A repeated measures investigation of the first-year adaptation experiences of the female expatriate spouse living in Turkey

Date

2007-09-01

Author

Bikos, Lynette H.
Ciftci, Ayse
Güneri, Oya
Demir, Cennet Engin
Sümer, Zeynep
Danielson, Sharrie
DeVries, Shelly
Bilgen, Wendy A.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Using a 1 -year longitudinal-panel design, 32 American, female expatriate spouses who relocated to Ankara, Turkey, completed measures of global functioning and were interviewed at just-arrived, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month stages. Because of the mixed methods approach of this project, results of the Naturalistic Inquiry are reported in a companion manuscript (Bikos et al., 2007, this issue). Differences in the importance and expectation of life roles (i.e., occupational, parent, marital, homecare) were found. Quantitative results indicated no differences in life roles importance, alcohol use, marital satisfaction, or mental health functioning as a function of time-in-country. Analyses do not support the culture shock/U-curve model as a predictable pattern of adaptation. The authors conclude that time-in-country is only one of a myriad of variables that could be used to predict adaptation. Future expatriate research should use models that offer greater complexity.

Subject Keywords

Life role salience, Expatriate spouse, Expatriate adaptation, Culture shock

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/31943

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Article