The Impact of Cultural Congruency between Individualism and Collectivism in Migratory Grief and Life Satisfaction

Abstract

People had the tendency from the ancient years to migrate. The last decades due to globalization people can migrate easier, and scientists have recognized an increase in individual’s relocation. Even though people migrate for a better life there are difficulties that they have to confront in the new country and sometimes these difficulties may last forever. Specifically, it has been recognized that immigrants express a sense of migratory grief after their relocation because of their loss of their identity, family, homeland, social status etc. and due to the difficulty to be embedded in the new society. The acculturation process is even more difficult when there is a great cultural difference between the home and host country. The present study explored the migratory grief and life satisfaction levels of immigrants based on the cultural congruency of their homeland and host-country. To explore this 2241 participants answered an online questionnaire. The results of the study revealed that migratory grief is a factor that can be affected by the differences in the individual’s cultural background. In addition, the acculturation to the new country can be easier when the individuals migrate to a country with a similar culture. Furthermore, it was found that immigrants express lower levels of life satisfaction than the native population independently of the cultural differences. In my knowledge this is the first study that investigates levels of migratory grief based on the cultural congruency. This study provides evidence about the need for the creation of prevention and intervention programs that will help immigrants to assimilate in the community.