaastattelupuheessa. Tekstimateriaali koostui kymmenestä tutkijan suorittamasta ja litteroimasta haastattelusta. Informanteista viisi oli yksilöhaastatteluissa haastateltuja naimattomia naislähettejä. Loput kymmenen informanttia olivat parihaastatteluissa haastateltuja lähettipuolisoita. Haastattelujen tekstimateriaalia tarkastelin lähettipuheeksi nimittämänäni kokonaisuutena, jota pyrin rekonstruoimaan käyttäen diskurssianalyysiä. Keskeistä diskurssianalyysin sovelluksessani on diskurssin ja tulkintarepertuaarin välinen suhde sekä sen määrittävä tulkintasääntö. Diskurssi rakentuu toisilleen vastakkaisessa vaikutussuhteessa olevien tulkintarepertuaarien jännitteessä. Paluusokkitutkimuksessa kulttuurisokkia on lähestytty kolmesta näkökulmasta: psyykkisenä kriisinä, oppimiskokemuksena ja monikulttuuriseen identiteettiin liittyvänä kriisinä. Kriisinäkökulma muodostui myös tässä väitöskirjassa kulttuurisokin tarkastelun lähtökohdaksi, jonka varassa rakentui ensimmäinen diskurssianalyyttinen tulkintasääntö. Tästä säännöstä edettiin seuraaviin diskursseihin ja repertuaareihin. Analyysin tulosten tulkintaan käytin Milton Bennettin kehittämää kulttuurienvälisen herkkyyden käsitettä sekä sen varaan rakennettua monikulttuurisen identiteetin mallia, johon liittyvä 'sisäiseksi kulttuurisokiksi' kutsuttu monikulttuurinen identiteettikriisi on yksi tutkimukseni keskeinen teoreettinen lähtökohta. Lähettipuheeksi nimettyä diskurssia tulkitsen Milton Bennettin kulttuurienvälisen herkkyyden kuusivaiheisen kehitysmallin pohjalta. Mallissa kulttuurienvälinen herkkyys ymmärretään herkkyydeksi kulttuurisille eroille ja erilaisuudelle. Tämä sensitiivisyys voi olla etnosentristä, jolloin kulttuurinen erilaisuus mielletään kielteiseksi, tai etnorelativistista, jolloin kulttuuriset erot koetaan myönteisiksi. Toinen tulkinnassa käytetty keskeinen teoreettinen viitekehys on Janet Bennettin kehittämä monikulttuurisen identiteetin tulkinta, jossa apuna ovat rakentavan ja eristyneen sivullisuuden käsitteet. Tutkimukseni tuloksena syntyi kahdeksan diskurssia: 1) maantieteellinen diskurssi, 2) puhetapadiskurssi, 3) tunne- ja tuntemusdiskurssi, 4) asennediskurssi, 5 arvodiskurssi, 6) kompetenssidiskurssi, 7) kulttuurienvälinen herkkyysdiskurssi sekä 8) identiteettidiskurssi. Kukin diskurssi rakentui kahdesta toisilleen vastakkaisesta repertuaarista. Tutkimuksen tulos viittaa siihen, että Milton Bennettin ja Janet Bennettin kuvaamat monikulttuuriset identiteetit voitaisiin tulkita identiteettineuvottelua dynamisoiviksi optioiksi ja identiteetti dynaamiseksi prosessiksi. Tutkimuksen tuloksen pohjalta ehdotan kulttuurienvälisen herkkyyden tulkitsemista identiteettiteoreettisessa viitekehyksessä käyttämällä hyväksi ja kehittämällä kulttuurienvälisen herkkyyden kehitysmallin käsitteistöä irrotettuna kehitysmallin arvosidonnaisesta peräkkäisyyteen kytketystä rakenteesta. Samalla tulisi kiinnittää huomiota herkkyyden eri osatekijöiden välisten suhteiden nyansseihin.

The adaptation to a new country is a complex and stressful process that is compounded when changes in status and identity have to be made. This exploratory study examined the adaptation of international company transferee spouses when they decide to follow the transferee on overseas assignments. Research to date indicates that the spouses’ dissatisfaction with life abroad is the leading cause of transferees breaking contract and prematurely returning home. The causes of this dissatisfaction are still not clear and this study sought greater clarification, particularly examining the experiences of male as well as female trailing spouses. The study, thus, takes gender as a main variable to consider. It explores how gendered expectations inherent in the structures of society inflect and inform the decisions, attitudes, and behaviors that affect the adaptations of trailing spouses living in a foreign habitus. The study is based on eight months of ethnographic research in two culturally different locations, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Brussels, Belgium. Forty-two American international company transferee spouses were recruited (seven males and thirty-five females). The data analysis revolved around five main themes: (1) the comparison of male with female trailing spouses’ experiences, (2) the effect of location on spouses’ adaptation, (3) the communities that spouses integrate into, (4) variations in personal work and family histories, and (5) conditions of exit. The analysis engaged multiple theories regarding gender, sociological adaptation, and psychological adaptation. Results indicate that both socio-cultural and psychological factors affect adaptation and that gender matters very significantly, particularly along two axes: (1) gendered structures in our society create different reasons why males and females become trailing spouses, (2) the gendered social constructions of role expectations make the experience of being a trailing husband different from being a trailing wife. In addition spouses’ status as parents (or not) and their “readiness for change” were found to be important predictors of positive spousal adaptation. In contrast, significant ties with families in the home country and strong professional identity with career projections were important predictors of negative spousal adaptation.