Year of the Golden Jubilee: Culture Change in the Past, Present and Future

Part 1 of the IACCP Proceedings contains the abstracts and links to the recordings of the XXVI Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2022. (c) 2023, International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychologyhttps://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/iaccp_proceedings/1011/thumbnail.jp

Abstracts and Recorded Presentations

The abstracts are organized in the following way: All special events (keynotes, award presentations, meet the editor, pre-conference workshops, provocation sessions, etc.) are presented first. All other presentations are organized along the Thematic Streams in alphabetical order. Within each Thematic Stream, the order follows the structure: symposia, individual papers, and posters

Development and Correlates of Anthropomorphism

One of the most heavily researched topics of cognitive development concerns children's growing understanding of people's behaviors as reflecting mental states such as beliefs, desires and intentions. Anthropomorphism is the overextension of this conceptual framework, referred to as "theory of mind", to nonhuman animals and inanimate objects. In this dissertation, I investigate the development and correlates of anthropomorphism building on and extending past research with children and adults. In Study 1, I investigated the relation between anthropomorphism, social understanding, and social behaviors that are known to correlate with theory of mind, such as empathy, and prosocial attitudes in a college sample (N = 919). Contrary to my predictions, results showed that anthropomorphism is only weakly related to the measures of social understanding. There was, however, some evidence for a link between anthropomorphism and imaginary companions; individuals who had a history of imaginary companions scored higher on anthropomorphism. In Study 2, I examined the link between theory of mind and anthropomorphism in preschool children. In addition, I investigated the developmental trajectory of anthropomorphism from age 4 to 6 and the relation between anthropomorphism and role play and social preferences. Seventy-four children (36 girls; Mage = 5 years, 5 months; SD = 9 months) took part in this study. In order to assess anthropomorphism in this age group, I used two methods: interview and movie narrative measures. Results revealed no age-related changes in anthropomorphism scores of the children. As in Study 1, I did not find a strong relationship between the theory of mind measures and anthropomorphism. There was, however, more evidence for a link between the interview measure of anthropomorphism and role play, and social preferences of children. Overall, in both studies, theory of mind, the most obvious candidate as a correlate of anthropomorphism, was, at best, not a strong predictor of the anthropomorphism, suggesting the need to rethink how developing knowledge about people is related to the overextension of this knowledge to nonhuman entities. It is possible that a rudimentary understanding of humans is necessary to be able to overextend it, but whether you overextend it might be linked to other factors

Higher education disability professionals perceptions on transition processes for college freshmen with autism spectrum disorders

The purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze the perceptions of 14 higher education disability professions (HEDPs) from 4-year public universities in Michigan regarding the transition process for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from secondary to postsecondary institutions. A phenomenological analysis approach was used to analyze data. ASD is a lifelong disorder, and people with ASD who seek postsecondary education require individualized supports. Additionally, a growing number of students with ASD are attending college after high school, so universities need to be prepared for them. ASD students have unique communication, social, and behavioral characteristics and need accommodations to help them achieve academic success. The transition to college can be arduous for these students, and a failure to plan appropriately will nearly always lead to the first-semester failure. Virtual interviews were conducted with participants in which they responded to a 21- question survey instrument that was developed for this study. Five research questions examined retention, barriers, gaps, support services, and practices. Open-ended interviews provided key data, which I analyzed using a theoretical framework informed by transformative worldview inquiry, disability theory, organizational theory, and critical race theory. Nine themes and multiple subthemes emerged from this analysis. These themes identified key factors impacting the postsecondary transition process for students with ASD: parental involvement, accommodations, influencers of success, social and independent functioning, ASD issues, career employment, the transition from K-12 to postsecondary, faculty, and academic functioning. The appendices contain supportive materials to guide the potential implementation of this study for stakeholders: Transition from High School to College Overview Tool, Transition Tool for Students with Autism for College, Transition Tool for Parents, and Informal Inventory for Schools. These tools assist with understanding the key elements that support a successful transition to college for students with autism

Parental Stress, Family-Professional Partnerships, and Family Quality of Life: Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among the quality of life of families that have at least one child with autism spectrum disorder, parental stress level, and partnerships between the family and professionals. Also, parent perceptions of parental stress, family quality of life, and family-professional partnerships were assessed to ascertain if they could be predicted from different variables (e.g., ethnicity, educational levels, income levels, and parental relationship status, etc.). The study examined the relationship among the three variables (e.g., family quality of life, parental stress, and family-professional partnership). Participants were recruited from an autism center located at a state university, a state autism organization, a regional autism organization, and a local autism service provider. A total of 236 parents of children with autism spectrum disorder completed the online questionnaire. The results of the stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that the two variables that contributed significantly to family-professional partnership were age of the first child with autism and type of school services received. The only variable that contributed significantly to parental stress was the relationship status of parent(s). The two variables that contributed significantly to family quality of life were total household income and the age of the first child with autism. However, these variables explained only a small portion of variance for the outcome variables. The results of the structural equation modeling showed that in one model the perceived parental stress level had a direct effect on the parental satisfaction concerning family quality of life. However, the family-professional partnership did not affect the direction and/or strength of the relation between parental stress and family quality of life. In the second model, family quality of life had a direct effect on parental stress. However, family professional partnership(s) did not moderate the effect of parental satisfaction concerning family quality of life on the perceived parental stress level. These findings have implications for teacher education and collaboration between parents and educators. Coursework to enhance the understanding of the inner workings of families that include a child/youth with autism should be included in teacher education. The training should include components to form successful relationships between parents and educators as well as parent/educator collaborative teams. It is through the formation of strong family-professional partnerships that outcomes for children with autism will be improved

Parenting

Parenting is a lifelong task and parents are always remaining as a parent. Parenting in the present situation faces many challenges which need to be reviewed and understood with profuse equanimity and alacrity. This book tries to consider the process of parenting in different conditions such as during COVID-19 lockdown, in the refugee camps, and in different cultural structures and economic conditions. Situations that families face due to changing conditions such as global changes which cause lifestyles, immigration patterns, social conflicts, and raising children with developmental disabilities have been discussed. Topics such as professional concern with child care and education, gender roles and caregiving, and father’s involvement in parenting, have been covered in different chapters of the book

Exploring the Lived Experiences and Coping Strategies of Parents of Children with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences and coping strategies of parents of children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) in Central Virginia. Research questions used to frame this study are: How do parents of children with PIMD describe their experiences as parents of children with PIMD? How do the parents of children with PIMD describe the impact of their experiences on their well-being? How do the parents of children with PIMD describe their understanding of and perspectives regarding their children’s disabilities? How do parents of children with PIMD describe the impact of having children with PIMD on their families and outside of family social and other interactions? The theories guiding this study are the Vélez-Agosto, Soto-Crespo, Vizcarrondo-Oppenheimer, Vega-Molina, and García Coll’s (2017) expanded bioecological theory and family systems theory (White & Bregman, 2011. Data was collected from eight parents of children with PIMD using semi-structured interviews, cognitive representations and focus groups. Data was analyzed using Yin’s (2011) five-phase qualitative data analysis approach. Two major themes emerged: My Life with My Child with PIMD is Like a Roller Coaster and Balancing the Stressors: From Surviving to Thriving. The implications of the results apply to parents of children with PIMD, their family members and friends as well as the medical, mental health and educational providers who serve them