A Comparison of Cultural Adaptation, Self-Esteem, and Depression Scales Between Dominant Groups in the United States and Spain

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 27
  In Roundtable Session: The Global Social Contexts of Education, Stratification, and Adaptation

Abstract

Using a cross-cultural framework with young adults in the United States and Spain, we examine cultural adaptation, self-esteem and depression by gender and national culture. The Cultural Adaptation and Development Inventory (CADI) is a 30-item Likert questionnaire which addresses the role of social contexts in individual and group differences. CADI sub-scales include inter-cultural distress, effort optimism, positive inter-cultural adaptation, and inter-cultural insensitivity. Differences between dominant groups revealed important contrasts between these two countries in terms of how cultural identities are developed. It is argued that a greater understanding of the interplay between political power, social status, and cultural adjustment is needed in contrasting the socio-psychological adjustment of both non-dominant and majority groups in diverse cultures.

Authors

• Pedro R. Portes, University of Georgia

• Diego Boada, University of Georgia - Athens

• Lidia Cabrera-Perez, University of La Laguna Spain

• Maria Teresa Pozo-Llorente, Universidad de Granada

• Manuel S. Gonzalez Canche, University of Pennsylvania