Cross-cultural adaptation of immigrants, refugees, and sojourners has been extensively investigated in the social sciences, but without an integrative theoretical foundation necessary for comprehensive understanding. This book attempts to meet this need by presenting an interdisciplinary, multidimensional theory, synthesizing the existing conceptualizations and empirical evidence in anthropology, communication, psychiatry, psychology, sociology, sociolinguistics, and related disciplines into a single theoretical scheme.
The theory presented in this book is grounded in a systems perspective, based on which a set of assumptions, axioms, theorems, and a model are explicated. It emphasizes the stress-adapatation-growth dynamics of cross-cultural experiences, which bring about cultural strangers' gradual transformation toward increased functional fitness in the host milieu. Effective intrapersonal (cognitive, affective, and behavioural) and social (interpersonal and mass) communication activities are theorized as being at the heart of successful adaptation—along with individual background characteristics and host environmental conditions.
The author concludes the book by outlining an integrative research design ideally suited for studying cross-cultural adaptation and by discussing practical implications of the theory for facilitating adaptation of cultural strangers and promoting integration of host societies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)