Family models of independence/interdependence and their intergenerational similarity in Germany, Turkey, and India

Cultural challenges for adapting behavioral intervention frameworks: A critical examination from a cultural psychology perspective

We introduce the bias and equivalence framework to highlight how concepts, methods, and tools from cultural psychology can contribute to successful cultural adaptation and implementation of behavioral interventions. To situate our contribution, we provide a review of recent cultural adaptation research and existing frameworks. We identified 68 different frameworks that have been cited when reporting cultural adaptations and highlight three major adaptation dimensions that can be used to differentiate adaptations. Regarding effectiveness, we found an average effect size of zr = 0.24 (95%CI 0.20, 0.29) in 24 meta-analyses published since 2014, but also substantive differences across domains and unclear effects of the extent of cultural adaptations. To advance cultural adaptation efforts, we outline a framework that integrates key steps from previous cultural adaptation frameworks and highlight how cultural bias and equivalence considerations in conjunction with community engagement help a) in the diagnosis of behavioral or psychological problems, b) identification of possible interventions, c) the selection of specific mechanisms of behavior change, d) the specification and documentation of dose effects and thresholds for diagnosis, e) entry and exit points within intervention programs, and f) cost-benefit-sustainability discussions. We provide guiding questions that may help researchers when adapting interventions to novel cultural contexts.

The role of socio-cultural background and child age for parental regulation strategies and children's self-regulation: A comparison between Germany, Chile, and El Salvador

This study compared parental regulation strategies and children's self-regulation in three different countries (Germany, Chile, El Salvador). N = 300 primary caregivers of 1- to 3-year-olds filled out a parental questionnaire (IMpulse-MAnagement in the caregiver-child dyad, IMMA; Pauen et al., 2019) assessing (a) socio-demographic variables, (b) parental ideas and goals regarding children's self-regulation skills, (c) children's self-regulation strategies in dealing with internal challenges or demands, and (d) caregiver's regulation strategies. Age-group comparisons revealed that (1) children increased compliance and verbal negotiation with their caregivers as they grow older, and (2) parents adapted their regulation strategies to the age of the child. Country-group comparisons further indicated substantial similarities and differences between countries with respect to (3) how parents expected children to deal with requests and prohibitions, as well as with their own needs, feelings, and impulses, (4) how children responded to goal-frustration and parental demands, and (5) which regulatory strategies parents used to support their offspring. These exploratory findings are discussed in the light of current models on cultural learning, parent-child interactions, and child self-regulation development.

Mothers’ ethnotheories of sibling relationships:A qualitative study in Turkey

In this article, Turkish mothers’ perspectives on sibling relationships are described and analyzed on the basis of 15 qualitative interviews. It is surprising that sibling relationships have received little attention in cultural psychological or sociological research for decades, while other social relationships—such as parent–child relationships, (marital) partner relationships, peer relationships, or hierarchical relationships (e.g., superior–subordinate)—were often studied. The two main goals of the present study are first, to examine Turkish mothers’ ethnotheories of sibling relationships between their own offspring and second, to analyze these parental ethnotheories through the lenses of the cultural psychological and sociological concepts of collectivism/individualism and interdependent/independent self-concepts. The interview data for this empirical study was derived from a larger project which focuses on parental ethnotheories more broadly. Problem-centered interview method was used. Eleven of the interviews took place via a digital platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while four of the interviews were conducted face-to-face just before pandemic’s onset. The Turkish mothers interviewed were from Istanbul and Sinop, a small Turkish city on the coast of the Black Sea. The data was interpreted using the documentary method and relational hermeneutical analysis. The article examines and discusses three topics of sibling relationships, namely hierarchical/equal sibling roles based on birth order, solidarity/sharing, and conflict. We show that all of the mothers interviewed place a high value on connectedness between siblings. With regard to the hierarchical or egalitarian distribution of roles, some of the interviewees differ.

Positive and negative ageing perceptions account for health differences between older immigrant and native populations in the Netherlands

BACKGROUND

This study assessed the extent to which persistent differences in self-rated health (SRH) between older immigrants and natives are attributable to negative and positive ageing perceptions.

METHODS

The study was conducted with three population groups in Rotterdam, the Netherlands: native Dutch people aged ≥70 years (n = 1150), Turkish immigrants aged ≥65 years (n = 680) and Moroccan immigrants aged ≥65 years (n = 292). To assess participants' internal ageing representations, we used the short Aging Perceptions Questionnaire, which distinguishes negative (consequences, chronic and cyclical timeline awareness, and emotional representations) and positive (positive consequences, positive and negative control) dimensions and has been validated in native and immigrant populations. We analysed differences in ageing perceptions between immigrants and natives and the associations of ageing perceptions with SRH. We used Karlson-Holm-Breen decomposition to assess ageing perceptions' mediation of the relationship between migration background and SRH.

RESULTS

Older immigrants had stronger negative and weaker positive ageing perceptions (excepting the positive consequences of ageing) than did Dutch natives. Ageing perceptions mediated the relationship between migration background and SRH. SRH differences between Turkish immigrants and native Dutch older persons were explained mainly by differences in negative consequences and cyclical timeline awareness. SRH differences between Moroccan immigrants and native Dutch older persons were attributable mainly to differences in negative consequences and positive control.

CONCLUSIONS

Differences in positive and negative ageing perceptions between older immigrants and natives in the Netherlands largely explained SRH differences between these population groups.

Configurations of Autonomy and Relatedness in a Multiethnic U.S. Sample of Parent-Adolescent Dyads

Configurations of autonomy and relatedness were explored in 232 adolescent-parent dyads. Youth (58% female) were 13-18 years old and ethnically diverse (38% Latino American, 32% European American, 30% African American). Cluster analysis was used to identify three distinct groups based on youth and parent reports of parental autonomy support and family relatedness. The three clusters differed on key demographics (e.g., parent education and income, immigrant background, ethnicity) and theoretically relevant indicators of family and individual functioning (e.g., parent and youth reports of decision making and family obligations; youth-reported attachment and minor delinquency). Findings provide empirical support for theoretical models of autonomy-relatedness (e.g., Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 36, 2005, 403) and contribute to understanding of how autonomy and relatedness intersect to influence adolescent and family adaptation.

Cross-Cultural Affective Neuroscience

Panksepp, the father of Affective Neuroscience, dedicated his life to demonstrate that foundations of mental life and consciousness lay in the archaic layers of the brain. He had an evolutionary perspective emphasizing that the subcortical affective systems come prior to cortical cognitive systems. Based on his life-long work, the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) was constructed, and a new neurodevelopmental approach to personality was started. The new approach suggested that personality was formed based on the strengths and/or weaknesses found in the subcortical basic affective systems, which are initially regulated by the mother-infant attachment styles and later by early life experiences. ANPS measured six basic affects: CARE, PLAY, SEEK, SADNESS, FEAR, and ANGER; along with a Spirituality subscale. Up to date, it has been translated to several languages, and these studies confirmed that ANPS is a reliable and valid tool. Based on the observation that these ANPS studies have both universal and culturally specific findings, cross-cultural affective neuroscience (CAN) was initiated in 2012, with the approval of Panksepp. As a new research field, CAN aims to investigate the influence of culture on the regulation of basic affective systems. CAN claims that this influence can be studied by observing the cultural variations in (1) the level of emotional interdependency, (2) the types of reinforced or suppressed affects, and (3) the types of affects that accompany interdependent or independent self-construals. Cross-cultural comparisons of Turkish and American ANPS findings and the results of our first Euro-Asian CAN project among Japan, Turkey, and Germany support these claims. These cultures regulate the basic affective systems in unique ways, while maintaining certain similarities with each other. In a way, each culture has a unique affective personality profile and a specific function in the global affective network. The conclusion of this review shares guidelines, suggestions and ethical codes for future CAN researches.

Does Mothers' Self-Construal Contribute to Parenting Beyond Socioeconomic Status and Maternal Efficacy? an Exploratory Study of Turkish Mothers

This study examined the relative contribution of mothers’ self-construal to parenting above and beyond family socioeconomic status (SES) and maternal efficacy beliefs about parenting. A total of 58 Turkish mothers and their preschool-aged children participated in dyadic tasks in the laboratory setting. For the measurement of parenting, direct behavioral observations of mother–child interactions in three interaction contexts were utilized, and mother ratings of emotion socialization were obtained. Mothers also reported on their parenting efficacy, self-construal, child temperament, and family demographics. Results revealed a more balanced endorsement of autonomous and relational self-characteristics as well as more sensitive parenting among higher SES mothers. Furthermore, mothers’ self-construal contributed unique variance to the prediction of sensitive parenting over and above SES, maternal efficacy and child temperament. Yet, in the prediction of negatively controlling parenting, mothers’ self-construal did not account for unique variance. Lower parenting efficacy and lower SES were the only predictors of punishing, overriding, and distress magnifying responses. Finally, results indicated a marginally significant indirect effect from SES to sensitive parenting via autonomous-related self-construal, controlling for the indirect effect of maternal efficacy.

Doing Psychology With a Cultural Lens: A Half-Century Journey

My first international publication started out with the following sentences: "Some findings of social psychology may refer to general panhuman relationships, others to relationships that hold only within specific socio-cultural settings. Only systematic cross-cultural comparison can separate these or identify the limits within which particular generalizations hold" (Kagitcibasi, 1970, p. 444). These words still reflect my orientation to psychology and have shaped my work over half a century.

Development of a coping with stress scale for a non-western population of children and adolescents

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

In the related literature numerous instruments have been developed to measure children and adolescents' coping with stress. Considering the cultural differences in individuals' choice for coping strategies, along with the limitations of the existing measures of coping for children and adolescents (e.g., being derived from coping measures developed for adults; unrepresentative samples with limited age range, etc.), the current study aimed to construct a self-report coping scale for a non-western population of children and adolescents.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The study design included both qualitative and quantitative methodology. Three consecutive studies were conducted for the development and validation of the Children and Adolescents' Coping with Stress Scale (CACSS), a self-report measure assessing coping strategies of children and adolescents aged from 9 to 18 in response to self-identified stressors.

RESULTS

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses resulted in a 61-item CACSS with 10 factors. The scale appears to have a clear factor structure; sufficient temporal stability; and good convergent, discriminant, and construct validity.

CONCLUSIONS

By addressing limitations of existing coping scales, CACSS is believed to contribute to the literature as a developmentally appropriate and multidimensional tool.

Not So “Traditional” Anymore? Generational Shifts on Schwartz Values in Turkey

We compare generational change in culturally related personal values as represented by the Schwartz values taxonomy, across two decades of individuals representing independent samples of the urban, Turkish workforce, employed in a variety of occupations and in numerous urban centers, in both 1998 and 2009 ( N = 779). Results indicate that whereas self-transcendence (harmony) and conservation (collectivism) values have decreased over time, self-enhancement (mastery) has increased. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Are discrepancies in perceptions of psychological control related to maladjustment? A study of adolescents and their parents in Turkey

The current study examined whether adolescent–parent discrepancies in the perception of psychological control are associated with adolescent maladjustment. The sample consisted of 552 Turkish adolescents attending high school and their parents. Half of the adolescents had similar scores to their parents, while the remaining half thought differently. The results of the polynomial regression with response surface analysis showed that the incongruence between reports was positively associated with having deviant friends for males, and feelings of loneliness for females. Results suggested that reports of low levels of psychological control for father–adolescent pairs were associated with fewer deviant friends for males and lower levels of loneliness for females. Moreover, the possibility of having deviant friends was higher when males and their mothers were congruent in reporting high levels of psychological control. These findings highlight the importance of consideration of perceptual differences in parental practices in relation to adolescent maladjustment.