How You See Us Hurts Me! Influences of Metastereotypes That International Students Hold on Their Self-disclosure,Loneliness and Depression

This article examines the influences of international students’ beliefs of how their compatriots are evaluated by host nationals (i.e. metastereotypes). Modified labeling theory was used to predict how international students’ metastereotypes are associated with their self-disclosure, loneliness, and depression. One hundred and forty-six international students in Japan were asked to rate their metastereotypes, amount of self-disclosure, loneliness, and depression. The results showed that metastereotypes were positively associated with the amount of self-disclosure and negatively associated with loneliness and depression. A structural equation model further indicated that metastereotypes were indirectly associated with depression through loneliness. Theoretical and practical contributions are considered.     

Majority–minority acculturation preferences concordance as an antecedent of attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating role of perceived symbolic threat and metastereotypes

Through an experimental design, we investigated the effects of majority–minority acculturation preferences concordance and immigrants’ generational status on Italians’ attitudes towards Albanian immigrants. The role of perceived threat and metastereotypes in mediating this relationship was examined. Participants (N = 178) were categorized into different levels of culture maintenance and intercultural contact concordance. Findings showed that discrepancies in the contact dimension affected majority members’ attitudes towards immigrants. Both perceived threat and metastereotypes were found to mediate the relationship between contact discrepancies and attitudes towards immigrants. Culture maintenance concordance interacted with immigrants’ generational status in influencing majority members’ attitudes. This research confirmed the importance of taking into account the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between majority and immigrant acculturation preferences, confirming that the most positive attitudes were produced when immigrants were perceived to adopt the same strategy as the majority, especially with respect to intergroup contact.