In the contemporary context, intercultural relations are increasingly prevalent because of heightened population mobility. This study explores the themes of marital experiences, challenges faced, and cultural adaptation processes of women from diverse countries who are married to Turkish citizens and reside in Türkiye. The research is theoretically grounded in family systems and acculturation theory and employs a phenomenological design. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 22 married female participants from seven different nationalities: Syria, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Azerbaijan. Data analysis was conducted using Reflexive Thematic Analysis with MAXQDA 2024 software. The challenges faced by these women were categorized as personal, relational, social, parenting, and structural issues. The intercultural social distance between the migrant spouses' native cultures and the local culture, along with gender roles and intercountry political relations, significantly influences the adaptation process and relationship dynamics. Additionally, social boundaries, extended family relations, and parenting attitudes cyclically and more intensively impact couples' marital and cultural adjustment processes than individual issues. Although religious similarity is perceived to facilitate the adaptation process, couples with denominational differences encounter conflicts in these areas. In the cultural adaptation process, women's individual adaptation, the family system to which they belong, societal perceptions, and the society's individualist-collectivist structure play active roles. This integrated perspective positions acculturation not merely as an individual adaptation process but also as a relational phenomenon actively produced and reconstructed within intra-family interactions.
This study investigated the relationships between global citizenship, cultural intelligence, multicultural empathic tendency, and inclusive classroom practices among primary school teachers working in Diyarbakır. Data were collected using scales targeting the relevant variables in this cross-sectional survey; the measurement model was re-evaluated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and reliability/validity evidence. Inter-structure relationships were tested within the framework of a structural equation model established using a parallel mediation approach, and indirect associations were examined using a bootstrap-based method. The findings suggest that the relationship between global citizenship and inclusive classroom practices was observed indirectly, rather than directly, through cultural intelligence and multicultural empathic tendency. Multicultural empathic tendency showed a more prominent indirect pathway, while cultural intelligence played a more limited but statistically significant and complementary role. The results suggest that cultural-cognitive capacities and socio-affective sensitivity to cultural differences may help explain how global citizenship orientations are associated with inclusive teaching behaviors.
From the critical perspective of migration studies, this article analyzes the transformation of South American migration regimes in the face of Venezuelan migration. Based on a comparative study of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile—countries that concentrate close to 70% of the Venezuelan population residing in the region—the main legal, administrative and political measures implemented between 2017 and 2025 are examined. The research combines quantitative and qualitative techniques, including documentary review, regulatory analysis, official statistics and in-depth interviews with Venezuelan migrants and actors linked to migration management. The findings show that, despite their institutional and ideological differences, the four countries progressively converged towards more selective and securitized migration governance models, supported by temporary regularization mechanisms, greater documentary requirements and reinforced border controls. These measures contributed to the production of forms of precarious citizenship characterized by permanent temporality, administrative irregularity and limitations on effective access to rights. The study maintains that the securitization of Venezuelan migration was consolidated as a regional trend that reconfigured the migration projects of this population, favoring processes of secondary mobility, re-emigration to third countries and return to the country of origin.
Different ethnic groups can be considered more positively if they are perceived to be indispensable for society, either in terms of ‘who we are’ -identity indispensability- or ‘what we do’- functional indispensability. In this study we expand the boundaries of indispensability research by investigating the role of perceived indispensability of Indigenous (Māori) and immigrant (Chinese) groups on intergroup outcomes (support for rights and outgroup attitudes) in New Zealand, a settler colonial society. We also considered the role of perceived diversity ideologies of interculturalism (identity-conscious) and colorblindness (identity-blind) on these intergroup outcomes. Given New Zealand’s bicultural history, we expected Māori to be rated higher on identity indispensability but lower on functional indispensability than Chinese New Zealanders. In this study, 174 New Zealand university students of European descent (Pākehā), with a mean age of 19.1 years, answered the online survey. As expected, participants rated Māori higher on identity indispensability but lower on functional indispensability than Chinese New Zealanders. Perceived identity indispensability of Māori was the strongest significant predictor of support for Māori rights. Perceived functional indispensability of Chinese New Zealanders positively predicted support for multicultural rights and outgroup attitudes. Perceived interculturalism was positively associated with support for multicultural rights and attitudes toward Chinese New Zealanders. The results are discussed in terms of the promising role of perceived indispensability of both Indigenous and migrant groups for more harmonious and equitable societies.
Educational inclusion is often discussed in terms of access, attainment, institutional barriers, and unequal outcomes. However, for racialised young women, educational trajectories are also shaped by the everyday relationships through which belonging, recognition, safety, and exclusion are experienced. Friendship is one of these relationships, yet it is often treated as secondary to formal schooling or analysed mainly through peer effects, social capital, support, or interethnic contact. This article explores how friendships shape the educational trajectories of racialised young women in Spain and how they may sustain belonging and participation across unequal educational contexts. Drawing on 65 semi-structured interviews with women aged 18-29 from Roma, Latin American, North and Sub-Saharan African, South Asian, and broader Asian backgrounds, conducted within the #FriendsMatter research project, the study identifies friendship as an emotional infrastructure in educational life. The findings show that compulsory schooling was frequently experienced through peer racism, limited intercultural engagement, and institutional misrecognition, which constrained the formation of emotionally sustaining friendships. In post-compulsory education, however, friendships often created spaces of emotional safety, enabled recognition and relational legitimacy, and provided continuity across educational transitions. The article argues that friendships matter educationally not merely because they provide support, but because they can stabilise belonging and participation over time. In doing so, it contributes to debates on educational inclusion, recognition, and belonging by showing that friendship is a constitutive dimension of educational participation itself.
Every year, thousands of African students migrate to high- and middle-income countries to pursue higher education. China has emerged as an educational destination for many of them. Understanding the impacts of migration on students is relevant for developing recommendations to support their psychosocial health. This study aims to explore the perceptions and experiences of Southern African migrants studying in China. This was a qualitative study that used semi-structured interviews (n = 20) and one focus group discussion with five participants. Data collection was conducted in English, in person in Nanjing, China, during 2024. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Coding and thematic analysis was conducted using Quirkos software. Thematic analysis identified three overarching categories, motivation to migrate, barriers as cumulative losses, and facilitators. Barriers included 1) language and communication, 2) cultural displacement and disruption of everyday practices, 3) economic constraints, 4) social isolation and relational loss, 5) racial discrimination, and 6) psychosocial impact as expression of migratory grief. Alongside facilitators such as 1) peer networks, 2) engaging in hobbies, 3) transnational ties and emotional support, and 4) safety. This study highlights the experiences of African students in China, characterized by challenges related to isolation, language barriers, cultural gaps, and financial stress, all of which affect their psychosocial health. Facilitators included learning Chinese, peer-support networks, establishing good relationships with their supervisors and/or colleagues, keeping close contact with their families and friends, and engaging in hobbies. Participants recommended institutions and governments to include measures for social integration, financial support opportunities, offering language courses, and ensuring access to peer-led initiatives and counselling. While students reported coping strategies, targeted strategies such as inclusive social events, Chinese language courses, and cultural orientation programs, could foster integration, support mental health, and optimize learning. Addressing these barriers and strengthening existing facilitators would enable institutions to create more supportive environments that promote academic success, wellbeing, and social connectivity for African students in China.
Critical Race Theory problematizes color evasion and White normativity as phenomena that perpetuate racial injustice, but there is little research on these issues outside the U.S. or with underrepresented ethnic-racial groups. This study examines to what extent Chinese-Dutch mothers (N = 78) based in the Netherlands show color evasion and White normativity when observed in a social categorization game with their children (ages 7–11 years), as well as self-reported ethnic-racial socialization practices. Mothers showed color evasion by avoiding ethnic-racial questions even though these were crucial to game efficiency, and mothers asked such questions later and took more time to formulate them. White normativity was also present as mothers were more likely to reference the Black and Asian targets than the White targets, who appear to be seen as the norm from which the others deviate. These behaviors were unrelated to mothers’ self-reported ethnic-racial socialization practices. These results suggest that Chinese-Dutch children are exposed to racialized social norms that are associated with prejudice against marginalized ethnic-racial groups, including their own. The findings are discussed in terms of implicit and explicit ethnic-racial socialization and their causes and consequences.
Acculturation has been conceptualized as a bidirectional process in which both minority and majority groups undergo cultural changes as a result of intergroup contact. However, most studies have focused on the acculturation of minority groups, neglecting the analysis of changes occurring within the majority population. This study examines the acculturation of native Spaniards, specifically their adoption and preference for adoption of cultural elements from people of Moroccan origin. An adapted version of the Relative Acculturation Extended Model (RAEM) was used, distinguishing between real and ideal planes and between peripheral and central life domains. The role of contact quality and diversity ideologies (multiculturalism and intercultural sensitivity) was also analysed. A total of 361 native Spaniards (53.4% women) completed an online questionnaire. Results showed that scores were higher in peripheral than in central domains, and in the ideal than in the real plane, although absolute levels were generally low, especially in central domains. Interaction analyses revealed significant two-way interactions between contact quality and multiculturalism in peripheral domains of the real plane and central domains of the ideal plane. Simple effects indicated that contact quality was positively associated with cultural adoption in peripheral domains at moderate and high levels of multiculturalism, and with preferences for adoption in central domains only at high levels of multiculturalism. These findings expand current understanding of majority acculturation and suggest lower resistance to the adoption of minority cultural elements in peripheral than in central domains, particularly when contact quality is accompanied by multicultural orientations.
The present study examines emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000) in the context of acculturation among international higher education students in Hungary. Specifically, the aim was to test an integrated structural model examining how developmental, contextual, acculturation-related, and individual factors relate to the psychological, sociocultural, and academic adaptation of international students. Data were collected via an online questionnaire. A total of 859 participants (M age = 23.84, SD = 2.32) were included in the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. The final SEM demonstrated good global and local fit to the data (RMSEA =.052, SRMR =.037, CFI =.977, TLI =.950). The results suggest that, of all the variables studied, instability during emerging adulthood and perception of an international student-friendly university environment were the most important factors in psychological, academic, and sociocultural adaptation. Among the adaptation outcomes, academic adaptation emerged as the most reliably predicted variable, showing the strongest association with perceived university supportiveness. These results indicate that emerging adulthood is, in many respects, a sensitive time window and not merely a transitional stage of life, but also a complex psychosocial period shaped by cultural, social, and institutional factors. For students studying abroad, acculturation and the developmental transitions of young adulthood appear to interact dynamically. Overall, the study highlights the importance of developmentally and culturally sensitive mental health support for international students during this transitional life stage.
Previous research suggests Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) use by sub-Saharan African (SSA) youth who emigrate to Western cultural contexts like Australia is an indication of their acculturation and is influenced by their values. Although values are distal predictors of AOD use, the extent to which SSA Australian youth apply their values in AOD use could be a function of their psychological flourishing and Bicultural Identity Integration (BII). The aim of this study was to test a predictive model that combines values, psychological flourishing and BII to explore how the interaction of personal values and adaptive resources are related to AOD use among SSA Australian youth (N = 196, M age = 23.7 years, range = 16 – 35 years). Participants completed an online questionnaire, and the data was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. We found that conservation and self-transcendence values, which are conceptualized as collectivistic or social focus values by S. H. Schwartz (2012) negatively predicted alcohol use through the serial mediation effects of psychological flourishing and BII. At the same time, these values negatively predicted other drug use through the serial mediation effects of psychological flourishing and BII, and alcohol use. Self-enhancement (but not openness to change) positively and significantly predicted alcohol use through the serial mediation effects of psychological flourishing and BII. Self-enhancement values also positively predicted other drug use through the serial mediation effects of psychological flourishing and BII, and alcohol use. The findings support the hypothesis that collectivist values negatively predict AOD use among SSA Australian youth through their psychological flourishing and BII. The results are discussed in terms of interventions to reduce AOD-related harm among immigrant youth who are acculturating to new norms and behaviours.
This scoping review synthesizes theoretical and empirical evidence on the interplay of ethnic identity, migration, and the economics of cultural production, focusing on demand dynamics, branding strategies, and income distribution within cultural industries. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we searched SCOPUS, Web of Science, EconLit, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar using terms related to ethnic identity, diaspora, cultural production, creative industries, labor market inequality, branding, and digital platforms. After title/abstract screening and full-text assessment, 107 studies met the inclusion criteria and were synthesized. We find that ethnic identity serves as a multifaceted economic resource, impacting supply-side production, demand-side consumption, and labor market outcomes. However, its economic value is not inherent; it is assigned and constrained by market structures, platform architectures, and institutional contexts. Migration emerges as a primary driver of cultural transfer, fostering hybrid cultural products that can achieve mainstream commercial success while simultaneously reshaping diaspora identity expressions. Branding strategies that leverage ethnic authenticity yield varied commercial results, depending on host-country demographics, cultural distance, and the producer's ability to manage the tension between authenticity and commercialization. Income distribution within cultural industries remains highly unequal across ethnic lines. Structural gatekeeping, platform algorithmic biases, and network effects systematically limit economic returns for ethnic minority producers, despite increasing mainstream demand for diverse cultural content. The review incorporates cases from the Global South, intersectional analysis, and evidence from emerging digital platforms. We identify critical gaps in quantitative demand modeling, longitudinal studies of producer trajectories, and evaluations of cultural equity interventions, proposing a multidisciplinary research agenda. These findings have implications for cultural policy, trade agreements governing cultural services, platform governance, and equity frameworks within creative industries.
The study of conceptual metaphors, first introduced by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and later expanded upon in cognitive linguistics and anthropology, has been widely applied across disciplines. In management studies, Gannon and associates (Gannon, 2009; Gannon & Pillai, 2016) have employed the concept of cultural metaphors to characterize national identities, arguing that specific metaphors encapsulate the deeper intellectual and emotional meaning commonly held by a nation’s residents. However, this perspective has faced criticism for its methodological limitations, including reliance on student samples and a lack of engagement with broader metaphor research in linguistics and anthropology. Using representative three-generation family samples from Sweden, Germany, the USA, Italy, India, and Spain, we empirically test whether national-cultural metaphors meaningfully define cultural orientations. Our findings provide little support for the notion that a single metaphor can encapsulate a nation’s collective beliefs and values. Instead, we highlight the importance of more nuanced and contextually grounded approaches to cultural analysis.
The increasing diversification of European societies due to immigration presents a complex social landscape, marked by both enrichment and the emergence of anti-immigrant sentiments. While existing research has predominantly examined the attitudes of the majority population towards newcomers, this study shifts the focus to the under-explored realm of inter-minority inter-group relations. Grounded in social identity theory, this study explores how the experience of perceived discrimination within the host society shapes first-generation immigrants' attitudes towards the arrival of new immigrants. We specifically examine the role of two key identity dimensions - identification with both the country of origin and identification with the host country - as mediating factors in this relationship. Furthermore, we investigate how the process of pursuing citizenship (i.e., the naturalization process) moderates these relationships, influencing how perceived discrimination affects these social identities and, subsequently, attitudes toward newcomers. Analyzing data from 809 first-generation immigrants in Belgium's Wallonia region, we find that stronger identification with the country of origin is associated with more positive attitudes toward new arrivals. Furthermore, the naturalization process moderates the association between perceived discrimination and host country identification: immigrants undergoing naturalization tend to distance themselves from the host country identity when they perceive greater discrimination, which in turn is associated with less favorable attitudes toward newcomers. These findings highlight the complex interplay of perceived discrimination, social identity, and the citizenship acquisition process in shaping inter-group relations within immigrant communities, with important implications for integration policies and social cohesion.
This article develops and tests a theory-driven integration linking social identity processes and intergroup contact to explain social distance as a relational outcome of attitudes and contact. Using a survey of Sarawak-born adults residing in Kuching (n = 402) and variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), we examine how ethnocentrism, stereotypes, and prejudice shape social distance toward Peninsular Malaysians, and whether social interaction functions as a relational pathway. The reflective measurement model shows strong reliability and validity. The structural model explains 55.3 % of the variance in social distance (R & sup2; = 0.553) and 25.1 % in social interaction (R & sup2; = 0.251), with positive predictive relevance for both constructs (Q & sup2; > 0). All three attitudinal antecedents are positively related to social distance, with prejudice the strongest predictor (beta = 0.368), followed by ethnocentrism (beta = 0.159) and stereotypes (beta = 0.120). Social interaction shows a large negative association with social distance (beta = -0.451) and is associated with the transmission of attitudinal effects. The findings indicate that distancing is a relational outcome shaped jointly by attitudinal climates and the architecture of contact. Policy implications emphasize equal-status, goal-dependent, intergroup cooperation, institutionally supported contact paired with prejudice-reduction strategies to strengthen national cohesion.
Background: Workplace marginalization remains a persistent challenge in public sector organizations, particularly within non-Western hierarchical contexts like Iran. While existing research has identified various drivers of exclusion, most studies fail to capture how cultural mechanisms enable marginalization through behavioral pathways. Objective: This study employs a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design to qualitatively explore employees' lived experiences of marginalization, and then quantitatively test a refined conceptual model that positions organizational silence as a mediating mechanism. Methods: The study was conducted in two phases. First, in-depth phenomenological interviews were conducted with 50 employees from Iranian public sector organizations. Second, based on emergent themes, a quantitative survey was administered to 350 employees. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and mediation analysis. Results: Qualitative analysis revealed that exclusionary culture operates primarily through silencing mechanisms. Quantitative results confirmed that organizational silence fully mediates the relationship between exclusionary organizational culture and workplace marginalization (indirect effect = 0.28, p < 0.001). The model explained 58% of the variance in workplace marginalization. Leadership accountability and social support significantly buffer these effects. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that marginalization is perpetuated through organizational silence as a central mediating mechanism. This study contributes a validated, context-sensitive framework that refines theoretical understanding of how exclusionary culture enables marginalization through behavioral pathways in hierarchical public sector environments.
This study investigated the impact of acculturation strategies on the academic success of Sri Lankan students enrolled in higher education study programs in New Zealand. Employing Berry’s acculturation model, the study examined the following strategies: integration, marginalization, assimilation and separation to understand their impact on academic success. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey approach was used, and the analysis revealed that engaging with both Sri Lankan and New Zealand academic cultures or adapting integration strategy was most used and resulted in the highest levels of academic success. While adopting the marginalization strategy was extremely rare in the sample, adopting of any strategy other than integration was found to result in a lower level of academic success. The study highlights the importance of institutional support, such as culturally inclusive programs, mentoring, and counselling services in promoting successful integration.
This article examines how systemic exploitation within the caporalato system, an illegal labor brokerage and coercive recruitment system in Italian agriculture, disrupts migrants’ ability to construct future and possible narrative identities that support social integration. Drawing on a qualitative case study of 24 migrant workers in the Foggia area of Southern Italy, the article examines the psychological and emotional consequences of exploitation beyond its immediate material and legal harms. The narratives show how exploitative agricultural labor fosters exclusion, mistrust, and trauma, weakening the capacity to imagine futures grounded in dignity, belonging, and inclusion. Participants’ responses range from communal retreat and spiritual resistance to fantasies of role reversal and defensive control. Rather than claiming generalizability beyond this setting, the article uses the Southern Italian case to show how exploitation can distort future-oriented self-narration under conditions of chronic marginalization. The findings suggest that integration policies should address both the structural causes of labor exploitation and the emotional and narrative injuries it produces.
The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of healthcare professionals' perceptions of global identity and general occupational stress levels on intercultural sensitivity in the presence of control variables. In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from healthcare professionals (N = 610) through the administration of a survey. The assessment employed scales designed to measure general job stress, intercultural sensitivity, and global identity. Parametric hypothesis tests and multivariate linear regression analyses were employed for the purpose of evaluating the relationships among the variables. The findings revealed notable disparities in intercultural sensitivity levels contingent on educational attainment, profession, years of employment, participation in global diversity training, and experience with foreign patients. The findings revealed that healthcare professionals with a high school or associate degree exhibited higher levels of intercultural sensitivity compared to those with an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. Furthermore, general job stress (β =-0.348) was found to have a negative effect on intercultural sensitivity, while global identity perception (β = 0.582) was identified as a positive influencing factor. The model was statistically significant (F = 92.653; p < 0.001) and demonstrated no evidence of autocorrelation or multicollinearity. Other factors, including education, profession, years of employment, and experience of working with foreign patients, were also identified as significant predictors of intercultural sensitivity levels. It is crucial to understand the interplay between global identity, job stress, and socio-demographic factors to develop effective healthcare practices for diverse populations. The findings emphasize the need to enhance intercultural sensitivity and global identity among healthcare professionals, as these competencies can improve patient outcomes and satisfaction in multicultural healthcare settings.
This qualitative study establishes and compares the Intercultural Sensitivity (IS) of tertiary American faculty teaching: mono-national, non-American students in the UAE; and multi-national, non-American populations in the US. Faculty IS is crucial in today's internationalized tertiary spheres as it affects learning, student belonging, and faculty retention. Data were collected through four-week reflexive participant-generated photography and photo-elicitation interview methods, analyzed using Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS). The US-based group exhibited more progressive sensitivity than the UAE-based group, motivating thematic analyses of the DMIS data. Five themes emerged, providing insight into lived experiences and highlighting potential shortcomings of the theoretical framework. This study is the first to the best of the researcher’s knowledge to investigate IS among American faculty teaching internationally diverse populations domestically and to compare IS differences with instructors teaching mono-national, non-American students abroad, offering implications for professionals in internationalized higher education and intercultural research.
This study examines proxemic behavior in Pakistan, focusing on the complex interplay of cultural, historical, and socio-economic factors shaping perceptions of personal space. With a multicultural composition of over 70 ethnic groups and a history influenced by Islamic traditions, colonialism, and post-colonial modernization, Pakistan provides a unique backdrop for studying proxemics in a non-Western context. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study gathered data from 2812 participants through surveys and 50 in-depth interviews. The findings highlight significant variations in proxemic preferences across demographic factors, including age, gender, and geographic location. Urbanization and globalization are reshaping proxemic behaviors, with urban residents adopting more Western norms, while rural participants maintain closer proximity due to collectivist cultural values. Gendered differences also emerge, with females preferring more personal space in public and professional settings than males. This research challenges existing Eurocentric models of proxemics, contributing to the decolonization of intercultural communication theory. It emphasizes the need for culturally nuanced communication strategies and underscores how socio-cultural forces shape proxemic behaviors differently from Western contexts.
