https://doi.org/10.4087/DNEM1940">
 

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

Publication Date

11-1-2025

Abstract

Despite previous work on independent and interdependent self-construal, there is more limited research in self-construal with relation to migration history. Additionally, gender influences on self-construal and the correlation between the two self-construal dimensions remain unclear, given the mixed findings in existing literature. Current study aims to replicate and extend self-construal findings from Chinese- and Euro-Canadians in relation to migration history and gender. We hypothesized that men and individuals with earlier migration history to Canada will report higher independent and lower interdependent self-construal. Canadian university students (N = 524) completed the Self-Construal Scale (Singelis, 1994) and reported their gender, ethnicity, and migration history. Previous findings on independent but not interdependent self-construal were replicated: Euro-Canadians, men, and individuals with earlier migration history reported higher independent self-construal than Chinese-Canadians, women, and those with later migration history. Positive correlations between independent and interdependent self-construal were found among the Chinese participants, with this correlation being significantly higher in Chinese-Canadians who migrated around high school than other groups. The replication of past findings on independent but not interdependent self-construal suggests that a shift in the cultural landscape may challenge previous assumptions on self-construal. Culturally-bound gender differences, reference-group effect, possible explanations for and implications of the unique experiences of various bicultural groups, and potential links to other theories of culture and self-concept were discussed.

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Globalization in Context

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