A total of 163 qualified questionnaires were validated and analyzed in this study. The researchers utilized the SPSS 23.0 to demonstrate descriptive and correlation statistics to analyze and interpret the compiled data, which enabled the researcher to illustrate the significance and importance of this study.
Descriptive Analysis
Sample Characteristics
Table 4.1. shows the summary of the profile of International women in Taiwan. From this table, it was observed that 163 females (100%) were participated in this survey. Of the respondents, 64% were between the age group 21-30, 25% were between 31-40, 6% were 41-50 and remaining were between the age group of 60 and above. Of which, 66.7% women were married, 24.4% women were singles, 5.4% women were in a relationship, and the remaining chose other options. To know the child care of the Indian children in Taiwan, the researcher added to the married women additional two more questions (satisfaction measure 5 licker scale, very dissatisfied to very satisfied) which were schooling (education system, fee structure...etc.) 38.7% were very satisfied, 36.3% were satisfied, 17.3% were said as neutral and remaining were very dissatisfied and dissatisfied. Health care (weather conditions, hospitals etc.) 42.9% were very satisfied, 37.5% were satisfied, 8.3% were said as neutral and remaining were very dissatisfied and dissatisfied. Regarding working status, most of the women were students and house wives with highest percentage of 33.9% and 32.7%, full time employees with 21.4%, Student and part time employees with 4.8% and others with 0.6%.
According to the living conditions of International women in Taiwan, more than 57%
international women can communicate with less than 20% of mandarin with Taiwanese and only 1.8% can communicate with 80-100% of mandarin, and in these international participants 33.3% were comfortable to communicate with English, 17.3% were comfortable, while 28%
felt neutral, 16% felt discomfort and very less respondents with 2.4% felt very uncomfortable while using English to communicate. Adopting new food habits also helps to this study, to know the well-being of international women in Taiwan, in that more than 22.1% were preferred to have Taiwanese food often and only 3.1% were preferred to have always and 42.9% were sometimes, 26.4% were said rarely and very less people were preferred never
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with 5.5% to have Taiwanese food. With cost of living in Taiwan more than 5.4% were very satisfied and 38.70% were satisfied, whereas 39.3% said it was in neutral but there was also 11.3% were dissatisfied and 2.4% were very dissatisfied with the cost of living in Taiwan.
Table.4.1 Working status Student and part time
employee
27 Using English very dis comfortable
dis comfortable Mandarin proficiency Less than 20%
20-40%
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Descriptive Statistics for the Acculturation.
To test the Acculturation of the Indian women who are residing in Taiwan, they were asked by using Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA). The VIA was a 20 item acculturation on a five point Likert scale (Ryder, Alden & Paulhus, 2000).
Table 4.2 shows the descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation of each item of the acculturation. Participants were asked to respond by using the five-point scale strongly disagree to strongly agree. The highest mean from the Acculturation was 4.39 for the question “I enjoy entertainment (e.g.: movies, music…) from my heritage culture”. For this question they chose the option agree or strongly agree. However, the lower mean for the acculturation was 1.87 for the question “I would be willing to marry a Taiwanese person.” For this question they chose strongly disagree or disagree.
I often participate in my heritage culture traditions.
I often participate in mainstream Taiwan cultural tradition.
I would be willing to marry a person from my heritage culture.
I would be willing to marry a Taiwanese person.
I enjoy social activities with people from the same heritage culture as myself.
I enjoy social activities with typical Taiwanese people.
I am comfortable with people of the same heritage culture as myself.
I am comfortable with typical Taiwanese people.
3.85 Cost of living Very dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
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I enjoy entertainment (e.g.: movies, music…) from my heritage culture
I enjoy Taiwanese entertainment (e.g.: movies, music…) I often behave in ways that are typical to my heritage culture.
I often behave in ways that are “Typically Taiwanese.”
It is important for me to maintain or develop the practices of my heritage culture
It is important for me to maintain or develop Taiwanese cultural practices
I am interested in having friends from my heritage culture
I am interested in having Taiwanese friends I believe in the value of my heritage culture
I believe in the value of mainstream Taiwanese culture I often enjoy other jokes and humor of my heritage culture
I enjoy Taiwanese jokes and humor.
4.39
Descriptive Statistics for the Psychological well-being
The six item PWB component scale, from 18 item EWB (Employ well-being) scale was used to measure the psychological well-being of the Indian women who are residing in Taiwan.
Table 4.3 shows the descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation of each item of the psychological well-being. Participants were asked to respond by using the seven-point scale strongly disagree to strongly agree. The highest mean from the psychological well-being was 6.42 for the question “I love having deep conversations with family and friends so that we can better understand each other”. For this question they chose the option agree or strongly agree. However, the lower mean for the psychological well-being was 5.82 for the question “People think I am willing to give and to share my time with others.”
For this question they chose strongly disagree or disagree.
30 Table 4.3.
Descriptive Statistics for the Psychological Well-Being.
Code items Mean Std.Dev
I generally feel good about myself, and I’m confident.
People think I am willing to give and to share my time with others.
I am good at making flexible timetables for my work.
I love having deep conversations with family and friends so that we can better understand each other.
6.11
Descriptive Statistics for the Acculturative Stress
Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS) developed by ‘Sandhu and Asrabadi’ was used to measure the stress level ofIndian women who are residing in Taiwan.
Table 4.3 shows the descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation of each item of the Acculturative stress. Participants were asked to respond by using the five-point scale strongly disagree to strongly agree. The highest mean from the Acculturative stress was 3.31 for the question “I miss the people and country of my origin.”. For this question they chose the option agree or strongly agree. However, the lower mean was 1.32 for the question Acculturative stress was “I feel insecure here” For this question they chose strongly disagree or disagree.
Table 4.4.
Descriptive statistics for the Acculturative Stress
Code items Mean Std.Dev
I feel that my people are discriminated against.
I am treated differently because of my race.
I am treated differently because of my color.
Many opportunities are denied to me.
I am treated differently in social situations.
2.27
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I don’t feel a sense of belonging here.
I feel that I receive unequal treatment.
I am denied what I deserve.
I feel angry that my people are considered inferior here I feel some people don’t associate with me because of my ethnicity.
Homesickness bothers me.
I feel sad living in unfamiliar surroundings.
I miss the people and country of my origin.
I feel sad leaving my relatives behind.
People show hatred toward me non verbally.
People show hatred toward me verbally.
People show hatred me through actions.
Others are sarcastic toward my cultural values.
Others don’t appreciate my cultural values.
I fear for my personal safety because of my different cultural background.
I feel insecure here.
I frequently relocate for fear of others.
I generally keep a low profile due to fear.
I feel uncomfortable to adjust to new foods.
Multiple pressures are placed on me after migration.
I feel uncomfortable to adjust to new cultural values.
I feel guilty to leave my family and friends behind.
I feel guilty that I am living a different lifestyle here.
2.09
This study was conducted with 47 questions of the variables, acculturation, psychological well-being, acculturative stress of Indian women living in Taiwan. To assess reliability of the questionnaire the researcher had taken an expert reviewer’s opinion from an Indian woman who has been residing in Taiwan for the past 20 years and also has mere knowledge on the cultural aspects of both host country Taiwan and home country India. As per her opinion, the questionnaire designed was satisfactory.
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Reliability item analysis was performed on the SPSS. The Cronbach’s alpha was used to check the internal consistency of the instruments in this study. All the variables exceed the 0.70 criterion, meaning that the questionnaires were acceptable to use. The overall reliability coefficients for the instruments was α = 0.893. To measure the acculturation of Indian women in Taiwan the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) instrument were used. The reliability of the acculturation was α = 0.839. To measure psychological well-being, 6 item PWB dimension from, Employee Well-Being (EWB) instrument were used. The reliability of the psychological well-being was α=0.830. Finally, to measure the acculturative stress, Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS) instrument were used. The reliability of the acculturative stress was α=0.830. The details illustrated in table 4.5 below.
Table.4.5
Reliability Analysis of Each Variable (N=163)
Items Valid Excluded Total Cronbach’s Alpha
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is a multivariate statistical procedure that is used to test how well the measured variables represent the number of constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is a tool that is used to confirm or reject the measurement theory. In CFA, several statistical tests are used to determine how well the model fits to the data. Chi-squared test, the Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the comparative fit index (CFI), and the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR).
2/df: The chi-squared Values closer to zero indicate a better fit.
RMSEA: The RMSEA ranges from 0 to 1, with smaller values indicating better model fit. A value of .06 or less is indicative of acceptable model fit
SRMR: The standardized root mean square residual removes this difficulty in interpretation, and ranges from 0 to 1, with a value of .08 or less being indicative of an acceptable model.
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CFI: a CFI value of .95 or higher is presently accepted as an indicator of good fit (Hu & Bentler,
1999). TLI: Value the Tucker-Lewis index should range between 0 and 1, with a cutoff of .95 or greater indicating a good model fit.
IFI: has a very large chi-square indicating poor fit. Relative fit indices include the normed fit index and comparative fit index.
(https://www.statisticssolutions.com/confirmatory-factor-analysis)
Convergent Validity
In this study, the composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) were implemented to evaluate the criteria convergence validity.
CR: Fornell and Larcker (1981) and Bagozzi and Yi (1988) suggested that composite reliability value of 0.60 higher was acceptable.
AVE: Fornell and Larcker (1981) suggested that average variance extracted is better to higher than 0.50. the acceptable range is from 0.36 to 0.50.
The CFA Result of Acculuration
The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed in AMOS to examine the indipendant variable, acculturation which contains 11 items. The result showed in Table 4.6. and CFA model showed in Figure 4.1.
34 Table 4.6.
Confirmatory factor analysis of Acculturation (N = 163)
Note.***p < 0.001
I often participate in my heritage culture traditions.
I would be willing to marry a person from my heritage culture.
I enjoy social activities with people from the same heritage culture as myself.
I am comfortable with people of the same heritage culture as myself.
I enjoy entertainment (e.g.: movies, music…) from my heritage culture I often behave in ways that are typical to my heritage culture.
It is important for me to maintain or develop the practices of my heritage culture
I am interested in having friends from my heritage culture
I am interested in having Taiwanese friends
I believe in the value of my heritage culture
I often enjoy other jokes and humor of my heritage culture
35 Table 4.7
Model Fit Summary- Acculuration (N=163)
Figure 4.1. Confirmatory factor analysis model of Acculturation
The CFA Result of Psychological Well-being
The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed in AMOS to examine the dependent variable, psychological well-being which contains 6 items. The result showed in Table 4.8. and CFA model showed in Figure 4.2.
2 Df 2/df RMSEA SRMR CFI TLI IFI
144.805 44 3.30 0.12 0.05 0.89 0.86 0.89
36 Table 4.8.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Psychological Well-Being (N = 163) Psychological
I generally feel good about myself, and I’m confident.
People think I am willing to give and to share my time with others.
I am good at making flexible timetables for my work.
I love having deep conversations with family and friends so that we can better understand each other.
Model Fit Summary -psychological well-being (N=163)
2 Df 2/df RMSEA SRMR CFI TLI IFI
44.007 9 4.89 0.16 0.06 0.90 0.83 0.90
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Figure 4.2. Confirmatory factor analysis model of psychological well-being
Pearson’s Correlation Analysis
The Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the preliminary correlation on acculturation and psychological well-being; Acculturation and Acculturative stress. This analysis was used to measure the strength and the direction of a liner relationship between two variables.
If the correlation is high, it shows that there is a strong relationship between them. The coefficient value ranges from -1.0 to +1.0 and a values greater than 0 indicates that there is a positive relationship and vice versa.
According to the Table.4.10, the dependent variable (Psychological well-being) was significantly correlated with the independent variable Acculturation (r=0.503, p<.01). Therefore, hypothesis 1 was accepted.
There was a significantly negative correlation between independent variable Acculturation, and the moderating variable Acculturative stress (r= -.427, p<.01). Hence, hypothesis 2 was also accepted.
38 Table.4.10
Pearson Correlation Matrix among the Variables (n=163)
Variable Ac PWB AS
CA PWB AS
1 .503**
-.427**
1
-.354** 1
p**<.01
Ac= Acculturation; PWB= Psychological Well-being; AS= Acculturative Stress
Hierarchical Regression Analyses
Prior to conducting a hierarchical multiple regression, the relevant assumptions of this statistical analysis were tested. Firstly, a sample size of 163 was estimated to examine the relationship among the variables and moderator effect (Acculturative stress) on the Independent Variable Acculturation and dependent variable Psychological Well-being.
A two stage hierarchical regression was conducted. In the first step, Independent Variable Acculturation was examined in the first model. In the second step, the interaction terms of Independent Variable Acculturation and moderator variable Acculturative stress was examined in model two.
The hierarchical multiple regression revealed that at Stage one, acculturation contributed significantly positive effect to the regression model, (β= 0.441, p<0.000). At sage two, moderating effect was estimated and the results revealed that the interaction part had no significant negative moderating effect (β=0.936, p>0.05). on independent variable acculturation and dependent variable psychological wellbeing. Hence, Hypothesis 3 was rejected. The details illustrated in table 4.11 below.
39 Table 4.11
Summary of Hierarchical Regression Analyses for Moderating Effect of Acculturative Stress on the Acculturation and Psychological well-being(N=163) mean between the married and single Indian women in Taiwan. According to the results there were no statistically significant differences between the means in these two groups. Details are in the following table:
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One-way ANOVA
One-way ANOVA is to test whether there is a statistically significant differences among the means of three or more groups. Post Hoc was used for comparison. This statistical procedure will allow the researcher to present the relevance and importance of the study. In this case the researcher tested whether there is a significant difference in the means of the variable, language proficiency, which contains three groups: Low level, medium level, High level. According to the results there were no statistically significant differences among the means with respect to the different levels of the variable mandarin proficiency. Details are in the following table:
Table 4.12.
One-way ANOVA
Mandarin proficiency F Sig.
Low level
Acculturation Medium level 1.30 0.28 High level
Low level
Acculturative-stress Medium level 0.73 0.48 High level
Note. The mean difference is significant at 0.05 level
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Summary of the Analysis Results
According to the results, hypotheses 1 and 2 were fully supported, while, hypothesis 3 was not supported to the study. In detail, Acculturation is positively correlated to the psychological well-being. Acculturation is negatively correlated to the Acculturative stress while, Acculturative Stress has no negative moderating effect on the relationship between Acculturation and Psychological well-being.
Table.4.12
Statistic Results of Research Hypotheses
Hypothesis Results
Hypothesis 1: Acculturation is positively correlated to the psychological well-being.
Hypothesis 2: Acculturation is negatively correlated to the Acculturative stress.
Hypothesis 3: Acculturative Stress has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between Acculturation and Psychological well-being.
Accepted
Accepted
Rejected
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Discussions
In this study, the researchers mainly focused on testing the relationship among the variables, acculturation which is independent variable, psychological wellbeing which is dependent variable, and also the moderating variable acculturative stress. The respondents in the study were Indian women from all categories including students, working, married or single women living in Taiwan.
The respondents in the study were aged from 20 to 70 which were mostly married women. Most of the women were students, housewives and working full time/part time. Total of 3 hypotheses were used in this study. After examining the proposed hypotheses, we found the following major results.
Hypothesis 1: “Acculturation is positively correlated to the psychological well-being”.
Firstly, this hypothesis was used to find the relationship between the Indian women’s acculturation and psychological well-being in Taiwan. Based on the results obtained from Indian women in Taiwan with their living experiences, with the high cultural adaptation there was a high psychological being and with the low cultural adaptation there was a low psychological well-being. Even from the literature survey, it was known that certain coping behaviors are necessary for any migrant individual who must deal with the difficulties of psychological well-being during acculturation which paves the way to lead subsequent adaptation to the fresh culture (Berry,1997).
And also as per Castro and Murray (2010), ‘stress–appraisal–coping model’, resilience coping behavior was conceptualized more pertaining to immigrant’s own competence or abilities which can permit them to reach their desired objectives. This includes immigrants’ capability to efficiently take part in making decisions, self-control and regulation. From these theories it was evident that adopting capability (coping ability) and positive behavior patterns of any immigrant individuals towards the surrounding culture are necessary to lead a life of wellbeing.
Hypothesis 2: “Acculturation is negatively correlated to the Acculturative stress”.
This hypothesis was used to find the relationship between the Indian women’s acculturation and acculturative stress of life in Taiwan. Based on the results there was a significant negative correlation between the Acculturation and Acculturative stress. From the literature survey “Acculturative stress is characterized by negative behavioral and emotional reactions attributable to the process and experience of adjusting to a new cultural milieu” (Berry et al.,1987).
There are several reports were also indicating that the acculturation was negatively related to
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Stress (Caetano, Ramisetty-Mikler, Caetano Vaeth, & Harris, 2007; Vega, Gil, & Wagner, 1998) and the empirical studies of the acculturation have commonly assessed language fluency, cultural knowledge, social affiliation, and daily living preferences (Lara, Gamboa, Kahramanian, Morales,
& Bautista, 2005).
Hypothesis 3: “Acculturative Stress has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between Acculturation and Psychological well-being”.
Revallo et al (2010) made a clear study and examined the relationship between the acculturative stress, acculturation, and psychosocial well-being by examining the hospitalized immigrant patients between the ages of 18 and 65 years. In their study, they carried out the evaluation of some relative terms like Acculturative stress, acculturation, social adaptation, anxiety and depression, as well as socio demographic and attitudinal items for each of their sample. The study found a negative relationship between acculturative stress and psychosocial being, as well as between the marginalization acculturation strategy and psychosocial well-being. However, this study found that Acculturative Stress has no moderating effect on the relationship between Acculturation and Psychological well-being.
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