The impact of value discrepancies and cultural identity on psychological and sociocultural adjustment of sojourners

Abstract

This study builds on earlier research by Searle and Ward on the prediction of psychological and sociocultural adjustment during cross-cultural transitions; however, this investigation is extended to a more diverse sample of sojourners and additionally examines cultural identity and value discrepancies as predictors of adjustment. One hundred and fifty-five sojourners (tertiary students from 42 countries, resident in New Zealand) completed a questionnaire which assessed psychological (mood disturbance) and sociocultural (social difficulty) adjustment in relationship to the following variables: cultural knowledge, cross-cultural experience and training, attitudes toward host culture, personality (extraversion and locus of control), cultural distance, loneliness, amount of contact with host and co-nationals, cultural identity, and values. Multiple regression analysis indicated that loneliness and cultural distance combined to account for 27% of the variance in mood disturbance. Cultural identity and cultural knowledge, by contrast, were significant predictors of social difficulty (14% of the variance). Contrary to expectations, value discrepancies were not significantly related to either psychological or sociocultural adjustment.