The Chinese–Western Intercultural Couple Standards Scale.

Abstract

We developed the Chinese-Western Intercultural Couple Standards Scale (CWICSS) to assess relationship standards that may differ between Chinese and Western partners and may challenge intercultural couples. The scale assesses 4 Western-derived relationship standards (demonstrations of love, demonstrations of caring, intimacy expression, and intimacy responsiveness) and 4 Chinese-derived relationship standards (relations with the extended family, relational harmony, face, and gender roles). We administered the CWICSS to 983 Chinese and Western participants living in Australia to assess the psychometric properties of the scores as measures of respondents' relationship standards. The CWICSS has a 2-level factor structure with the items reflecting the 8 predicted standards. The 4 Western derived standards loaded onto a higher order factor of couple bond, and the 4 Chinese derived standards loaded onto a higher order factor of family responsibility. The scale scores were structurally equivalent across cultures, genders, and 2 independent samples, and good convergent and discriminant validity was found for the interpretation of scale scores as respondents' endorsement of the predicted standards. Scores on the 8 scales and 2 superordinate scales showed high internal consistency and test-retest coefficients. Chinese endorsed all 4 family responsibility standards more strongly than did Westerners, but Chinese and Western participants were similar in endorsement of couple bond standards. Across both cultures, couple bond standards were endorsed more highly than were family responsibility standards. The CWICSS assesses potential areas of conflict in Chinese-Western relationships.

Couple Relationship Standards and Migration: Comparing Hong Kong Chinese with Australian Chinese

“…The current research found acceptable fit of the two‐level factor structure of the CWICSS in Chinese people living in Hong Kong, which previously was found to have acceptable fit in Australian Chinese and Australian Westerners (Hiew et al ). The criteria that designate acceptable fit of a confirmatory factory analysis model are contentious.…”

“…In Hiew and colleagues' (, ) studies, both Chinese and Westerners endorsed Couple Bond standards more strongly than Family Responsibility standards. That might reflect wider endorsement of Couple Bond standards than Family Responsibility standards across Western and Chinese cultures.…”

“…Epstein and Baucom (, p. 72) defined couple relationship standards as: “… personal beliefs about the characteristics an intimate relationship … should have.” Relationship standards show important variations by culture (Hiew, Halford, van den Vijven & Liu, , b) and are associated with relationship satisfaction (Hiew et al, ). There are high rates of migration to Western countries by people from Eastern cultures, and high rates of intercultural marriage (International Organization for Migration, ).…”

“…The CWICSS has a replicable two‐level factor structure in people of Chinese and Western (European) ancestry resident in Australia (Hiew et al, ). Across samples, all four Western derived standards are internally consistent and load onto a higher order factor of Couple Bond.…”

“…We have focused on exploring differences in relationship standards between Chinese and Western people for a number of reasons. First, the vast majority of research on couple relationship standards has been with Western samples, but the generalizability of many findings to couples from other cultures is unclear (Hiew et al, 2015a). Second, people of Chinese ancestry account for one quarter of the world's population (Hoosain, 2008) and constitute the majority of Asians living in Western countries such as the United States and Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012;Shibusawa, 2008).…”