DOMAIN-SPECIFIC ALLOCENTRISM-IDIOCENTRISM - A MEASURE OF FAMILY CONNECTEDNESS

Concerned with individual differences in allocentrism-idiocentrism wit h reference to the family, Study 1 describes the assessment of an init ial item pool of statements. Selection of good items was based on seve ral criteria met by both an ''Eastern'' cultural group and a ''Western '' cultural group, thereby providing cross-cultural comparability at t he item selection stage of test development. Scores on the Family Allo centrism Scale were positively related to a measure of norm-oriented i dentity style in both ''Western'' and ''Eastern'' samples (Study 2). W ith a ''Western'' sample (Study 3), individuals with higher levels of family allocentrism exhibited a greater sense of relatedness to their ethnic origins. In Study 4, with a group of Vietnamese immigrant unive rsity students, family connectedness moderated the relation between da ily hassles and depression. In Study 5, with Russian immigrants, the r elation between family allocentrism and depression depended on the lev el of bicultural competence. Future research plans and needs are consi dered.