scholarly journals A Systematic Review on Cross-Cultural Comparative Studies of Sleep in Young Populations: The Roles of Cultural Factors

Author(s):  
Mina Jeon ◽  
Dagmara Dimitriou ◽  
Elizabeth J. Halstead

Recent studies have shown that sleep is influenced and shaped by cultural factors, including cultural values, beliefs and practices. However, a systematic understanding of how cultural factors in countries may influence sleep duration and sleep disturbances is still lacking. Therefore, we focused on a comparison of sleep duration and disturbances in young populations between countries. We report cross-cultural differences between the child, parent and environmental factors, and their association with sleep duration and disturbances. The review is based on literature searches of seven databases published until December 2020. Studies were included if they investigated sleep duration and disturbances of individuals up to 18 years across at least two or more countries. The results of this review have shown that sleep duration and disturbances vary between countries and regions and certain factors (e.g., bedtime routines, sleeping arrangement, physical activity and psychological functioning) have been associated with sleep duration or disturbances. This review also demonstrates that certain factors which were associated with sleep duration or disturbances in one country, were not shown in other countries, suggesting a need for recommendations for age-related sleep duration and sleep interventions to consider cultural differences that influence sleep duration or disturbances in individual countries or regions.

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuo Jing-Schmidt

Contrastive analysis of Chinese and American maternal affective speech acts revealed significant differences in the quantity of child-directed positive and negative speech acts. There were also important qualitative differences in specific types of maternal affective input. Results are consistent with available knowledge of cross-cultural differences in parenting approaches, and have implications for cross-cultural emotion and pragmatic development. Differential cultural values were addressed to account for the observed linguistic behaviors.


Autism ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 1993-2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Gillespie-Lynch ◽  
Nidal Daou ◽  
Maria-Jose Sanchez-Ruiz ◽  
Steven K Kapp ◽  
Rita Obeid ◽  
...  

Although stigma negatively impacts autistic people globally, the degree of stigma varies across cultures. Prior research suggests that stigma may be higher in cultures with more collectivistic orientations. This study aimed to identify cultural values and other individual differences that contribute to cross-cultural differences in autism stigma (assessed with a social distance scale) between college students in Lebanon ( n = 556) and those in the United States ( n = 520). Replicating prior work, stigma was lower in women than men and in the United States relative to Lebanon. Heightened autism knowledge, quality of contact with autistic people, openness to experience, and reduced acceptance of inequality predicted lower stigma. Collectivism was not associated with heightened stigma. Findings highlight the need to address structural inequalities, combat harmful misconceptions, and foster positive contact to combat stigma.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 322-322
Author(s):  
Francesca Falzarano ◽  
Jerad Moxley ◽  
Karl Pillemer ◽  
Sara Czaja

Abstract Cultural diversity in the United States (US) reflects a demographic shift, with a growing population of minority older adults and a subsequent increase in minority family caregivers providing care to aging adults. Research has demonstrated heterogeneity in the caregiving experience, with increasing focus placed on examining the impact of cultural values on caregiver (CG) outcomes. Familism has been investigated as a driving mechanism of cross-cultural differences in caregiving outcomes, yet prior work examining this relationship has yielded mixed findings. Using the sociocultural stress and coping model as a guiding framework, we examined, in a sample of 243 CGs who participated in the Caring for the Caregiver Network Study, a randomized controlled trial examining a culturally-tailored technology-based psychosocial intervention, the influence of familism and social support on positive aspects of caregiving, depressive symptoms, and caregiver burden. We also examined how these relationships vary as a function of race/ethnicity, the CG’s relationship to the care-recipient, other sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., SES status), and acculturation. Results showed that African American and Hispanic CGs exhibited higher levels of familism compared to Whites. In African Americans, familism predicted higher positive caregiving appraisals, and social support significantly predicted lower burden and depression. In Hispanics, levels of familism varied as a function of acculturation, with lower levels of familism identified among US Hispanic natives. Our findings highlight that cultural beliefs, such as familism, as well as social support may be adaptive in protecting against adverse CG outcomes and point to directions for future culturally congruent, family-centered intervention approaches.


Author(s):  
Aina M. Gassó ◽  
José R. Agustina ◽  
Esperanza Goméz-Durán

Despite the growing body of research regarding sexting and online sexual victimization, there is little evidence exploring cultural differences in association with those behaviors. The aim of this study was to examine cultural differences in sexting practices by comparing an American sample and a Spanish sample of university students. The original sample was composed of 1799 college students, including 1386 Spanish college students and 413 American Students, with 74% of female participants, and ages ranging from 18 to 64 years old (mean age = 21.26, SD= 4.61). Results indicate that American students sext more than Spanish students and have higher probabilities of being victims of nonconsensual dissemination of their sexual content. However, Spanish students receive more sexts than American students. Although our results show differences between the Spanish and the American samples that might be modulated by cultural factors, the vulnerability of females regarding sexting remains unchanged. Additionally, differences in specific characteristics of the behaviors (such as perceived risk, receiver of the sexual content, intensity of the sexual content, and motive for sexting) were also studied. Further results and implications are discussed in relation to cultural differences.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 235-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kateryna Maltseva

A considerable body of data has been amassed to explain values structure and transmission. Values dimensions have been extracted and compared across societies in a number of values studies, many of which use quantitative methodology. However, there is little quantitative evidence of significant cross-cultural variation in values. This counterintuitive outcome has given rise to a doubt if an effective quantified comparison of values across societies is possible. The major reason for this objection to use quantitative techniques in cross-cultural values research is the loss of culture-specific meaning in quantitative procedures. Using ratings data from two American and Swedish samples the present research demonstrates that it is possible to compare values data and detect meaningful cross-cultural differences in values across societies, provided that several conceptual alterations in the instrument are made. Namely, it is proposed that collective- and individual level constructs should be separated when the informants are asked about their values. The traditional approach to values as implicitly individual construct is critiqued. The paper proposes to distinguish formulations of individual-level values items (that are more closely associated with personal projects and conative aspects) from formulations of cultural-identity relevant collective-level values items (which are acquired in more uniform processes of social learning and institutionalization). When elicitation of values considers this distinction during data collection, the depression of cross-cultural differences in values disappears.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Del Giudice

Abstract The argument against innatism at the heart of Cognitive Gadgets is provocative but premature, and is vitiated by dichotomous thinking, interpretive double standards, and evidence cherry-picking. I illustrate my criticism by addressing the heritability of imitation and mindreading, the relevance of twin studies, and the meaning of cross-cultural differences in theory of mind development. Reaching an integrative understanding of genetic inheritance, plasticity, and learning is a formidable task that demands a more nuanced evolutionary approach.


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