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To Brexit or not to Brexit: The roles of Islamophobia, conspiracist beliefs, and integrated threat in voting intentions for the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum

Swami V, Barron D, Weis L, Furnham A

Br J Psychol, 2018 Feb;109(1):156-179.
PMID: 28632335 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12252

We used an identities approach to examine voting intentions in the June 2016 UK referendum on membership of the European Union (EU). In April 2016, 303 British adults (58.7% women, age M = 34.73) indicated their voting intentions for the referendum and completed measures of identification with the national in-group, perceived threat from Muslim immigrants, belief in Islamophobic conspiracy narratives, Islamophobia, general conspiracist beliefs, ambiguity tolerance, and belief in a clash of civilizations. Path and mediation analyses indicated that greater belief in Islamophobic conspiracy theories mediated the link between Islamophobia and intention to vote to leave. Islamophobia and Islamophobic conspiracist beliefs also mediated the effects of perceived threat from Muslims on voting intentions. Other variables acted as antecedents of perceived threat or Islamophobic conspiracy narratives. These findings highlight the role that identity-based cognitions may have played in shaping voting intentions for the UK EU referendum.

Matched MeSH terms: Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology*
Transcultural mental health nursing in Malaysia: perspectives and strategies

Chang KH

Contemp Nurse, 2010 8 10;34(2):134-5.
PMID: 20690223
Matched MeSH terms: Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology
Sweat or no sweat: foreign workers in the garment industry in Malaysia

Crinis V

J Contemp Asia, 2010;40(4):589-611.
PMID: 20845568 DOI: 10.1080/00472336.2010.507046

In the last decade factory owners, in response to brand-name Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) parameters, have joined associations that verify (through a monitoring and audit system) that management does not exploit labour. There have been no reports of violations of codes of conduct concerning Malaysian workers but for foreign workers on contract there are certain areas that have been reported. These areas, including trade union membership, the withholding of workers' passports and unsuitable accommodation, generally escape notice because auditors who monitor factory compliance do not question the terms of contracts as long as they comply with national labour standards. This paper is based on research with foreign workers in Malaysia and argues that despite the success of the anti-sweatshop movement in a global context, the neo-liberal state in Malaysia continues to place certain restrictions on transnational labour migrants which breach garment industry codes of conduct. Available evidence does not support the assumption that CSR practices provide sufficient protection for both citizen and foreign workers on contract in the garment industry.

Matched MeSH terms: Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology
Predictors of sociocultural adjustment among sojourning Malaysian students in Britain

Swami V

Int J Psychol, 2009 Aug;44(4):266-73.
PMID: 22029555 DOI: 10.1080/00207590801888745

The process of cross-cultural migration may be particularly difficult for students travelling overseas for further or higher education, especially where qualitative differences exist between the home and host nations. The present study examined the sociocultural adjustment of sojourning Malaysian students in Britain. Eighty-one Malay and 110 Chinese students enrolled in various courses answered a self-report questionnaire that examined various aspects of sociocultural adjustment. A series of one-way analyses of variance showed that Malay participants experienced poorer sociocultural adjustment in comparison with their Chinese counterparts. They were also less likely than Chinese students to have contact with co-nationals and host nationals, more likely to perceive their actual experience in Britain as worse than they had expected, and more likely to perceive greater cultural distance and greater discrimination. The results of regression analyses showed that, for Malay participants, perceived discrimination accounted for the greatest proportion of variance in sociocultural adjustment (73%), followed by English language proficiency (10%) and contact with host nationals (4%). For Chinese participants, English language proficiency was the strongest predictor of sociocultural adjustment (54%), followed by expectations of life in Britain (18%) and contact with host nationals (3%). By contrast, participants' sex, age, and length of residence failed to emerge as significant predictors for either ethnic group. Possible explanations for this pattern of findings are discussed, including the effects of Islamophobia on Malay-Muslims in Britain, possible socioeconomic differences between Malay and Chinese students, and personality differences between the two ethnic groups. The results are further discussed in relation to practical steps that can be taken to improve the sociocultural adjustment of sojourning students in Britain.

Matched MeSH terms: Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology*
Sociocultural adjustment among sojourning Malaysian students in Britain: a replication and path analytic extension

Swami V, Arteche A, Chamorro-Premuzic T, Furnham A

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol, 2010 Jan;45(1):57-65.
PMID: 19337675 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-009-0042-4

The present study examined the sociocultural adjustment of 249 sojourning Malaysian undergraduates in Britain. One-hundred and ten Malay and 139 Chinese students enrolled in various courses answered a self-report questionnaire that examined various aspects of sociocultural adjustment and socio-demographics. Overall, Malay students reported significantly poorer sociocultural adjustment than Chinese students, as well as more negative outcomes on a range of predictors. Path analysis for the total sample showed that higher family income led to greater sociocultural adjustment, but partially because it led to more contact with host and conationals, better language proficiency, lower perceived cultural differences and less perceived discrimination. Moreover, participants with higher English proficiency were better adapted, but partially because they perceived less cultural differences as well as having more contact with host nationals. Additionally, individuals reporting better sociocultural adjustment also reported better health statuses. The same model was equally useful at predicting sociocultural adjustment for both Malay and Chinese participants. These results are discussed in terms of the role played by income in buffering against the negative aspects of sociocultural adjustment.

Matched MeSH terms: Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology*
Using overseas registered nurses to fill employment gaps in rural health services: quick fix or sustainable strategy?

Francis K, Chapman Y, Doolan G, Sellick K, Barnett T

Aust J Rural Health, 2008 Jun;16(3):164-9.
PMID: 18471187 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1584.2008.00967.x

OBJECTIVE:This study sought to identify and evaluate approaches used to attract internationally trained nurses from traditional and non-traditional countries and incentives employed to retain them in small rural hospitals in Gippsland, Victoria.
DESIGN: An exploratory descriptive design.
SETTING: Small rural hospitals in Gippsland, Victoria.
PARTICIPANTS: Hospital staff responsible for recruitment of nurses and overseas trained nurses from traditional and non-traditional sources (e.g. England, Scotland, India, Zimbabwe, Holland, Singapore, Malaysia).
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Recruitment of married overseas trained nurses is more sustainable than that of single registered nurses, however, the process of recruitment for the hospital and potential employees is costly. Rural hospitality diffuses some of these expenses by the employing hospitals providing emergency accommodation and necessary furnishings. Cultural differences and dissonance regarding practice create barriers for some of the overseas trained nurses to move towards a more sanguine position. On the positive side, single overseas registered nurses use the opportunity to work in rural Australian hospitals as an effective working holiday that promotes employment in larger, more specialized hospitals. Overall both the registered nurses and the employees believe the experience to be beneficial rather than detrimental.

Matched MeSH terms: Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology
Fulltext Issues in healthcare services in Malaysia as experienced by Japanese retirees

Kohno A, Musa G, Nik Farid ND, Abdul Aziz N, Nakayama T, Dahlui M

BMC Health Serv Res, 2016 May 05;16:167.
PMID: 27151089 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-016-1417-3

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, international retirement migration is growing in its popularity and Japanese retirees choose Malaysia as their most preferred destination. This study examines the pertinent issues related to healthcare services as experienced by Japanese retirees in this country.
METHODS AND RESULTS: From January to March 2015, we conducted focus group discussions with 30 Japanese retirees who live in Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh. Guided by the social-ecological model, we discovered seven pertinent themes: 'language barriers','healthcare decisions', 'medical check-ups','healthcare insurance', 'nursing and palliative care', 'trust and distrust of healthcare services', and 'word-of-mouth information'.
DISCUSSION: We identified seven pertinent issues related to healthcare services among Japanese retirees in Malaysia, of which four are especially important. These issues are explained as integrated themes within the social-ecological model. Language barriers prohibit them from having difficulty accessing to healthcare in Malaysia, but lack of will to improve their language skills exist among them. For that reason, they rely heavily on word-of-mouth information when seeking for healthcare. As a consequence, some develop feelings of trust and distrust of healthcare services. In addition, we have identified the needs for provide nursing and palliative care among Japanese retirees in Malaysia.
CONCLUSION: Based on the magnitude of the discussion, we concluded that there are four crucial healthcare issues among Japanese retirees; 'language barriers', 'trust and distrust of healthcare services', 'word-of-mouth information' and 'nursing and palliative care'. We propose that further dialogue by healthcare stakeholders should be carried out to improve further the healthcare service provisions for Japanese retirees in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology*
Fulltext Using qualitative and community-based engagement approaches to gain access and to develop a culturally appropriate STI prevention intervention for foreign female entertainment workers in Singapore

Lim RBT, Cheung ONY, Tham DKT, La HH, Win TT, Chan R, et al.

Global Health, 2018 04 16;14(1):36.
PMID: 29661249 DOI: 10.1186/s12992-018-0358-5

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing global movement of foreign female entertainment workers (FEWs), a hard-to-reach population vulnerable to HIV/STIs. This paper described the needs assessment phase before intervention implementation where the socio-organisation, sexual risk behaviours and access to health services of foreign FEWs in Singapore were explored. We also highlighted how qualitative inquiry, census enumeration technique and community-based engagement approaches were used to gain access and to develop a culturally appropriate STI prevention intervention.
METHODS: In-depth interviews, observations, informal conversational interviews, mystery client and critical incident technique were used. We estimated the size of FEW population using the census enumeration technique. The findings were used to inform intervention development and implementation.
RESULTS: We estimated 376 Vietnamese and 330 Thai FEWs in 2 geographical sites where they operated in Singapore. Their reasons for non-condom use included misconceptions on the transmission and consequences of STI/HIV, low risk perception of contracting HIV/STI from paid/casual partner, lack of skills to negotiate or to persuade partner to use condom, unavailability of condoms in entertainment establishments and fear of the police using condom as circumstantial evidence. They faced difficulties in accessing health services due to fear of identity exposure, stigmatisation, cost and language differences. To develop the intervention, we involved FEWs and peer educators, and ensured that the intervention was non-stigmatising and met their needs. To foster their participation, we used culturally-responsive recruitment strategies, and ensured that the trial was anonymous and acceptable to the FEWs. These strategies were effective as we achieved a participation rate of 90.3%, a follow-up rate of 70.5% for the comparison and 66.8% for the intervention group. The interventions group reported a significant increase in consistent condom use with a reduction in STI incidence compared to no significant change in the comparison group.
CONCLUSIONS: The qualitative inquiry approaches to gain access, to foster participation and to develop a culturally appropriate intervention, along with the census enumeration technique application to estimate the FEW population sizes has led to successful intervention implementation as well as safer sexual behaviour and STI incidence reduction.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02780986 . Registered 23 May 2016 (retrospectively registered).

Matched MeSH terms: Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology*