Contrasting roles: Eastern and Western European womenRoles en contrast: Femme d'Europe de l'est et de l'ouestRoles contrastantes: Las mujeres orientales y occidentales

The article presents an overview of the status of women in Western and Eastern Europe during the last decade. Relevant research in English is reviewed. Four indicators of women's status are treated: (1) equality before the law, (2) educational opportunities for women, (3) position in the labor force, and (4) level of leadership in social institutions. Successes and shortcomings in each division are cited; problem areas with presently incomplete information are indicated. The paper makes several recommendations for further research and better dissemination of information.     

Not an outgroup, not yet an ingroup: Immigrants in the Stereotype Content Model

Stereotype research depicts the generic immigrant as incompetent and untrustworthy. The current research expands this image, specifying key information dimensions (e.g. nationality, socioeconomic status) about immigrants. To see how perceivers differentiate among particular immigrant groups, we extend a model of intergroup perception, the Stereotype Content Model (SCM; Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 878–902), to immigrant subgroups. The SCM predicts that perception centers on competence and warmth, and relates to targets’ perceived status and competition within society. Specified by nationality, race, ethnicity, and class, images of immigrants differ by both competence and warmth, with most groups receiving ambivalent (low–high or high–low) stereotypes rather than the uniform low–low for the generic immigrant. As predicted, ambivalent stereotypes reflect target nationality combined with socioeconomic status, supporting the SCM's ambivalent stereotypes and social structural hypotheses, as well as better defining immigrant stereotypes and their contingencies.     

Personal Grooming and Outward Appearance in Early Muslim Societies

Past Muslim Societies have placed much importance on the outward appearance and personal grooming of both men and women based on the assumption that both physical attributes and clothing and adornment are benevolence God showers upon the believers. This is reflected in Medieval Muslim legal texts which provide much information regarding clothing, adornment and grooming. Along with shaping legal norms, those sources also contain discussion and response to a changing reality. This is a demonstration of the desirable and the existing alike and a reflection of a relationship of dependency and influence between reality and the written legal texts. The discussion of these sources shows that past Muslim societies, like many others, used the importance of the outward appearance as a means to determining social relationship in general and hierarchical gender-based relations specifically. For themselves men have decided that fostering their outward appearance and keeping the rules of hygiene are fulfilment of God's wishes, but women are ordered to do so for two different reasons integrating belief in God and a patriarchal world view: becoming attractive to men and fulfilling their sexual destiny as this is the patriarch wish. At the same time it is important to mention that both men and women attend to their outward appearance for additional reasons, such as the wish to show their socio-economic status and power.     

Sociocultural Understanding of Miscarriages,Stillbirths, and Infant Loss: A Study of Nigerian Women

Miscarriages, stillbirths, and infant loss are a constant threat to Nigerian women. Little research has sought to understand the cultural silence and taboo that typifies these issues needs and its impact on the women. Drawing on 35 in-depth interviews with Nigerian women, this study explored the sociocultural understanding of perinatal loss among Nigeria women. A thematic analysis of the women’s narratives indicated that cultural norms and practices contribute to disenfranchised grief, which translates into ridicule and blame for women, identity loss, marital instability, and a feeling of despair. The findings point to a need for more empirical research into the grieving processes of diverse populations. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Pioneers across war zones: The lived acculturation experiences of US female military expatriates

This exploratory study focuses on the lived acculturation experiences of United States (US) female career military expatriates who worked and lived in combat settings across five war zones. Based on an analysis of oral histories that spanned over 60 years, the research revealed that these pioneering women had a strong commitment to their profession, and that this, along with camaraderie, facilitated their adaptation to living conditions characterized by extreme danger, nominal domestic comforts, and unrelenting work requirements in culturally unfamiliar contexts. The research identified the multiple physical and psychological stressors of living and working as a female in a war zone and the variety of coping strategies employed for acculturation, particularly the prominent role of relational support from family and friends, and a combination of personal coping mechanisms (such as crying or compartmentalization) and religious faith. As extant expatriate research has overwhelmingly focused on male executives in multinational corporations, this research is significant in extending the literature to an analysis of the public sector, specifically women deployed overseas in highly dangerous settings and who were pioneering in both their roles in the military and as non-traditional expatriates at a time when few women worked internationally.     

Equal-status interracial contact: A review and revision of the conceptContactos interraciales de status semejante: Un analisis y criterica del conceptoContact interracial à statut égal: Une revue et revision du concept

The existence of equal-status interracial interaction often has been taken for granted, despite the existence of negative and contradictory research results. A major problem lies in the fact that the equal-status concept has remained vague and inconsistently defined. In some cases, equal status has been defined as contact between selected members of rival groups who are matched on some variables such as socioeconomic status. In other instances, an attempt has been made to establish equal status positions, i.e., treating people as equals within the situation. The accumulation of evidence, however, suggests that equal status interracial contact is not so easily arranged. In this paper, a reformulation of the equal-status concept is proposed and a critical review of previous research is developed. Studies where equal status is confirmed, questionable, and nonexistent are differentiated. Many studies which obtained favorable results were found to have a questionable basis for claiming equal status, despite having done so. It is suggested here that these studies can be explained with reference to far less problematic variables that are also identified with the theory of contact, i.e., intimacy, common goals, institutional support, racial/ethnic balance, etc. Studies in which equal status is confirmed invariably result in positive change. Some research was uncovered in which the existence of equal status, although questionable, was maintained even in the face of negative results. A more critical and systematic approach is advised, and a reformulation of the equal status concept is offered.     

Sex roles on television: A comparison of eastern and western media

Research on television sex roles is examined in terms of sex role portrayal, occupational endeavors, attitudes, and personalities. The studies reviewed for the U.S. verified the notion that men and women are still presented in their traditional roles. Women are not portrayed as autonomous, independent human beings, but were primarily sex typed. They were given responsibility for child care and routine home maintenance. On the other hand, men were shown in more serious roles assuming responsibility for family financial support, and thus were very likely to be employed in positions of high occupational status. The studies conducted in Japan and the Philippines likewise adhered faithfully to traditional roles and, in that sense, women were still not functioning to promote an egalitarian life for themselves.     

Modern health worries in Pakistani immigrant women in Oslo,Norway

BackgroundThe main study objective was to investigate modern health worries (MHW) in a group of Pakistani immigrant women in Norway, and to compare it with a group of ethnic Norwegian women. A further aim was to examine differences in MHW with level of education and acculturation in this immigrant group.MethodsThe Pakistani women (N = 101) completed a questionnaire to assess MHW and sociodemographic variables. MHW data were obtained via telephone interviews for the subsample of Norwegian women (N = 344).ResultsThe Pakistani women generally showed lower levels of MHW than did the ethnic Norwegian women. However, when stratified on education, the difference was mainly apparent in the low and middle educational groups. The Pakistani women with high levels of education tended to report higher levels of MHW than those with lower education levels. They reported significantly higher levels of worries about avian flu, radiation from computer screens, and vaccination programmes than did the ethnic Norwegian women on the same high educational level. Their different degrees of acculturation in the Norwegian society appeared to influence their levels of MHW, as the assimilated women showed the highest levels of MHW, whereas the separated women showed the lowest levels.ConclusionsThe group of Pakistani immigrant women was very heterogeneous in terms of MHW, and health authorities and health care workers should therefor adapt health and risk information according to different levels of integration and education.     

News Consumption Habits of Culturally Diverse Australians in the Digital Era: Implications for Intercultural Relations

It is well-documented that news media (both traditional and social) have a significant impact on intercultural relations in contemporary societies. This paper compares results of two surveys where we asked Australians about their news sources. The study shows that Australian news consumers from diverse cultural backgrounds are alienated from Australian mainstream news media, increasingly relying on online and social media sources for their information. The paper situates this empirical research in the contemporary articulation of uses and gratification theory to understand audiences’ preferred media sources for news and information and the potential implications for intercultural relations in Australia.     

Correlates of men's attitudes toward women's roles in Libya

This study examines factors influencing men's attitudes toward women's roles in Libya. Interviews were conducted during the summer of 1979 with 200 males in the city of Tripoli. Bivariate and multivariate analyses examined respondents' attitudes toward women's roles in the division of labor in the home, family decision making, labor force participation, and political participation. Men's age, education, and type of family of orientation (nuclear or extended) were important in both types of analysis. Social status, while unimportant in bivariate relationships, became significant in the multivariate framework. Whether the respondent's mother worked outside the home was important in the bivariate matrix but contributed nothing significant in the multivariate analysis. The results indicate that nontraditional attitudes are being displayed among the young and the educated. Attitudes toward the status of women in Libya appear to be changing from those characterized as traditional to those viewed as more modern or egalitarian. Attitude-behavior inconsistencies are noted and discussed.     

North Korean women defectors in South Korea and their political participation

This study examines the political participation intentions of North Korean women refugees. Previous literature tends to highlight the sufferings and difficulties that female refugees experience as they leave their homelands and settle in a new country. Few studies have been directed toward the political dimension of refugee life. The empirical results show that North Korean women defectors hold generally participatory attitudes toward politics and mostly liberal opinions on policy issues. Furthermore, among the socio-demographic variables, age and marital status are generally influential in the intention of political participation among the North Korean women defectors. Among the political attitudinal variables, attitude toward environmental policy consistently affects political participation intention. With respect to defector-specific variables, satisfaction with life in South Korea is influential, whereas cultural adaptation is not.     

Coming home from a stay abroad: Associations between young people’s reentry problems and their cultural identity formation

Combining a variable- and person-centered approach, the present study explores associations between cross-cultural reentry problems and cultural identity formation (processes and statuses) in late adolescence and young adulthood. The study sample consisted of 510 participants between 16 and 29 years of age who had spent 6–60 months abroad, mainly for educational reasons. Referring to a neo-Eriksonian identity model, three processes of home-culture related identity formation were differentiated: commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment. At the variable-centered level, reentry problems were negatively related to commitment with home culture and positively to exploration and, most strongly, to reconsideration. This pattern was corroborated at the person-centered level. Participants in the moratorium status (low commitment, high exploration, high reconsideration) reported most problems with reentry, whereas participants in the closure status (a pattern inverse to that of moratorium) reported fewest. Participants in the achievement and diffusion statuses ranked in the middle. In all analyses, person-related variables (gender, age, big five personality traits) and sojourn-related variables (length of sojourn, time since return) were controlled for. Implications of the findings for our understanding of (cross-) cultural mobility and identity are discussed and suggestions for future research are outlined.     

Voices of Refugee Women: Adaptation and Identification

ABSTRACT

Refugees and other displaced people have been the object of much research related to how people are adapting. Few have focused specifically on women even though women and children are by far the majority of refugees in general and especially in Utah. One of the few focused on narratives of newly arrived women refugees. Narratives are an important method for hearing authentic lived experiences versus assuming researchers can know the answers. However, questions arose about how those narratives might change after being in the U.S. for a longer period of time. Eleven refugee women who had been in the U.S. longer than 10 years were interviewed for this study.

Narratives allowed us to present this scholarship in a way that is accessible to anyone. Five themes were found: language, education, family, assistance, and transition. These themes demonstrate both the resilience of the women and the difficulty and complexity of long-term adaptation.     

Explicating anomie in refugee women’s integration narratives: A qualitative research study

Refugee women flee from their home countries due to civil unrest, war, persecution and migrate to Western countries such as the United States in search of a safe haven. This research study conducted in an Upper Midwest community in the US unveils integrations experiences of refugee women from their standpoint. The integration narratives obtained through in-depth interviews with 16 refugee women aged 40 years and above depicted traits of anomie as described by Emile Durkheim and Robert Merton. Excerpts from the integration narratives conveyed anomic traits such as feelings of, loneliness and sadness, lack of purpose/meaning, unmet expectations, feeling isolated, and retreatism mode of adaptation. Using these themes, the study explored how such experiences reinforce anomie among the refugee women. Although this research study does not claim universal representation of refugee women experiences, the discussion provided serves to help communities understand the women’s integration experiences and implement structures and practical guidelines for successful integration.     

On communication among “unequals”

This analysis was stimulated by the problem in international development of communication between development personnel and members of the populations with whom they work. Building on the work of Bateson and the Ardeners, I propose a theoretical framework that incorporates the “inarticulateness of women” (as discussed by Ardener) and a similar phenomenon I have observed in situations of contact between people of unequal status, in general. Three ethnographic examples of the dynamics of communication between “unequals”¹ and the resulting “inarticulateness” are then provided: one between rural and urban dwellers in Iran: one between women and men from two subcultures in rural America; and one among male and female scientists from different countries and different scientific paradigms. I conclude with a set of policy recommendations, that follow from the proposed theory.     

Self-rated health,gender, and acculturative stress among immigrants in the U.S.: New roles for social support

BackgroundBased on different outcomes, immigrants to the U.S. may experience a decline in health with length of time or acculturation. Acculturative stress is often applied as an explanation for these changes and may be impacted by social supports and social networks, but more information is needed on the specific role of each. Thus far little research has examined acculturative stress and health by both ethnicity and gender.MethodsDrawing on the 2002–2003 National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), we examine data on a nationally-representative sample of foreign-born Latino (N = 1,627) and Asian (N = 1,638) adults living in the United States. We examine relationships between acculturative stress and self-rated physical and mental health, as well as the potential role of social support factors, with a primary focus on gender.ResultsAs a group Latinos report more acculturative stress than Asians. However, among Latino immigrants acculturative stress has no association with health, and for Asian immigrants there is an association with physical health among women and mental health among men – but only the latter persisted after adjusting for controls. We do find that among Latino men and women, acculturative stress is health damaging when specific types of social support are low but can even be health promoting at higher support levels.DiscussionWhile self-rated health differs among immigrant groups, we find that acculturative stress may not be the primary driving force behind these differences, but interacts with specific elements of social support to produce unique impacts on health by gender and ethnicity.     

Voices of Newly Arrived Refugee Women

ABSTRACT

The numbers of refugees worldwide are at an all-time high. The majority of refugees relocated to the United States are women and children. Much research has concentrated on health care issues and trauma but few studies have expressed women’s viewpoints. This study consists of interviews with eight newly arrived refugee women to determine how they construct and negotiate their identity and the idea of being a refugee, as well as how they cope with the challenges of adjusting to a new cultural environment. Narratives indicate an interwoven pattern of interaction including family, home, and concerns.     

Suicide in relation to age,sex and civil status

Suicide constitutes both a universal and continual problem, which has occurred throughout history in most cultures. A majority of researchers have demonstrated that the frequency of suicide is higher among men than among women. Suicide among women has shown an increasing trend during this century and it has been suggested that there is a close association between the increase in the frequency of suicide among women and the increase in female emancipation. Different authors find variance in the age groups where suicide is likely to occur. The biggest percentage increase has been in the younger age-groups of both sexes, and in the present investigation, suicide increases steadily with age but fairly high values are observed in the younger age-groups. At the ages 20–35 during the most active years of life, suicide is the leading cause of death in Sweden today. Earlier, the marked difference in the frequency of suicide, between various civil status groups has been convincingly demonstrated. It may be concluded that persons who are, or have been left alone have a higher frequency of suicide than those who are married.     

Lessons Learned: Teaching the Race Concept in the College Classroom

Ethnic identity has been defined as a person's attitudes and self-concept in relation to their group membership. Although previous research has been completed regarding a variety of ethnic groups, limited research has been done focusing solely on Hispanics. In this phenomenological study, the researchers interviewed 10 Hispanics (3 men and 7 women) ranging from 20 to 50 years of age. The results indicated a need to expand our concept of ethnic identity models in relationship to Hispanics.