Subjective Perception of Cultural Differences and Synergy Orientation. Acculturation Measurement Revised

The paper is based on an ongoing research focusing on the acculturation phenomenon and its consequences for immigrants’ functioning in regard to mental health. The paper suggests a new and innovative conceptualization and measurement of acculturation, based on an anthropological understanding of the concept of culture. The measurement innovations include i.a.: (1) an additional stage to the measurement, which measures the individual perception of cultural differences in regard to a given acculturation domain, (2) a tridimensional model of acculturation, where in addition to the cultural maintenance and adoption dimensions a third dimension is introduced: cultural synergy, referring to practices of creatively mixing and developing new behaviors or lifestyles by acculturating individuals. So far, 100 Polish migrants living in Vienna, Austria have completed the questionnaire in the pilot phase of the study. The preliminary findings shows that: the perception of cultural differences varies strongly between individuals and is significantly related to their subjective well-being (SWB), the relation is negative across all behavioral domains of acculturation (9 domains were measured including: communication style, family relationships or clothing style). The introduced third dimension is independent of the two other and shows significant correlations with the SWB. However, the acculturation orientations are related to the SWB in a different way depending on the given domain. These behavioral aspects of acculturation are more strongly related to the SWB than language fluency and length of stay indicating the importance of a more refined acculturation measurement.