Foreign Residents in Japan: Acculturation, Social Connectedness, and Life Satisfaction

Abstract

Here we are interested to investigate acculturation, social connectedness, and well-being of “foreign residents” living in Japan. We found that the length of stay in Japan was significantly and positively correlated with ACC (acculturation) and SCMN (social connectedness in mainstream society), but not with ENC (enculturation) and SCETH (social connectedness in ethnic community). The findings further revealed significant positive correlations between ENC and SCETH, and between ACC and SCMN. ACC was non-significantly correlated with all the SWB (subjective well-being) variables such as SWL (satisfaction with life), PA (positive affect), and NA (negative affect), whereas ENC indicated a significant and positive correlation with only one SWB variable (SWL). However, both the SCMN and SCETH were significantly and positively correlated with two of the SWB variables (SWL, PA), and SCETH was significantly and negatively correlated with the third SWB variable (NA). These findings are consistent with the fact that SCMN and SCETH are significantly and positively correlated, and SWL is significantly and positively correlated with PA and negatively with NA. The study revealed heuristic values for future acculturation research and theory development.