International employment and children: geographical mobility and mental health among children of professionals

Psychosocial Association of Japanese Mothers and Their Children When Living Temporarily Abroad

To evaluate the effects of overseas sojourns on the psychosocial conditions of children, we observed Japanese children and their mothers temporarily living in the United States. Using a questionnaire, we examined the psychosocial condition of 61 Japanese mother-and child pairs (male = 51 percent, aged 8 to 15) living in the United States. One-fourth of the mothers were regarded as having minor psychiatric illness according to the General Health Questionnaire. One-tenth of the children were assessed as depressive by the Children’s Depression Inventory, and 30 percent of the children were identified as having a high level of anxiety according to the Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the mother’s minor psychiatric illness was significantly associated with the levels of depression and anxiety in their children.

Adolescent Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong: a comparison with locally born students and factors associated with their psychological well-being

The present research aims to compare the psychological well-being of young Mainland Chinese immigrants and locally born students in Hong Kong and to identify factors that are associated with the psychological well-being of young immigrants. Participants, aged from 12 to 17 years, included 1,109 youngsters born in Hong Kong and 342 new immigrants from Mainland China. Factors examined in this research included individual demographic and socio-economic factors like age, gender, length of residence in the host society and the financial situation of immigrants' immediate family, as well as personal factors including immigrants' self-concept, perceived discrimination, and educational aspiration. Findings indicated that the psychological well-being of young Mainland Chinese immigrants was on the whole better than that of the locally born students. Findings also revealed that demographic factors did not have significant correlation with the psychological functioning of young immigrants, while personal factors generally correlated significantly with their psychological well-being.

Cultural distance and its relationship to psychological adjustment of international exchange students

This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Cultural Distance Questionnaire (CDQ), and to examine whether or not the measured cultural distance influenced the psychological adjustment of international exchange students and, if so, which aspects were most influential. Subjects were 211 Japanese high school and college students who stayed for one year with a host family in one of 23 countries around the world. They were asked to complete the Maudsley Personality Inventory before departure from Japan, the 12-item General Health Questionnaire six months after arrival in the host country and the CDQ six months after they returned from abroad. We found that the CDQ had high internal consistency reliability. Satisfactory validity was suggested for the CDQ because it offered wide coverage of various aspects of daily lives that reflect cultural differences, because it was uncontaminated by social desirability or by personality traits and because the obtained scores by country and region were largely in accordance with the expected directions. It was found that the greater the cultural distance between Japan and the foreign community, as measured by the CDQ, the greater the psychological distress of the international student placed in that community. Furthermore, the results showed that it was the food that had the greatest impact on the intercultural adjustment.

Sojourner readjustment: mental health of international students after one year's foreign sojourn and its psychosocial correlates

The problem of readjustment to the home culture among international students who have spent some time in a foreign culture has not received satisfactory empirical investigation in the literature. We present a longitudinal study of the readjustment of 199 Japanese adolescents who have been enrolled in 1-year placement with a host family in various countries of the world. The personality trait, coping style, social support, and emotional distress of the subjects were measured before departure, while abroad, and 6 months after return home. The students showed substantial emotional distress even 6 months after return from a foreign sojourn; neuroticism, emotion-oriented coping, and concurrently measured social support were found to significantly predict mental health during readjustment. Close attention is recommended not only for the adjustment of the international students while abroad but also for the readjustment process involved in the so-called reverse culture shock.

Re-adjustment of Japanese returnee children from an overseas sojourn

A questionnaire survey which was devised from the MMPI which was administered to Japanese children aged between 6 and 18 who had returned from an overseas sojourn for the duration of no less than one year (n = 1941) and matched control groups from the same schools who had no overseas experiences (n = 1354). Returnee children showed more dissatisfaction with their lives in Japan, but there was no indication that returnee children had more adjustment difficulties than their counterparts. In fact, they were less worried about their academic achievement and interpersonal relationships. Positive effects of the transcultural relocation were discussed as well as the adjustment.

Comparison of adaptation to the home culture of Japanese children and adolescents returned from overseas sojourn

A questionnaire based on the MMPI was administered to Japanese children aged between 6 and 18 years who had returned from an overseas sojourn of more than one year's duration (N = 1941) and a matched control group who had no overseas experiences (N = 1354). Overall females had more difficulty with friends, and scored higher on both psychological and physical symptoms. The older children had more complaints about life in Japan, difficulty with friends and physical and psychological problems. The differences between the returnee and control group were less in the age range between 7 and 9, but the overseas experience seemed to have positive effects between the ages of 10 to 15. The longer the children stayed overseas, the more they had complaints about life in Japan and difficulty with friends, and less negative attitudes towards overseas life. Children who had multiple overseas experiences had more problems such as anxiety, depression and mental complaints. Children's developmental stages and the amount of exposure to the foreign culture are therefore important determinants of their readjustment. The expectations of parents and the home culture to the returnee children, gender, and emphasis on academic achievement, must also be taken into account.

Children who cross cultures

The subject of this study is the effects of transcultural sojourn and culture shock on the psycho-social development and school achievement of Dutch children. One hundred and three Dutch children in the age range 6-17 years who stayed abroad with their parents for at least two years and returned to Holland were compared with 81 Dutch classmates of the same age and sex. The class teacher and parent(s) were the informants. The transcultural group showed more behavioural problems on the Dutch version of the Child Behavior Checklist developed by Achenbach. Parents of the transcultural group regarded their children on a modified Graham & Rutter questionnaire as less happy than the control parents. However, no differences were found for academic achievement or problem behaviour at school as assessed by the teacher version of the CBCL, the 'Teacher's Report Form' (TRF). Organizations which send their employees abroad should direct more attention to employees' children. Attention given by parents and teachers to language problems and school performance should not pre-empt close attention to the psycho-social development of children.