Self-referent identity labels are frequently argued to be a central component of the self and to be important in the planning of conduct. Despite the attractiveness of this argument, relatively little research has yet appeared that supports it, and studies of the Direct all communications to: Dr. Bruce J. Biddle, Center for Research in Social Behavior, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 6521 1.
The effects of in-group membership and work environment on the leadership preferences of Anglo-Australians and Chinese Australians were examined. Leadership styles were based on Misumi's PM theory. Subjects were sixty Anglo-Australian and sixty Chinese Australian males, all of whom were full-time white-collar employees in large organizations. Leadership profiles, vignettes describing different work environments, and in-group/out-group membership scenarios were constructed. Although PM-type leadership was clearly the most popular style of leadership with both cultural groups, the leadership preferences of the Chinese Australians were more affected by the work environment than were those of the Anglo-Australians. The in-group/out-group effect on leadership preferences was not significant for both cultural groups. There were cultural differences in the rank orderings of the four leadership styles. A significant in-group/out-group effect was found for the rank orderings of both cultural groups. Despite clear cultural differences in leader selection and rank orderings, Bontempo's INDCOL Scale did not detect cultural differences in individualism-collectivism.
The HIV and STIs epidemic in China has had a significant impact among China's ethnic minorities. However, the official traditional approach, which has used an anti-epidemic social campaign, has not paid any attention to the diversity of cultural backgrounds of the many ethnic minority groups. This study carried out in Sichuan Province is the first to explore how to use cultural resources for developing an effective strategy for promoting HIV prevention in different cultural groups in China. One hundred and fifty male volunteers drawn from the Yi (50), Tibetan (50) and majority Han (50) cultural groups were assigned to a direct training programme. After training, these participants spread safe sex messages to other contacts who became an indirect peer diffusion group. A third group of 150 male volunteers from the same three cultural groups but from another relatively comparable community acted as controls. Each participant was interviewed before and after the intervention to assess knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions regarding HIV/AIDS prevention. The study examined the cultural appropriateness and effectiveness of peer-led health message diffusion in promoting condom use through a traditional oral communication approach from the direct training groups to the indirect intervention groups and broad peer networks within the Yi, Tibetan and Han cultural communities. Key findings showed that the peer-based oral communication strategy was effective for encouraging condom use with casual sexual partners in both the direct training group and the indirect peer diffusion group in all three cultural groups. There was no significant change in any of the comparison groups. Although change in the majority Han cultural group was generally greater than in the ethnic minority groups, the results clearly suggest that the methods can be successfully adopted to promote safe sexual behaviour in different cultural groups of China.
Over a number of years, the author has been involved in crosscultural research with Asian and Australian children and adolescents. This article will review some of the work done with and by some of the author's colleagues in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and China. These countries are all multicultural, yet the contributions of these Asian researchers to the role of cultural factors in development are not as well known as they should be. Some reasons for this situation will be discussed. In each of these countries, far-reaching changes now challenge traditional cultural values in family relations and child-rearing practices. The author highlights some of the most significant differences in Asian and Western approaches to child-rearing practices and discusses these in the context of some dominant religious, social, philosophical, and ideological positions.
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