Search

In this essay, we consider Gustav Jahoda’s contributions to empirical research and conceptual reflection in the fields of cross-cultural and social psychology. The first section draws attention to what we see as salient characteristics of his empirical research. The second section describes Jahoda’s critiques of some iconic theoretical concepts and distinctions. The third section describes his historical interest in the development of the two fields, with cultural context as a focus. In the conclusion section, we mention why Jahoda’s contributions need to be taken into account by current researchers and those to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This obituary draws attention to the contributions by Çiğdem Kağıtçıbaşı in the fields of developmental psychology and cross-cultural psychology. Three themes are mentioned: research on the value of children, early childhood enrichment programs, and conceptualization of the autonomous related self. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Value dimensions are used widely to make distinctions between countries and also serve to explain behaviour of individuals within countries. There is a paradox: leading researchers (Hofstede, 1980; Schwartz, 1994) have been adamant that country-level value structures differ from those at individual level. A recent analysis has suggested that dimensional structures at the two levels show substantial overlap. The current multi-level study extends previous research by examining to what extent ratings of the values of others can serve as an intermediate structure to help determine the degree of isomorphism between individual and culture-level structures. The findings indicate that a single value structure across levels is most parsimonious. Implications for international business research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Rarámuri Indians in Mexico use 1 word for guilt and shame. In this article, the authors show that the Rarámuri nevertheless differentiate between shame and guilt characteristics, similar to cultural populations that use 2 words for these emotions. Emotion-eliciting situations were collected among the Rarámuri and among rural Javanese and were rated on shame and guilt by Dutch and Indonesian students. These ratings were used to select 18 shame-eliciting and guilt-eliciting situations as stimuli. The Rarámuri (N= 229) and the Javanese (N= 213) rated the situations on 29 emotion characteristics that previously had been found to differentiate shame from guilt in an international student sample. For most characteristics, a pattern of differentiation similar to that found among the students was found for both the Javanese and the Rarámuri. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the globalization of indigenous psychologies. The question as to what constitutes the subject matter of cross-cultural psychology, usually phrased in terms of a dichotomy between unity and culturedness of the human psyche, remains a central issue. It has been argued that the contrast between psychology as a natural science and as a historical or cultural science is a dichotomy of little relevance for what he refers to as Asian social psychology, because of the monistic ontology prevalent in this part of the world.

Presents a conceptual framework that reflects the task of psychologists to promote positive changes in individual health behavior. Emphasis that need to be made in implementing interventions to exhibit the changes; Outline of a systematic strategy used in the promotion of positive changes; Points central to intervention programs aimed at preventing behavior and social conditions.

Cross-cultural developmental research faces the daunting task of studying the relationship of development and cultural context. The main argument of this article is that a variety of approaches is needed rather than one single perspective to make progress with this task. We illustrate how qualitative and quantitative research can be seen as complementary rather than mutually exclusive. We present four models, following Cole, that range from simple main effects to dynamic interaction models and argue that the debate about superiority of any one model is counterproductive; when applicable a more simple model is to be preferred. Thereafter a taxonomy of psychological domains is proposed (physiological, perceptual, cognitive, personality, and social aspects) that has a bearing on the choice of model. The final section describes some issues (and pseudoissues) of cross-cultural developmental science, such as the dichotomy between molar and molecular approaches, and the presumed need to maximize the understanding of cultural context in all research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the cognitive structure of emotions in Indonesia and The Netherlands in a series of three studies. Sets of 120 emotion terms were selected based on local ratings of prototypicality for "emotion". With similarity sortings a three-dimensional (evaluation, arousal, dominance) and a four-cluster (positive emotion, sadness, fear, anger) structure was found in each group. Of 50 pairs of translation-equivalent terms, 42 pairs were also found to be cognitively equivalent. With these equivalent terms a good fit of a common cognitive emotion structure was demonstrated in both countries. In a fourth and final study, the location of two social emotions, "shame" and "guilt", in the common structure was found to be closer to "fear" and somewhat further away from "anger" in Indonesia than in the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on the International Test Commission (ITC). History of psychological and educational test development and use; Goals and origin of ITC; Role of conferences in the development and promotion of ITC standards.

Indigenisation movements are a most welcome development for two interrelated reasons. The first is to make psychology relevant to non-Euro-american societies. The second reason is to show up the ethnocentricity in contemporary Euro-american psychology, including cross-cultural psychology. The topics studied, the concepts and instruments used, and the inferences drawn in most behavioural research are centred on Western views and interests. However, it can be questioned whether the current literature on indigenisation serves the societies for which it is intended much better than "traditional" cross-cultural psychology. The indigenisation literature seems to capitalise too much on cross-cultural differences in behaviour and to negate important invariances in psychological functioning across cultures. Such a one-sided emphasis is argued to be factually incorrect and theoretically misleading. Les mouvements d'indigenisation constituent une initiative positive pour deux raisons etroitement liees. La premiere est de rendre la psychologie pertinente aux societes non euro-americaines; la seconde, de reveler le caractere ethnocentrique de la psychologie euro-americaine, y compris la psychologie interculturelle. Les questions etudiees, les methodes et les instruments employes, aussi bien que les inferences auxquelles ils menent dans la plupart des etudes du comportement sont en effet centres sur la mentalite et les interets des Occidentaux. Cependant, on peut se demander si la litterature actuelle sur l'indigenisation sert mieux les societes auxquelles elles est destinee que la psychologie interculturelle "traditionnelle". La litterature consacree a l'indigenisation semble exploiter dans une trop grande mesure les differences interculturelles, et nier, au contraire, des invariants importants du fonctionnement psychologique des differentes cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three models are presented that explain cross-cultural differences in the allocation of resources to various social categories. (1) Individualism-collectivism predicts, for all kinds of resources, a higher allocation in collectivistic than in individualistic societies to members of one's ingroup. (2) Kagitcibasi's model of family change makes a distinction between material and nonmaterial resources. Collectivistic value patterns should lead to higher allocation of nonmaterial resources than found in individualistic societies, but no such difference is expected for material investments. Both these models assume cross-cultural differences in value orientations at a high level of generality. (3) An alternative is proposed, predicting universal patterns of exchange with only context-specific crosscultural variations at a low level of generality. Hypotheses derived from the three models are tested with data from Greece and The Netherlands. It is concluded that the results are most compatible with the third model. Cet article presente trois modeles qui expliquent les differences interculturelles dans l'allocation des ressources a diverses categories sociales. (1) L'individualisme-collectivisme predit pour tous les types de ressources, une allocation superieure envers les membres du groupe d'appartenance dans les societes collectivistes que dans les societes individualistes. (2) Le modele du changement familial de Kagitcibasi etablit une distinction entre les ressources materielles et les ressources non materielles. Les patrons de valeurs collectivistes devraient entrainer une allocation superieure des ressources non materielles comparativement aux societes individualistes, mais il ne devrait y avoir aucune difference quant aux ressources materielles. Ces deux modeles postulent des differences interculturelles avec un haut niveau de generalisation dans les orientations des valeurs. (3) Cet article propose un modele alternatif qui predit des patrons universels d'echange et des variations interculturelles specifiques au contexte a un faible niveau de generalisation. Des hypotheses issues des trois modeles sont testees a l'aide de donnees recueillies en Grece et dans les Pays-Bas. Les resultats sont plus compatibles avec le troisieme modele. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the development of psychology as a science, and profession, in a cultural, and political sense in Europe. Probability of achieving a European psychologist regulation; Requirements for qualified psychologists; Advantages of the internationalization of psychology; Examination of the domains, and the applications in psychology.

Comments on an article on culturally informed psychology published in the 'International Journal of Psychology' in 1993. Nature of the relationship between cultural context and behavior; Similarities in behavior repertoires found across cultures.

The logic of comparison is taken as a starting point. It is argued that any cross-cultural comparison presupposes a comparison scale, i.e. a scale that is identical across the populations included in a study. Scale identity can be specified for various levels of measurement. In the second section a simple classification is presented for inferences about cross-cultural differences derived from psychological measurements. Two questions are asked for various categories of inferences, viz., whether they are logically feasible and whether they can be validated empirically. In the third section the statistical analysis of psychometric conditions for equivalence is discussed. The fourth section deals with the problem what alternatives for meaningful interpretation a researcher has if data turn out to be lacking in equivalence. In the fifth section a conceptual problem is raised, namely whether the basic assumption of this article is realistic that psychological concepts are identical across cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The logic of comparison is taken as a starting point. It is argued that any cross-cultural comparison presupposes a comparison scale, i.e. a scale that is identical across the populations included in a study. Scale identity can be Specified for various levels of measurement. In the second section a simple classification is presented for inferences about cross-cultural differences derived from psychological measurements. Two questions are asked for various categories of inferences, viz., whether they are logically feasible and whether they can be validated empirically. In the third section the statistical analysis of psychometric conditions for equivalence is discussed. The fourth section deals with the problem what alternatives for meaningful interpretation a researcher has if data turn out to be lacking in equivalence. In the fifth section a conceptual problem is raised. namely whether the basic assumption of this article is realistic that psychological concepts are identical across cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Responds to Cigdem Kagitcibasi's critique of an article on self-reported resource allocation of Greek and Dutch students. Criticisms of Kagitcibasi's arguments concerning the model of family change; Relevance of the data used to determine the student's self-reported resource allocation; Patterns of responses observed by the authors.

Introduces papers on the comparison of psychological data from different cultures, presented at the 24th International Conference of Psychology held in Sydney, New South Wales in 1988. Criticism of the notion of cross-cultural comparison; Validity of the methodology in the context of culture differences; Role of inequivalence in psychological measurement.

Opinion. Comments on studies on the psychophysics of nontrivial constraints on color categorization. Points based pn cross-cultural psychological record; Exceptions to cross-cultural regularities; Probabilistic constraints on color categorization.

We comment on the argument by Welzel, Brunkert, Kruse and Inglehart (2021) that theoretically expected associations in nomological networks should take priority over invariance tests in cross-national research. We agree that narrow application of individual tools, such as multi-group confirmatory factor analysis with data that violates the assumptions of these techniques, can be misleading. However, findings that fit expectations of nomological networks may not be free of bias. We present supporting evidence of systematic bias affecting nomological network relationships from a) previous research on intelligence and response styles, b) two simulation studies, and c) data on the choice index from the World Value Survey (WVS). Our main point is that nomological network analysis by itself is insufficient to rule out systematic bias in data. We point out how a thoughtful exploration of sources of biases in cross-national data can contribute to stronger theory development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesian leadership characteristics were examined in three studies, using mixed methods. In the first, qualitative study 127 indigenous characteristics of Indonesian leadership were identified from interviews and focus group discussions with Indonesian managers and staff. In the second study, a questionnaire based on the characteristics found in the first study was administered to Indonesian managers to identify Indonesian leadership styles. Using factor analysis, two highly correlated dimensions were extracted, labelled benevolent paternalism and transformational leadership. In the third study, a questionnaire consisting of leadership characteristics from the GLOBE study, supplemented with a selection of 49 items from the Indonesian questionnaire, was administered to another sample of Indonesian managers. We found that Indonesian leadership has two components; the first involves a more local modernization dimension that ranges from (traditional) benevolent paternalism to (modern) transformational leadership, the second is a more universal person- versus team-oriented leadership dimension. We conclude that Indonesian leadership has both emic and etic aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A school-based life skills and sexuality education HIV/AIDS program for adolescents was evaluated in Toluca, Mexico, through a quasi-experimental pre–post design with 1,566 cases, divided over a control group and an experimental group. Based on a previously tested path model, 3 levels of variables were included as a guide for the contents of the program: personal variables (self-knowledge, self-efficacy regarding condom use, and decision making), intervening variables (subjective norms about, knowledge about HIV/AIDS, and attitudes toward condoms), and outcome variables (communication on sexuality and intentions to use condoms). Evaluation was conducted following these categories. Significant increases in all of these variables recognized as precursors of safer sex were found in the experimental group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of child–parent relationships remains a vital aspect of development through the entire life span. Early childhood attachment develops into a lasting adult attachment bond in which the balance between caregiving and care‐receiving changes over time. Among young adult women a model was examined on the relationship of recalled early maternal bonding with (1) the current relationship with one's mother represented by variables such as adult attachment, filial responsibility and filial concern, and (2) self‐related attitudes represented by orientation to life and satisfaction with life. Participants were female university students from two quite different societies, India and Belgium, including 150 Hindi‐speaking and 150 English‐speaking students in India and 183 Dutch‐speaking students in Belgium. Instruments used were the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Adult Attachment Scale, a self‐constructed Filial Responsibility Scale, the Filial Anxiety Scale, the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Across the three languages and two cultures we first tested the construct/structural equivalence of the scales by means of exploratory factor analysis and congruence analysis. Results indicated that psychometric conditions of equivalence held for most instruments. In order to examine relationships between the variables, a LISREL path analysis was conducted across the three samples. A model closely similar to the theoretically postulated model was found to show a good fit with invariant parameters in the three samples. As expected, recalled early maternal bonding of young adult women appeared to have an impact on the current relationship with their mother and on aspects of their personal life experiences. Thus, the influence of recalled early maternal bonding on variables reflecting the relationship with one's mother and on self‐related variables were brought together in a single model that showed a good fit in all three samples. La qualité des relations parent–enfant demeure un aspect vital du développement tout au cours de la vie. L'attachement durant les premières années de vie se développe en des liens durables d'attachement adulte dans lequel l'équilibre entre les soins donnés et les soins reçus change avec le temps. Un modèle portant sur les souvenirs des relations avec la mère à l'enfance fut examiné auprès de jeunes femmes avec (1) la relation actuelle entretenue avec leur mère selon des variables telles que l'attachement adulte, la responsabilité filiale et l'attention filiale et (2) les attitudes personnelles quant à l'orientation à la vie et la satisfaction avec la vie. Les participants étaient des femmes étudiantes à l'Université issues de deux sociétés différentes: l'Inde et la Belgique. L'échantillon incluait 150 participantes parlant hindi et 150 parlant anglais en Inde, tandis que les 183 participantes belges parlaient néerlandais. Les instruments utilisés étaient le Parental Bonding Instrument , le Adult Attachment Scale , l'échelle maison Filial Responsability Scale , la Filial Anxiety Scale , l' Orientation to Life Questionnaire et le Satisfaction With Life Scale . À travers les trois langues et les deux cultures, nous avons d'abord testé l'équivalence de construit et de structure des échelles au moyen de l'analyse de facteur exploratoire et de l'analyse de cohérence. Les résultats ont indiqué que les conditions psychométriques d'équivalence furent soutenues pour la plupart des instruments. Afin d'examiner la relation entre les variables, une analyse fut menée avec LISREL pour les trois échantillons. Un modèle assez similaire au modèle théorique proposé fut observé permettant d'obtenir un bon rapprochement avec les paramètres invariables dans les trois échantillons. Tel qu'attendu, les souvenirs des liens avec la mère à l'enfance semblaient avoir un impact sur la relation actuelle avec la mère et sur les aspects liés aux expériences de vie personnelles. Ainsi, l'influence des souvenirs des liens avec la mère à l'enfance sur les variables reflétant la relation actuelle avec sa mère et sur les variables personnelles fut démontrée dans un modèle qui est ajusté pour chacun des trois échantillons. La calidad de las relaciones entre padres e hijos es un aspecto vital del desarrollo a lo largo del ciclo de vida. El apego en la infancia temprana se desarrolla en una relación de apego duradera en la que el equilibrio entre proporcionar cuidado y recibirlo cambia con el paso del tiempo. Se examinó un modelo entre jóvenes adultas sobre la relación entre su recuerdo del vínculo temprano con su madre y (1) la relación actual con la madre representada por variables como el apego adulto, la responsabilidad filial y cuidado y atención filial, y (2) actitudes relacionadas con sí misma representadas por la orientación a la vida y satisfacción con la vida. Las participantes fueron estudiantes universitarias de dos sociedades diferentes, India y Bélgica, en India 150 hablaban hindi y 150 inglés y 183 hablaban holandés en Bélgica. Los instrumentos empleados fueron el Parental Bonding Instrument, el Adult Attachment Scale, una escala autoconstruída Filial Responsibility Scale, la Filial Anxiety Scale, el Orientation to Life Questionnaire y la Satisfaction With Life Scale. Se sometió a prueba la equivalencia de contructos y estructural de las escalas entre los tres idiomas y las dos culturas por medio de un análisis factorial exploratorio y análisis de congruencia. Los resultados indicaron que las condiciones psicométricas de la equivalencia se mantuvieron para la mayoría de los instrumentos. Para examinar las relaciones entre las variables, se condujo un análisis de senderos LISREL entre las tres muestras. Se encontró un modelo cercanamente similar al propuesto teóricamente que muestra bondad de ajuste con los parámetros invariables de las tres muestras. Como se esperaba, el vínculo temprano recordado por las jóvenes con su madre parece tener un impacto en la relación actual con ésta y en los aspectos de sus experiencias vitales personales. Por lo tanto, la influencia del vínculo temprano recordado por las jóvenes con su madre sobre las variables que reflejan la relación actual con la madre y otras variables relacionadas consigo mismas se unieron en un sólo modelo que mostró bondad de ajuste en las tres muestras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the development and administration of a programme in seven rural villages in the Mexican state of Oaxaca to address high rates of cervical cancer. The rationale and strategy are described on which the programme is based. The development and administration of the programme (to 1513 women) is presented, aimed at enabling women to take better care of themselves. Various additional activities that were added in the course of the programme in order to facilitate contextual factors are also described, including community campaigning, programmes with men and the training of health personnel. Effectiveness was evaluated in terms of both process and impact indices, showing high rates of attendance at programme sessions by enrolled women, an increase in knowledge and a substantial increase in the number of preventive diagnostic tests. The final section reflects on both the achievements, and the scope and the limitations of the programme. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical variables were examined for their empirical relevance as precursors of safer-sex behavior in 2,011 Mexican adolescents, most of whom were not sexually experienced. Using structural equation modeling, a good fit was found for a path model with (a) partner communication and intention to use condoms as outcome variables; (b) self-esteem, self-efficacy, and decision making as antecedent variables; and (c) perceived norms about sexual practices, attitudes toward condom use, and knowledge of HIV as mediating variables. A good fit also was found for a slightly elaborated model involving condom use as outcome variable that was fined in a subsample with 319 adolescents who reported sexual experience. Gender differences are discussed, as well as implications for intervention programs promoting safer-sex behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Arabic, there are two ways, differing in length, of pronouncing each digit. This feature of word pairs that are conceptually identical but of different length allows for a stricter test of the phonological loop hypothesis than has been reported previously. Libyan schoolchildren, both boys and girls, of two grades took part in a quasi-experimental study in which shorter and longer digits and shorter and longer words were presented in recall and pronunciation tasks. The results confirmed the validity of the phonological loop model in that memory span was longer for shorter stimuli. Analysis of the data with structural equation modeling showed that only 17% of the individual-level variation in memory span could be explained by pronunciation speed. In an analysis of covariance, it was determined that pronunciation speed could account for a substantial proportion of the variation found across age (8- year-olds vs. 10-year-olds), stimulus modality (digits vs. words), and stimulus length (short vs. long), but not for gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution presents a set of intervention programs in the area of reproductive health, sexuality, and life-skills education that are now widely used in Mexico and with Latin American populations elsewhere. First, the authors briefly indicate how a research-informed approach has been central to the development and implementation of these interventions. Thereafter they describe how the programs were initially designed, taking into consideration the Mexican cultural context and its implications for Mexican adolescents. They also mention subsequent evaluationbased extensions of the programs to reach other target populations, to broaden the range of issues addressed, to promote their dissemination, and to advocate society-wide sexuality and life-skills education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common tests of Spearman''s hypothesis, according to which performance differences between cultural groups on cognitive tests increase with their g loadings, confound cognitive complexity and verbal–cultural aspects. The present study attempts to disentangle these components. Two intelligence batteries and a computer-assisted elementary cognitive test battery were administered to 474 second-generation migrant and 747 majority-group pupils in the Netherlands, with ages ranging from 6 to 12 years. Theoretical complexity measures were derived from Carroll [Human cognitive abilities. A survey of factor-analytic studies. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press] and Fischer [Psychol. Rev. 87 (1980) 477]. Cultural loadings of all subtests were rated by 25 third-year psychology students. Verbal loading was operationalized as the number of words in a subtest. A factor analysis of the subtest loadings on the first principal component, the theoretical complexity measures, and the ratings of cultural loading revealed two virtually unrelated factors, representing cognitive (g) and cultural complexity (c). The findings suggest that performance differences between majority-group members and migrant pupils are better predicted by c than by g. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The question was examined as to whether scores at the individual level and scores at the country level on the four scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) have the same psychological meaning. Using data of 24 countries, it was found that the EPQ has different factorial structures at both levels. Both the Lie scale and the Psychoticism scale were shown to jeopardize cross-level equivalence. For further exploration of the meaning of the EPQ scales within countries and between countries country-level correlations were calculated with a variety of country characteristics such as Gross National Product, political indices, religiosity, Hofstede''s measures, and subjective well-being. Significant findings for 38 countries included correlations of the EPQ scales with Hofstede''s Masculinity, Diener''s Subjective Well-Being, religiosity, the number of deaths in a country due to political violence, and bribery. The most striking finding was a substantial negative correlation of the Lie scale with Gross National Product and other wealth-related indices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present study examined the question whether the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), which is one of the most widely used instruments to assess depression, can be used to measure differences in subjective well-being at national level. In order to establish the meaning of depression scores at country level, the functional equivalence (i.e., similarity of meaning) of depression scores at individual and country level was examined. Studies using the BDI in normal populations from 28 countries were collected. Depression showed the same correlates at individual and country level, which supports the functional equivalence of the BDI at the two levels. BDI scores and subjective well-being were then correlated with a number of country characteristics in order to test three theories of cross-national differences in subjective well-being. Livability theory stresses the importance of objective living conditions, comparison theory focuses on relative living conditions, and folklore theory states that cross-national differences can be explained by some national trait (e.g., beliefs and values concerning happiness). Cross-national differences in depression and subjective well-being could be explained by livability theory and folklore theory. BDI scores were negatively correlated with subjective well-being and other happiness-related variables. These findings suggest that depression had the same meaning at individual and country level and that depression is an adequate measure of (a lack of) subjective well-being at country level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este trabajo se analizan los resultados de la aplicación del programa educacional Porque me quiero, me cuido, denominado actualmente Yo quiero, yo puedo. . . prevenir el cáncer, en poblaciones rurales e indígenas de Valles Centrales, estado de Oaxaca, una de las regiones más pobres de México. Este programa está dirigido a promover el uso de servicios de tamizaje y la prevención del cáncer cervicouterino mediante el cambio de conducta de las personas y la comunidad. Para ello se realizaron talleres interactivos enfocados al desarrollo de habilidades y conocimientos en las mujeres de 15 a 64 años de edad. Estos talleres se complementaron con campañas en la comunidad y talleres para hombres con el fin de conseguir su apoyo. Se cuantificaron las pruebas de Papanicolau realizadas en las 10 poblaciones intervenidas y en 6 poblaciones con características similares empleadas como control. Además se evaluó mediante un cuestionario los cambios en la conducta, los conocimientos y las actitudes. Se observó un numero significativamente mayor de pruebas de Papanicolau realizadas en las poblaciones intervenidas con respecto a las de control (P = 0,02). Se comprobaron cambios positivos en el nivel de conocimientos de las mujeres respecto a las causas del cáncer cervical y las medidas para prevenirlo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]