Acculturation strategies, psychological adjustment, and sociocultural competence during cross-cultural transitions

Abstract

The research examined host national and co-national identification in relation to sociocultural and psychological adaptation during cross-cultural transition. Ninety-eight sojourners (employees of a New Zealand organization and their spouses) completed questionnaires that included measurements of acculturation (host and co-national identification), social difficulty, and depression. Host and co-national identity scores were subjected to a median split, and 2 × 2 analyses of variance were performed; in this case, the interaction term represented four acculturation strategies: integration, separation, assimiliation, and marginalisation. Results revealed two main effects. Subjects with strong host national identification experienced less sociocultural adjustment difficulties (p < .001), whereas those with strong co-national identification evinced less psychological adjustment problems (p < .001). Interaction effects were also observed. For sociocultural adaptation (p < .05), the greatest amount of social difficulty was experienced by respondents who endorsed a separatist position, the least by assimilated and integrated subjects, and an intermediate level by the marginalized. For psychological adjustment (p < .04), integrated subjects experienced less depression than assimilated ones; however, there were no other significant differences among the four groups. The findings are discussed with reference to the quadri-modal model of acculturation attitudes and the conceptual distinction of psychological and sociocultural adjustment during cross-cultural transition.