The Relationship of Acculturation Strategies to Resilience: The Moderating Impact of Social Support among Qiang Ethnicity following the 2008 Chinese Earthquake

Abstract

International research has mostly confirmed the positive association between acculturation strategies and resilience in ethnic groups, but the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying the relationships are still under-investigated. The present study aimed to investigate the associations between acculturation strategies (based on two cultural identities) and resilience of 898 Qiang ethnicity volunteers (mean age = 29.5), especially exploring the mediating and moderating effects of personality, spiritual belief and social support on the relationship between acculturation strategy (using two cultural identities as latent variables in model analysis) and resilience following the occurrence of 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, taking such mechanisms into account. Results were as follows: (1) All variable presented significant positive correlations; (2) Consistent with the mediating hypotheses, personality and spiritual beliefs played a partial mediating role in the relationship between two cultural identities and resilience; (3) High or low level of perceived social support had a moderating effect on cultural identities and resilience; (4) The integration strategy was the most optimal style to promote the development of resilience, but marginalization was the least effective style.

Social Support Benefits Psychological Adjustment of International Students: Evidence From a Meta-Analysis

“…Previous research posited that having both sources of social support is a stronger predictor of happiness among expatriates than having only the support of conationals or other expats (Torbiörn, 1982). Although this resonates with the general finding that being able to relate to two networks (host and home culture) is related to the most beneficial trajectories of acculturation (see also Han, Berry, & Zheng, 2016), we cannot address this issue conclusively from an empirical point of view. Future studies should report effects separately so that their distinct and joint effects can be assessed.…”

The relationship between bicultural identity, acculturative stress, and psychological well‐being in multicultural adolescents: Verification using multivariate latent growth modelling

“…The coexistence of the two cultural identities that the acculturation process entails may improve cognitive flexibility (Han, Berry, & Zheng, ), which in turn may alleviate acculturative stress. On the other hand, adolescents who are unable to accommodate cultural differences between the values of the ethnic culture and those of the mainstream society (e.g., the heritage culture emphasizes collectivism, whereas the mainstream culture emphasizes individualism) are likely to experience intense acculturative stress.…”

Cultural Predictors of Resilience in a Multinational Sample of Trauma Survivors

“…Regarding specific dimensions of culture, research points to the protective impact of spiritual or religious beliefs (i.e., Pargament et al, 2011) as well as strong affiliation with ethnic identity (i.e., Han et al, 2016). For example, recent research by Veronese et al, 2017 pointed to the protective impact of spirituality and sense of meaning amongst trauma exposed Palestinian aid workers in the Gaza Strip.…”

“…Similarly, affiliation with one’s ethnic identity can have a powerful impact on mental health, especially for marginalized groups (Han et al, 2016). Wexler’s (2014) mixed-methods examination of indigenous adults in Canada revealed that elders believed that strong identification with their Native heritage would allow them to resist the pressures of acculturation that arose from colonization, thus ethnic identification became a source of strength after trauma.…”