Psychological adjustment of Japanese sojourner wives in Hong Kong

Abstract

The adjustment of sojourning spouses appears to be critical to the adjustment of their partners in the relocation; yet adjusting to international relocation is often reported to be a challenging process. The present project comprises a systematic review of research on spouse adjustment in international relocations(Study 1) and an empirical study among a sample of 135 Japanese sojourning housewives in Hong Kong(Study 2). Study 1found that adjustment was measured differently in the past research of sojourning spouse adjustment, and multiple individual, interpersonal and situational or environmental factors have been found to be associated with the adjustment of spouse after relocation. Study 2found that personal coping style was associated with psychological adjustment, while a coping style that focuses on problem solving, along with marital satisfaction and sociocultural interaction, emerged as significant predictors of satisfaction with life. Homemaking stressors were found to be negatively associated with psychological adjustment, and a significant interaction effect with marital satisfaction is found. Dyadic trust was found to contribute significantly to psychological well-being, and its effect was fully mediated by marital satisfaction. Overall speaking, existing models of spousal adjustment in expatriation seem to apply to the Japanese population studied.