Comparison of Adaptation To the Home Culture of Japanese Children and Adolescents Returned From Overseas Sojourn

Abstract

A questionnaire based on the MMPI was administered to Japanese children aged between 6 and 18 years who had returned from an overseas sojourn of more than one year's duration (N = 1941) and a matched control group who had no overseas experiences (N = 1354). Overall females had more difficulty with friends, and scored higher on both psychological and physical symptoms. The older children had more complaints about life in Japan, difficulty with friends and physical and psychological problems. The differences between the returnee and control group were less in the age range between 7 and 9, but the overseas experience seemed to have positive effects between the ages of 10 to 15. The longer the children stayed overseas, the more they had complaints about life in Japan and difficulty with friends, and less negative attitudes towards overseas life. Children who had multiple overseas experiences had more problems such as anxiety, depression and mental com plaints. Children's developmental stages and the amount of exposure to the foreign culture are therefore important determinants of their readjustment. The expec tations of parents and the home culture to the returnee children, gender, and emphasis on academic achievement, must also be taken into account.