Acculturation of Greek family values

This article brings together two areas of current interest in cross-cultural psychology: acculturation and values. Specifically, to what extent do the values held by individuals change as they undergo the experience of acculturation? The cross-cultural study of values frequently examines a broad array of values, but the present study focuses on Greek family values because family is a central cultural institution. Because policies of the host society affect the process of acculturation, it was expected that Greek family values would be sustained after immigration to Canada (where integration is the policy) more than they would after immigration to European countries (where assimilation is emphasized more). It was also predicted that older people and males would subscribe to these values to a greater extent than would younger people and females. A total of 16 samples (N=951) from Greece, Canada, the Netherlands, and Germany were drawn for the study and were administered a 65-item questionnaire. The results demonstrated significant value change in relation to acculturation across countries and between generations. The joint process of ‘’culture shedding” and ‘’culture learning” was supported

The relationship of family bonds to family structure and function across cultures

This study, using a contextual approach, explores the relationship of family bonds to family structure and function across five cultures: Greece, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Britain, and Germany. Its long-term goal is the construction of measures of family structure and functioning that are useful in cross-cultural research. Differences in emotional closeness, geographic proximity to relatives, and frequency of telephone contacts and meetings were not found among the five cultures with respect to members of the nuclear family. Differences between Greece and Cyprus, selected as relatively collectivist cultures, and Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, individualist cultures, on these variables were found with respect to members of the extended family. By showing a pattern of cross-cultural similarity and differences, although moderate, among extended family members, this study shows that family structure and function are context variables that can explain variability between psychological variables and thus add to the explanatory power of cross-cultural psychology

Perception and evaluation of the quality of life in Florence, Italy

Series: Best Cases II, Social Indicators Research Series, vol. 28 Abstract. In 2003, the City of Florence (Italy) in conjunction with the Department of Statistics of the University of Florence conducted a research project regarding the citizens’ perception and evaluation of the quality of life (QOL) in the city of Florence. The focus of the study was to identify residents’ needs and develop programs and policies to enhance their QOL. The study also attempted to develop specific and innovative indicators of QOL aimed at measuring and assessing the levels of suitability of the living conditions that the city of Florence offers to its inhabitants. The author shows mainly the methodological procedure aimed at developing these innovative indicators

Functional relationships in the nuclear and extended family: A 16-culture study

This study investigated the relationship between culture, structural aspects of the nuclear and extended family, and functional aspects of the family, that is, emotional distance, social interaction, and communication, as well as geographical proximity. The focus was on the functional aspects of family, defined as members of the nuclear family (mother, father, and their children) and the extended family (grandmother/grandfather, aunt/uncle, cousins). Sixteen cultures participated in this study, with a total number of 2587 participants. The first hypothesis, that the pattern of scores on the psychological measures and the behavioral outcomes are similar across cultures, an indication of cultural universality, was supported. The second hypothesis, that functional relations between members of the nuclear family and their kin are maintained in high-affluent and low-affluent cultures, and that differences in functional relationships in high-and low-affluent cultures are a matter of degree, was also supported by the findings. The results suggest that it is less meaningful in cross-cultural family studies to ask questions about the structure of the family, than to ask about the functional relationships between members of the nuclear family and their kin. In looking only at the nuclear family, one focuses only on those residing in the household, but ignores those important members of the extended family who may reside nearby and their significant relationships with the members of the nuclear family

Genome-wide association analysis of eating disorder-related symptoms, behaviors, and personality traits

Eating disorders (EDs) are common, complex psychiatric disorders thought to be caused by both genetic and environmental factors. They share many symptoms, behaviors, and personality traits, which may have overlapping heritability. The aim of the present study is to perform a genome-wide association scan (GWAS) of six ED phenotypes comprising three symptom traits from the Eating Disorders Inventory 2 [Drive for Thinness (DT), Body Dissatisfaction (BD), and Bulimia], Weight Fluctuation symptom, Breakfast Skipping behavior and Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder trait (CHIRP). Investigated traits were derived from standardized self-report questionnaires completed by the TwinsUK population-based cohort. We tested 283,744 directly typed SNPs across six phenotypes of interest in the TwinsUK discovery dataset and followed-up signals from various strata using a two-stage replication strategy in two independent cohorts of European ancestry. We meta-analyzed a total of 2,698 individuals for DT, 2,680 for BD, 2,789 (821 cases/1,968 controls) for Bulimia, 1,360 (633 cases/727 controls) for Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder trait, 2,773 (761 cases/2,012 controls) for Breakfast Skipping, and 2,967 (798 cases/2,169 controls) for Weight Fluctuation symptom. In this GWAS analysis of six ED-related phenotypes, we detected association of eight genetic variants with P < 10(-5) . Genetic variants that showed suggestive evidence of association were previously associated with several psychiatric disorders and ED-related phenotypes. Our study indicates that larger-scale collaborative studies will be needed to achieve the necessary power to detect loci underlying ED-related traits