Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

http://hjb.sagepub.com/ Sciences

Hispanic Journal of Behavioral

http://hjb.sagepub.com/content/36/1/79 The online version of this article can be found at:

DOI: 10.1177/0739986313513718

15 December 2013 2014 36: 79 originally published onlineHispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Yolanda Vasquez-Salgado and Gabriela Chavira Developmental Process Among Latino Youth

The Transition From Middle School to High School as a

Published by:

http://www.sagepublications.com

found at: can beHispanic Journal of Behavioral SciencesAdditional services and information for

http://hjb.sagepub.com/cgi/alertsEmail Alerts:

http://hjb.sagepub.com/subscriptionsSubscriptions:

http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navReprints:

http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navPermissions:

http://hjb.sagepub.com/content/36/1/79.refs.htmlCitations:

What is This?

– Dec 15, 2013OnlineFirst Version of Record

– Jan 8, 2014Version of Record >>

at LIBERTY UNIV LIBRARY on April 7, 2014hjb.sagepub.comDownloaded from at LIBERTY UNIV LIBRARY on April 7, 2014hjb.sagepub.comDownloaded from

Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 2014, Vol. 36(1) 79 –94 © The Author(s) 2013

Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

DOI: 10.1177/0739986313513718 hjb.sagepub.com

Article

The Transition From Middle School to High School as a Developmental Process Among Latino Youth

Yolanda Vasquez-Salgado1,2 and Gabriela Chavira1

Abstract The transition from middle school to high school is an important developmental period to investigate because of the negative impact it has on youths’ academics. The purpose of this study was to investigate Latino youths’ academic achievement prior to, during, and after the transition to high school, and gender differences in youths’ achievement over time. School transcripts were obtained for 92 youth. Three latent growth curve models were tested. Youth were stable in achievement throughout middle school, declined in grades during the transition, yet remained stable in high school. Youth with higher achievement in fall of eighth grade declined in the transition at a faster rate than youth who held lower achievement. Girls held higher levels of achievement across each stage in development; boys and girls differed in high school trajectories. Policy makers interested in fostering a successful transition should create programs for both high- and low-achieving Latino youth.

Keywords academic achievement, middle school, high school, transition to high school, gender

1California State University, Northridge, USA 2University of California, Los Angles, USA

Corresponding Author: Yolanda Vasquez-Salgado, MA, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA. Email: yvasquez@ucla.edu

513718HJBXXX10.1177/0739986313513718Hispanic Journal of Behavioral SciencesVasquez-Salgado and ChaviraVasquez-Salgado and Chavira research-article2013

at LIBERTY UNIV LIBRARY on April 7, 2014hjb.sagepub.comDownloaded from

80 Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 36(1)

The transition from middle school to high school is a very important devel- opmental period to investigate because of the negative impact it has on youths’ academics. A multitude of studies have found that youths’ grades decline from eighth grade to ninth grade (Benner & Graham, 2009; Isakson & Jarvis, 1999; Reyes, Gillock, & Kobus, 1994; Roderick, 2003; Roeser, Eccles, & Freedman-Doan, 1999; Seidman, Aber, Allen, & French, 1996). This pattern may be attributed to changes that are embedded with the adoles- cent stage of development, a change from one school to another, or simply, the characteristics of high school or demands it sets forth (Weiss & Bearman, 2007).

Although several studies are available on this transition period (Benner, 2011), very few have examined this period with Latino samples (Benner & Graham, 2009; Reyes et al., 1994). In fact, the studies with Latino samples have included other ethnic groups in their analyses.

The U.S. Latino population is the largest and fastest growing ethnic minor- ity group in the United States (United States Census Bureau, 2011) and by 2020, Latinos will account for 19% of the U.S. labor workforce (United States Department of Labor, 2012). However, Latinos lag behind other groups in education attainment such that they are less likely to graduate from high school and college (Sólorzano, Villalpando, & Oseguera, 2005). Given this reality, it is vital to examine factors contributing to the academic success of this ethnic group. A failure to do so may result in dire consequences for our nation’s future workforce and economy. Therefore, the current study exam- ined the transition from middle school to high school with a sample that con- sisted of solely Latino youth. Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

The Transition to High School as a Developmental Process

The conceptual framework that guided this study was the examination of the transition to high school as a developmental process that unfolds over time (Benner, 2011). The majority of studies on the transition to high school have been short-term longitudinal inquiries that focus on eighth- and ninth-grade outcomes (e.g., Isakson & Jarvis, 1999; Reyes et al., 1994) and only one study has examined the transition as a developmental process (Benner & Graham, 2009). In their longitudinal study, Benner and Graham found that youths’ grades were stable across middle school, declined on transitioning into high school and continued to decline after the transition. It is worth noting however, that other research that has focused on youths’ trajectory throughout middle school noted a decrease in grades rather than stability in grades in middle

at LIBERTY UNIV LIBRARY on April 7, 2014hjb.sagepub.comDownloaded from

Vasquez-Salgado and Chavira 81

school (Juvonen, Wang, & Espinoza, 2011; McGill, Hughes, Alicea, & Way, 2012). Also, another study that examined the early years of high school dis- covered that several possible academic trajectories can occur throughout high school (e.g., stable grades, decline, inconsistency; Ding, 2008).

Nonetheless, the conceptual framework suggests that studies only exam- ining change in academic achievement from eighth to ninth grade, (e.g., Reyes et al., 1994) lack knowledge about youths’ academic trajectories prior to the transition. It is unclear as to whether youth in such studies were already declining academically throughout middle school and continued to decline across the transition into high school, or whether they performed well throughout middle school, only to experience a disruption in their academic achievement on transitioning into high school (Benner, 2011). Such studies also lack information about the influence that the transition has on youths’ subsequent trajectory across high school. For example, after experiencing declines in academic achievement, youth may have bounced back from the disruption or continued to exhibit declines in academic achievement (Benner, 2011). Given the potential significance of the transition as a developmental process that unfolds over time, the present study examined the transition to high school, as well as years prior to and after the transition. Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

Statistical Techniques in Transition to High School Research

Earlier transition studies have primarily utilized paired samples t tests to examine whether there was a significant difference between youths’ grades from eighth to ninth grade (e.g., Reyes et al., 1994; Roeser et al., 1999). More recently (Benner & Graham, 2009), research has utilized sophisticated statis- tical methods—piecewise latent growth curve modeling. The statistical tech- nique allowed Benner and Graham (2009) to examine the trajectory of youths’ grades during middle school and high school; an analysis was conducted to examine whether the difference between grades in spring of eighth grade and fall of ninth grade was significantly different from zero. Although these anal- yses provided fruitful information about the transition and inspired the current study, conducting three separate models—one for each stage of development (middle school, transition, high school)—might provide mean- ingful information that is not currently available in the literature. Three sepa- rate models would allow us to become knowledgeable of the average change (e.g., average decrease in grades) taking place in each stage of development and more importantly, a separate model for the transition (i.e., fall and spring of Grades 8 and 9) would allow us to understand whether high or low

at LIBERTY UNIV LIBRARY on April 7, 2014hjb.sagepub.comDownloaded from

82 Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 36(1)

achievement at the start of eighth grade is related to a particular trajectory across the transition (e.g., faster increase or decrease in grades). The current study intends to conduct three separate latent growth curve models in order to examine whether initial academic achievement is related to youths’ academic trajectories over time.

Gender Differences in Academic Achievement Among Latino Youth

It is well documented that among Latino youth, girls outperform boys in aca- demics (Colón & Sánchez, 2010; Henry, Merten, Plunkett, & Sands, 2008; Sánchez, Colón, & Esparza, 2005; Suárez-Orozco & Qin-Hilliard, 2004). However, very few studies have examined these gender differences longitu- dinally (Suárez-Orozco & Qin-Hilliard, 2004).

Researchers have attempted to explain this “gender gap” (Suárez-Orozco, Bang, & Onaga, 2010) in academic achievement. One explanation may be that ethnic minority boys have lower educational aspirations (Kao & Tienda, 1998). Another might be a difference in teacher expectations for boys and girls (Suárez-Orozco & Qin-Hilliard, 2004). In addition, the cultural values and norms that immigrant families hold for boys and girls may also help explain the “gender gap” in achievement. Immigrant parents place more restrictions on girls than boys and these restrictions may lead girls to treasure their time at school and hence be more academically engaged (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez- Orozco, 2001). While overall gender differences in performance are well doc- umented in the literature, it is unclear whether or not the “gender gap” remains stable throughout students’ academic trajectory, or if this gap widens or nar- rows throughout middle and high school and during periods of transition. The current study will examine whether there are gender differences in Latino youths’ academic achievement across different development periods. Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

Research Questions and Hypotheses

Three research questions guided this study: (1) What academic achievement trajectories do Latino youth exhibit across middle school, high school, and the transition from middle school to high school? (2) Does initial academic achievement relate to youths’ academic trajectory in middle school, high school, and the transition? (3) Are there gender differences in Latino youths’ academic achievement over time?

In regard to the first research question, given that studies have noted a stable academic trajectory (Benner & Graham, 2009) or a decline in grades

at LIBERTY UNIV LIBRARY on April 7, 2014hjb.sagepub.comDownloaded from

Vasquez-Salgado and Chavira 83

throughout middle school (Juvonen et al., 2011; McGill et al., 2012), we hypothesized that Latino youths’ academic trajectory would follow a similar pattern (i.e., either a decline or a stable trajectory) throughout middle school. To examine this, a linear trend was tested.

In addition, given the large body of research that suggests there is a decline in grades on transitioning to high school (Benner & Graham, 2009; Isakson & Jarvis, 1999; Reyes et al., 1994; Roderick, 2003; Roeser et al., 1999; Seidman et al., 1996), it was hypothesized that Latino youth would decline in academic achievement on transitioning into high school. Therefore, a linear trend was tested in an attempt to verify the decline in youths’ grades during the transition to high school.

Finally, studies on youths’ academic trajectory throughout the early years of high school have found that there is a decline in grades (Benner & Graham, 2009; Ding, 2008), as well as other patterns (e.g., stable, inconsistent; Ding, 2008). Consequently, we refrained from making a hypothesis on this devel- opmental stage because of the variation in previous results. Similar to the aforementioned developmental periods, a linear trend was tested.

In regard to the second question, given the limited statistical methods uti- lized in previous studies, the current study will explore whether youths’ ini- tial academic achievement influences their academic trajectory (i.e., rate of change) across each developmental period.

In reference to the third research question, a large body of research sug- gests that Latina girls outperform boys in academics (Colón & Sánchez, 2010; Henry et al., 2008; Sánchez et al., 2005; Suárez-Orozco & Qin-Hilliard, 2004). Therefore, the current study hypothesized that Latina girls will outper- form boys throughout middle school, during the transition to high school, and in high school. However, the current study explores whether this gender dif- ference in academic achievement implies differential developmental trajecto- ries across each stage in development. Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

Method

Participants

Participants in this study consisted of 92 Latino youth who were a subset of a larger sample of 354 youth that took part in a larger project of a community charter high school located in Los Angeles County. The high school was pre- dominantly Latino (71%) and had an Academic Performance Index statewide ranking score of 3, whereby a 1 is considered low and 10 is high.

The sample was restricted to students who self-identified as being of Latin American descent (297 of 354), were enrolled in their second year in high

at LIBERTY UNIV LIBRARY on April 7, 2014hjb.sagepub.comDownloaded from

84 Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 36(1)

school (123 of 297), and had available middle school transcripts (97 of 123). Given the relationship between neighborhood quality and academic achieve- ment (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000; Plunkett, Abarca-Mortensen, Behnke, & Sands, 2007), the sample was restricted to students who lived in a neighborhood that was within a normative range of the average neighbor- hood quality of the sample (92 of 97). Neighborhood quality consisted of 4 indicators (gathered from the 2010 U.S. census database): percentage of adults with at least a high school diploma, percentage of people who speak English well, percentage of adults (ages 20 to 64) employed, and percentage of property owners. Scores for each indicator were standardized and summed into one composite score. Three cases that did not provide home addresses were removed and 2 cases that were three standard deviations above or below the mean were removed.

The sample was gender balanced (55% were boys). The mean age of the youth was 15.51 years (SD = .72). In contrast to their parents, of whom 14% of mothers and 12% of fathers were U.S. born, 88% of the youth reported being born in the United States. The average level of education for mothers and fathers was 10.65 (SD = 3.41) and 10.32 (SD = 3.35) years, respectively.

Measures

Academic achievement. Similar to Benner and Graham (2009), academic achievement was operationally defined as youths’ overall (i.e., all courses) grade point averages (GPAs) over time. GPAs were calculated for the fall and spring semesters of Grades 7, 8, 9, and 10, resulting in eight separate GPAs. The grades earned for each course were coded on a 4-point scale (A = 4 to F = 0). The grade codes for a given semester were then averaged, resulting in a GPA for each semester. Advanced Placement courses were based on a dif- ferent scale, (A = 5 to F = 0). Calculations were based on official middle and high school transcripts. Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

Procedure

University Institutional Review Board, as well as school officials at the high school, approved all procedures of the study. During recruitment, a team of researchers visited 9th- and 10th-grade classrooms. Potential participants were told that the study aimed at understanding factors that contribute to the aca- demic and psychological functioning of Latino youth. All youth, regardless of ethnic background or age, were invited to join the study. Youth who were inter- ested in participating were handed a participant packet (included a survey, parental consent, and adolescent assent forms). A few days later, the same team

at LIBERTY UNIV LIBRARY on April 7, 2014hjb.sagepub.comDownloaded from

Vasquez-Salgado and Chavira 85

of researchers returned to the high school to collect the surveys at a central location. Participants who submitted complete packets were given $10 for their participation. For the current study, only school records and demographic information obtained from 10th-grade participants were utilized.

Design and Analysis

Three separate stages of development were examined (middle school, transi- tion to high school, and high school). Middle school trajectories were based on fall and spring GPAs during Grades 7 and 8. Trajectories during the transi- tion to high school were based on fall and spring GPAs during Grades 8 and 9. High school consisted of fall and spring GPAs during Grades 9 and 10. Although GPAs from several time points were included in our analyses, direct contact with youth did not occur until their second year of high school.

Latent growth curve modeling using EQS 6.1 for Windows (Bentler, 2004) was performed. Three separate models (one for each stage of develop- ment) were tested (Figure 1). For each model, the first semester GPA served as the intercept (starting point of the growth model) and the slope (trajec- tory) was tested as linear. The value and significance of the slope allowed us to test whether there was a significant increase or decrease in youths’ aca- demic trajectories over time. The relationship between the intercept and slope allowed us to assess whether initial GPA was related to youths’ aca- demic trajectories.

Data analytic techniques occurred in two major steps (Kline, 2011). In the first step, latent growth curve models were tested by only examining vari- ances, covariances, and averages of the intercept and slope. This was to ascertain that there was enough variability in both the intercepts and slopes. If the models did fit, this suggested that there was enough variability in the intercept and slope, and therefore, it was appropriate to proceed with the second step (i.e., inclusion of predictors). The inclusion of predictors tested whether variability in the intercept and slope could be explained by gender. This allowed us to test whether there were gender differences in initial GPA and in youths’ academic trajectories. Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

The model fit was evaluated using chi-square (χ2), comparative fit index (CFI), and root mean square error approximation (RMSEA). The model is a “good” fit if the χ2 is not significant or near non-significance, the CFI is greater than or equal to .95, and RMSEA is less than or equal to .05 (Byrne, 2006). The model is of “moderate” fit when at least two of these are met. Wald tests were utilized to help denote whether removing theoretically rele- vant paths would aid the fit of the models. All statistical assumptions for latent growth curve modeling were met.

at LIBERTY UNIV LIBRARY on April 7, 2014hjb.sagepub.comDownloaded from

The Role of Spiritual Development in the Cross-Cultural Reentry Adjustment of Missionaries Thomas R. Kimber

BiolaUniversity

Mis study investigated the relationship between spiritual development and cultural reentry adjustment in a group of missionaries. One hundred and two missionaries com- pleted a questionnaire that correlated the Spiritual Assess- ment Inventory (SAI) with Pve cultural adaptation and transition scales. Me study found signiPcant relationship between the Reentry Distress Scale and the SAI Disap- pointment and Instability scales. Mere was also a signiP- cant relationship between the SAI Awareness scale and the Transition Change Scale. Me study also explored the rela- tionship between reentry distress and calling, regularly practicing spiritual disciplines, and returning home to a supportive community. Me implications of the study are discussed in relation to missionaries, mission agencies, and local churches in order to provide meaningful care for mis- sionaries during cross-cultural transitions. Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

]e most recent statistics indicate that there are ap- proximately 42,000 long-term missionaries from North America (including the U. S. and Canada) serv- ing overseas (Ja^arian, 2008). ]ese are deaned as mis- sionaries who have served overseas for more than four years, and include both traditional and bi-vocational missionaries (tentmakers). At some point, most of these missionaries will return to their home culture. While the successful transition from home culture to host culture has been the emphasis of training and re- search, more recent studies are a_rming that the end- pointof thecultural transitioncyclemust includeone’s transition back to his or her home country. While much is understood about the challenges of learning to live overseas, researchers are discovering more about

the challenges of reacculturating into one’s home culture.

Many returning sojourners report feelings of isola- tion, confusion, and not feeling “at home” in their home culture. Previous studies have largely attempted to understand this phenomenon from a cultural iden- tity perspective. Cultural identity is deaned as the de- gree to which the sojourner identiaes with his or her home country or country of sojourn (host country) (Sussman,2002).Whileearlier studies focusedprimar- ily on culture shock and cultural adaptation, more re- cent studies tend to focus on the deeper issues of iden- tity and multiculturalism (Onwumechili, Nwosu, Jackson & James-Hughes, 2003), including sociocultu- ral and psychological adaptation (Ward & Kennedy, 1993), relationships (Martin, 1986), communication (Cox, 2004), multiple reacculturation (Onwumechili etal.,2003),andgrief (Butcher,2002).Duringreentry, there may be the discovery of changes in worldview (Butcher,2002)andcultural identity(Sussman,2000). Amidst the growing aeld of reacculturation studies, no research could be found that attempts to understand the role of one’s relationship with God during reentry. Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

Missionaries and Cultural Adjustment While research a_rms that reentry stress is attrib-

uted to multiple variables and not any one single factor (Moore, Jones & Austin, 1987; Sussman, 2001), very few studies on spirituality and cross-cultural adjust- ment have been conducted. Studies comparing the ac- culturation patterns between missionaries and non- missionaries in Nepal have found that missionaries register more direct contact with locals while other expats report less direct contact with nationals and

JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY & THEOLOGY 2012, Vol. 40, No. 3, 211–219

Copyright 2012 by Rosemead School of Psychology

Biola University, 0091-6471/410-730

211

JPT40n3_text:JPT_40n3 9/6/12 8:30 AM Page 211

higher levels of social support (Navara & James, 2002). Studies report that missionaries and non-missionaries cope and adjust with perceived stress in di^erent ways. When missionaries perceive higher levels of stress, they are more inclined to engage in activities such as pray- ing, seekingpastoral support,ortrustingGodtorelieve the stress (Navara & James, 2005). Hall, Edwards and Hall (2006) found that spiritual development in mis- sionaries is positively related to psychological develop- ment and other aspects of sociocultural adjustment. Missionaries with lower levels of psychological devel- opment may be more vulnerable to the e^ects of spiri- tual di_culties during cross-cultural adjustment.

Missionaries who regularly practice spiritual disci- plines, experience support from their mission agency, have a clear vocational call and have greater spiritual life satisfaction also tend to experience greater adjust- ment to the mission aeld (Andrews, 1999). Further, missionaries who report better awareness of God also report better relationships with their teammates; con- versely, those who exhibit lower levels of spiritual de- velopment are more prone to having di_culties while overseas (Barnett, Duvall, Edwards & Hall, 2005). Of- ten, sojourners do not and the support and help needed to make the transition back to his or her home country, resulting in deep feelings of loss, grief, and even abandonment (Furuya, Stevens, Oddou, Bird & Mendenhall, 2007; Gaw, 2000; Selby et al., 2009). ]ese feelings of grief are exacerbated by a loss of church community and a loss of spiritual connection with God (Selby, et al., 2009). Studies of returned short-term missionaries report that even those who havebeenoverseas foras littleas twoweeksmayexperi- ence many of the same feelings of reentry distress, as well as a renewed look at their own spirituality and sense of purpose in life (Walling, Eriksson, Meese, Ciovica, & Gorton, 2006).

Deeper understanding of the sojourner’s relation- ship with God would provide vital insight into the ex- periences of missionaries who live cross-culturally for religious purposes. In order to address reentry more completely, it is necessary to understand how the re- turned missionary experiences his or her relationship with God. Of particular interest is whether the mis- sionary is aware of God’s presence and the quality of that relationship throughout the sojourn and reentry transition.

Summary and Hypotheses Previous reentry research has provided important

information about the sociocultural, psychological, and practical issues of cross-cultural adjustment. How-

ever, no studies could be found that attempt to under- stand the spiritual issues associated with cross-cultural reentry. Based on theoretical, theological, and empiri- cal support, it was hypothesized that there would be a signiacant relationship between missionaries’ relation- ship with God and cultural adaptation to the host country, acculturation to both home and host cultures, awareness of transition change, reentry preparedness, and reentry distress. Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

Method

Participants and Procedure ]e target population for this study was long-term,

U.S. Evangelical Protestant missionaries who had repa- triated home to the U.S. Six mission agencies were ran- domlyselectedandinvitedtotakepart inthisstudy.Of the six agencies, four were a_liated with a denomina- tion, and two were not. ]e agencies ranged in size from 256 long-term missionaries to 4009 long-term missionaries, serving overseas. All agencies emphasized evangelism, discipleship, and church planting min- istries. Each of the agencies was asked to identify mis- sionaries according to the following criteria: (a) mis- sionariesmusthave livedoverseas forat least fouryears; (b) be over 21 years old; (c) have returned to the U. S. permanently and not be on any temporary assignment, furlough, study leave, or sabbatical; (d) have not re- turned to retire, but intend to continue working; (e) have been back in the U.S. more than six months but not longer than ave years; (f) lived in the U.S. prior to living overseas, and consider the U.S. their home coun- try. Agencies did not include missionaries who were askedtoreturnhomebecauseofdiscipline, involuntary termination, or other personnel issues. A web-based questionnaire format was selected in order to facilitate research among a population scattered across the U.S.

]e six participating agencies initially sent a com- bined total of 255 invitations to missionaries they de- termined met the criteria of the study. Of those, 13 were returned undeliverable and 10 missionaries in- formed their agencies that they did not qualify for the study, reducing the number to 232. ]ere were 125 to- tal responses for a response rate of 54%. Of those, 21 were incomplete and 2 exceeded the acceptable length of time back in the States. ]is yielded 102 usable re- sponses. Respondents were not asked to identify their agencyandall responseswerecollectedandanalyzedin a single batch.

Of the 102 qualiaed respondents, 62 (61%) were male and 40 (39%) were female. ]e majority of re- spondents (95) were married (93%), 5 were single

212 MISSIONARY REENTRY AND RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

JPT40n3_text:JPT_40n3 9/6/12 8:30 AM Page 212

(4%), and 2 were widowed (2%). Ages ranged from 32 to69withanaverageof52years.Dataonethnicitywas not collected for this study, though all participants in- dicatedthattheU.S. is theirhomecountry.]eaverage length of time overseas was 15 years, with a range of 4 to 36 years. ]irty-one (30%) of the respondents had beenbackintheU.S. foroneyear,22hadbeenbackfor 2 years (21%), 20 had been back for 3 years (19%), 16 had been back for 4 years (15%) and 13 had been back for 5 years (12%). Forty-one had served in Europe (40%), 30 had served in Asia (29%), 16 in Latin Amer- ica (15%), 13 in Africa (12%) and 2 in the Middle East (2%). While living overseas, 55 (53%) lived in a me- tropolis (more than 1,000,000 people), 12 (11%) lived ina largecity(500,000to1,000,000people),11(10%) in a town, 9 (8%) in a small city (50,000 to 100,000), 9 (8%) in a village and 6 (5%) in a medium city (100,000 to 500,000). Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project

Measures ]e research questionnaire was comprised of six in-

struments, which had been used in similar studies. Five additional questions were developed by the researcher as a result of a theological study connected with this research.

Spiritual Assessment Inventory. ]e Spiritual As- sessment Inventory (Hall & Edwards, 1996) is a mea- sureof spiritualitybasedonobject relationstheoryand contemplative spirituality literature. ]e instrument includes 54 self-report items scored on a 5-point scale in which 1 is “not at all true” and 5 is “very true.” A highscore indicatesthepresenceofthetraitbeingmea- sured. ]e SAI is designed to measure spiritual matu- ritybasedontwodimensionsofone’s relationshipwith God. ]e arst, Awareness of God, relates to a person’s ability to be aware of God’s presence in his or her life. ]e second dimension, Quality of Relationship, is measured by four subscales: Instability, Grandiosity, Realistic Acceptance, and Disappointment. ]e Im- pression Management subscale was added later as a means of addressing a person’s test-taking attitude, and ishelpful in identifying illusoryspiritualhealth. Inpre- vious studies, each of the subscales demonstrated good internal reliability (alpha scores between 0.73–0.95). In the current study, all scales except one demonstrated good reliability with alpha scores ranging from 0.77 to .094. Only the Grandiosity scale was a little low with a 0.61 reliability rating and did not yield any signiacant relationships with the other scales. Replication studies have correlated the SAI with other instruments thus supporting the construct validity of the subscales. ]ese include the Bell Object Relations Inventory

(Bell, 1991), the Intrinsic/Extrinsic—Revised (Gor- such & McPherson, 1989), the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (Ellison, 1983), the Narcissistic Personality In- ventory (Emmons, 1984, 1987), and the Defense Style Questionnaire-40 (Andrews et al. 1993).

Sociocultural Adaptation Scale. ]e Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (Ward & Kennedy, 1999) is a 29- item questionnaire that assesses the skills needed to manage the everyday aspects of living in a new culture. It has been found to be particularly useful for research in investigating both psychological and sociocultural aspects of cross-cultural adaptation. ]e original in- strument (Searle & Ward, 1990) was based on Furn- ham and Bochner’s (1982) Social Situations Question- naire. It included 16 items that assessed intercultural competence and the behavioral aspects of cross-cul- tural adaptation (e.g., “making friends,” “using the transport system” and “going shopping”) as well as other areas of adaptation such as “anding food you en- joy“ and “dealing with the climate.” ]e more recent version also explores cognitive domains (“understand- ing the political system,” “taking a host country per- spective on the culture”). ]e self-report instrument uses a 5-point Likert scale in which 1 indicates “no dif- aculty” and 5 indicates “extreme di_culty.” Lower scores indicate a higher level of cultural adaptation to the host country. ]e SCAS has demonstrated good reliability in previous studies with alpha scores of 0.75 to 0.91, (α = 0.91 in this study). Supplemental Assignment Discussion Project