Romantic Experiences of Homeland and Diaspora South Asian Youth: Westernizing Processes of Media and Friends
Abstract
The current study examined 1316 South Asian youth socialized in progressively Westernized contexts: “traditional” Indian homeland single-sex schools, “transitional” Indian homeland co-educational schools, and the immigrant “diaspora” in Canadian schools. Results showed youth in the three contexts were similar on romantic desire. Yet those in increasingly Westernized contexts reported more romantic activities and greater perceived autonomy from parents in partner choice. They were also more likely to consume Western and social media, and possess friends fostering permissive expectations, greater cross-sex network composition, and intimate communication. Involvement with the global media and friends explained the link between the cultural spectrum and romantic experiences. Implications of global restructuring on romantic experiences, media usage, and friendships are discussed, in consideration of gender.
Romantic experiences are central to adolescence (Connolly & McIsaac, 2009). Although cultures have historically emphasized divergent conceptions of normative romantic involvement (Dion & Dion, 1996), most research on this topic has been conducted in the West and has ignored the Majority world. Examples from some non-Western cultures suggest youth were historically allocated little romantic agency as parents were charged with governing these domains (Gupta, 1976). In contrast, autonomous romantic development in the West has been undergirded by the media and peers (Connolly, Craig, Goldberg, & Pepler, 2004; L'Engle, Brown, & Kenneavy, 2006). New cross-ethnic studies confirm that youth from traditional, non-Western cultures are less romantically involved than Western youth (Li, Connolly, Jiang, Pepler, & Craig, 2010). However, such comparisons have not been placed in a global context where traditional barriers are breaking down. Families in contemporary India are increasingly choosing to raise their children in less customary contexts by enrolling them in co-educational rather than single-sex schools, or even emigrating to the West. It has been theorized that in the face of such global restructuring, youth have increasing access to media and friends, which may affect their romantic experiences (Arnett, 2002; Larson, Wilson, Brown, Furstenberg, & Verma, 2002). The goal of this study is to examine a continuum of South Asian youth socialized in progressively Westernized contexts: homeland youth in “traditional” Indian single-sex schools, homeland youth in “transitional” co-educational Indian schools, and immigrant “diaspora” youth in Canadian schools. Whether or not romantic, media, and friend experiences vary by cultural context, and whether or not media and friends explain the link between the cultural continuum and romantic experience will be studied.
Historical and Cultural Context
Western contexts emphasize relational choice—young people are free to form new, and terminate old, relationships with relative ease (Schug, Yuki, & Maddux, 2010). Romantic experience is a source of learning and fulfillment as individuals come to identify the necessary ingredients for relationship success. In comparison, relationships in Indian society have been historically entrenched within fixed social networks constrained by kinship barriers. The socialization of adolescents was directed toward the development of filial piety rather than personal autonomy (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Triandis, 1995). A young person's pursuit of unsanctioned relationships was considered stigmatizing, destabilizing a family's social standing. So romance emerged later, during marriages arranged by parents (Gupta, 1976). Today, societies are purportedly becoming more alike in the pursuit of personal autonomy over filial piety, primarily through global media and peer culture (Arnett, 2002; Larson, 2002). Such global restructuring highlights the value of studying adolescent romance cross-culturally.
While social vernaculars are changing in all parts of the world, the economically powerful Western countries drive the energy behind this shift. Thus, the globalizing effects are likely occurring more intensely for families who move their children to the West, whereas those in traditional contexts likely remain homogeneous, connected to the local culture (Arnett, 2002). This shift is observable in Canada, a prime receiving country for South Asian immigrants from the Indian subcontinent over the last 40 years. In Canada's largest metropolitan area, South Asians now comprise 13.5% of the population (Statistics Canada, 2008a). However, even within the Indian homeland setting, the cultural shedding of traditional systems is evident. The creation of co-educational institutions, alongside traditional gender-segregated ones that emphasize home economics for girls versus academics for boys, opens Western-like socialization opportunities (Mukhopadhyay & Seymour, 1994). Thus, the cross-cultural study of romantic experience can be sharpened by using a nuanced index of cultural division that compares one ethnic group in different contexts that vary on globalizing influences. In the current study, this goal will be accomplished by drawing on youth in their traditional homeland context, youth in hybrid contexts transitioning to Western value systems, and youth fully immersed in Western contexts.
Features of Youthful Romantic Experience
Romantic involvement by late adolescence is common in the West whereas youth from traditional societies appear to have less romantic experience (Connolly & McIsaac, 2009; Li et al., 2010; Moore & Leung, 2001; Regan, Durvasula, Howell, Ureno, & Rea, 2004). In India, in particular, youthful romance is rarely endorsed (International Institute for Population Sciences Mumbai (IIPSM) & Population Council New Delhi (PCND), 2010). This cultural divide departs from the idea of culturally universal romantic growth during adolescence (Erikson, 1968). Yet few studies have directly addressed cultural differences in adolescent romance, and available research has largely focused on behavioral features (e.g., romantic involvement). Less attention has been given to youths' internal romantic worlds (e.g., romantic autonomy and romantic desire). As youth enter more Western contexts, they perceive more general autonomy from parents (Feldman & Rosenthal, 1990), which may also extend to decisions about romantic partners. The work of Fisher (1998) suggests romantic attraction, characterized by exhilaration, focused attention, and intrusive thinking about potential partners is a primary system for all human partnering. Perhaps then, non-Western youth are just as fascinated by romance, but feel it is within their parents' locus of control. Thus, a cross-cultural understanding of romantic development can greatly profit from a view of romantic experience that incorporates romantic desire and romantic autonomy in partner choice, as well as actual involvement.
Westernizing Influences of Media and Friends
As a rite of passage, romantic maturation may not be experienced by all youth in the same way at the same age (Coates, 1999). Viewed from an ecological systems perspective, romantic growth reflects the interaction between youth and the sociocultural contexts in which they live (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The global environment may favor or discourage youthful romance. Since the socialization process by which this cultural influence occurs may be linked to media and friends, a new direction for research is to assess whether or not media use and friendships differ across the cultural continuum, and whether or not these differences are linked to romantic experience.
Because of the speed with which modern technology has penetrated locales across the world, electronic media are believed to be at the heart of Westernization. They allow youth increased access to Western paradigms and social forums. More than other age groups, youth are the primary users of the media, and are most susceptible to its effects (Arnett, 2002). Western media have been associated with sexual stimulation and dating aggression (e.g., Connolly, Friedlander, Pepler, Craig, & LaPorte, 2010; L'Engle et al., 2006). But through music, TV, and movies, they also articulate the interests of the popular culture, e.g., depictions of happiness attainable through romantic love. In contrast, non-Western media and lore in India have traditionally emphasized conformity to kinship duties, such as the ritualized arranged marriage, and cautioned against the tragedies of pursuing love outside the kinship system (Jolly, Wadhwani, & Barretto, 2007). As non-Western youth consume more Western media they may sense a dissonance between themselves and the media portrayals they are exposed to, catalyzing them to act more like the Western mainstream in romantic areas (Arnett, 2002). The media are also a means by which youth can interact with heterogeneous peers, via the Internet and telecommunications (Larson et al., 2002). Mobile devices and online social networking, in particular, have radically revolutionized youths' interpersonal landscapes, empowering prospects for connectivity, virtually anytime, anyplace. Thus, spectatorship of Western social practices and participation in virtual communities may provide youth from diverse cultural contexts the freedom to affirm a global identity, which may further encourage romantic experience.
Like the media, peer groups represent a highly Western orientation. A robust body of longitudinal evidence suggests that peer groups are a primary conduit for romantic development across Western cultures (Connolly, Furman, & Konarski, 2000; Dhariwal, Connolly, Paciello, & Caprara, 2009). More so than the family, it is friends with whom youth communicate to confide their romantic excitement and turmoil (Connolly & McIsaac, 2009). Furthermore, spending time with cross-sex groups is a precursory step in the trajectory toward romantic relationships, as these friends may spark passion and longing or become romantic partners themselves (Connolly et al., 2004). In the West, youth may feel pressured to conform to such a peer culture, and feel influenced by friends' standards of permissiveness in several areas including romantic initiation (Feldman & Rosenthal, 1990). In non-Western contexts, on the other hand, youth are less likely to disclose personal details out of concern for damaging their reputation with friends (Schug et al., 2010). Because non-Western youth spend time in homogeneous peer groups, they may further be less likely to associate with cross-sex friends or those with more permissive expectations (Feldman & Rosenthal, 1990; Larson et al., 2002). They may not advance through a peer group stage en route to romantic experience at the same time as Western cohorts, or at all. With globalization, however, the peer culture of interpersonal communication, cross-sex ties, and permissiveness becomes significantly relevant to romantic experience.
Highlighting Gender
Gender must be considered in cross-cultural comparisons of romantic experience. In India, boys have freedom to go out whereas girls have responsibilities at home and limited access to and control over financial resources (IIPSM & PCND, 2010). There, greater socialization expectations to embody traditional ideals of social reticence exist for girls than for boys (Verma & Saraswathi, 2002). If the onus of maintaining society's traditional social system rests with girls, then they will be less likely than boys to invest in personal leisure time outside family demands, either with media, friends, or romantic partners (Larson & Verma, 1999; Li et al., 2010; Verma, Sharma, & Larson, 2002). Although non-Western girls show lower participation in such leisure and romantic activities than boys, the effect of friends on romantic activities has been shown to be comparable for both boys and girls (Li et al., 2010). Thus, the effects of Westernizing processes on romantic experience should operate similarly for boys and girls.
Study Goals
The current study focused on a continuum of South Asian youth from progressively Westernized contexts: “traditional” youth from single-sex homeland environments, “transitional” youth from hybrid co-educational homeland environments, and “diaspora” youth from immigrant environments. Because of the probable low incidence of romantic activities in younger Indian youth, we were interested in youth who were near or had just entered their twenties. The first objective was to resolve whether or not youth in more Western contexts experience more romantic activities and autonomy from parents in partner choice, but consistent levels of romantic desire. The second objective was to probe whether or not, in more Westernized settings, youth consume more Western and social media, and possess friends who foster permissive expectations, cross-sex ties, and intimate communication. The third objective was to explore the process by which cultural contexts socialize youth for romantic experience. It was hypothesized that media and friends mediate the link between the cultural continuum and romantic experience. It was expected that boys would endorse higher levels of romantic, media, and friend experience than girls across cultural contexts, but that the mediational model would operate similarly for both genders.
Method
Participants
The sample included 1316 South Asian youth (49% boys, 51% girls), recruited in India and Canada. They were 19.03 years of age on average (SD = 1.30, range 17–23). Less than 1% of youth identified as homosexual and 2% identified as bisexual.
The traditional (n = 319) and transitional (n = 542) homeland groups were recruited in India. These youth were attending colleges in Chandigarh, an urban city of 1.17 million that is surrounded by rural villages. Colleges in this locale were chosen due to their representativeness of a changing Indian demographic. Approximately equal parts hailed from urban (45%) and rural (54%) homes, and there was a widespread prevalence of both co-educational and single-sex placements. The traditional youth came from single-sex colleges that focused on home economics for girls and arts and sciences for boys. The transitional youth were recruited from co-educational colleges that focused on arts, sciences, or technology. The median household incomes reported were comparable to population estimates (Chandigarh Administration, 2008). Of note, the transitional youth reported a significantly greater median household income (Rs. 250,000) than the traditional youth (Rs. 150,000) (Mann-Whitney U = 7.27, p < .001).
The diaspora sample (n = 455) comprised South Asians whose families had immigrated to Canada. These youth were recruited from a major university in Toronto, a city of 2.48 million situated in Canada's largest metropolitan area, known for its culturally diverse population. Diaspora youth included those having emigrated from the Indian subcontinent during their lifetime (52%) and those born in Canada to immigrant parents (48%; 97% were first generation and 3% second generation). New immigrants reported living in Canada on average 9.82 years (SD = 5.30). Diaspora youth reported their median household income was $70,000, comparable to population estimates for the Metropolitan Toronto area (Statistics Canada, 2008b).
The gender distributions within each group reflected the overall college enrollment rates in India and Canada, whereby more girls were sampled in the diaspora (60%) than in either the transitional (47%) or traditional (45%) contexts (χ2(2) = 24.05, p < .001) (IIPSM & PCND, 2010; Statistics Canada, 2008c). Diaspora youth (Mage = 19 years 3 months, SD = 1 year 4 months) were significantly older than the transitional youth (Mage = 18 years 11 months, SD = 1 year 4 months) and not significantly different from the traditional youth (Mage = 19 years 0 months, SD = 1 year 3 months) (F(2, 1311) = 8.31, p < .001, η2 = .01). Parents of transitional youth had more postsecondary training (85% of fathers, 74% of mothers) than parents of traditional youth (64% of fathers, 51% of mothers) (χ2Fathers(2) = 45.91, p < .001, χ2Mothers(2) = 42.88, p < .001). Parental postsecondary education in the diaspora group did not differ from the other two groups (74% of fathers, 63% of mothers). The groups also differed significantly on household composition (χ2(2) = 15.30, p < .001): the diaspora group was less likely to live with extended family members (28%) than transitional (38%) or traditional (41%) groups.
Procedure
The study followed our university standard of research ethics and the administrative procedures for each institution sampled. Participants were assured of anonymity. Consent rate for voluntary study completion was 86%. Since postsecondary education in India is conducted in English, one of the country's national languages, all participants completed the same self-report English questionnaire. Two local doctoral-level developmental psychology researchers facilitated introductions to the local colleges in India and reviewed materials to ensure cultural integrity. Minor modifications were made to the survey to ensure accessibility. Locally trained research assistants administered questionnaires during scheduled class time. In Canada, trained research assistants administered questionnaires in classes and extracurricular clubs where higher South Asian enrollments were expected (35% of sample); the remaining 65% came from the undergraduate research pool.
Measures
Romantic experiences
The Dating Questionnaire (Connolly et al., 2004) was administered, with two items added to measure romantic desire and autonomy. Romantic desire was assessed by asking what percentage of their time youth spent thinking about romantic issues (0–100%). Romantic autonomy from parents was assessed by asking how much involvement youth had in partner selection. Responses were rated on the following scale: 1 = It is completely up to my parents, 2 = It is up to my parents but they need my approval, 3 = My parents and I have equal involvement in the decision, 4 = It is up to me but I need my parents' approval, 5 = It is completely up to me. A score for romantic activities was computed by summing true responses to five activities, currently or over the past year. The individual romantic activities items are given in Table 1.
| Romantic Activity | Homeland India | Canada | χ2 Goodness of fit tests | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional (%) | Transitional (%) | Diaspora (%) | ||
| Spend time with both boys and girls | 61a | 76ab | 87b | χ2 (2) = 67.09 |
| Go places where boys and girls are | 65a | 76ab | 94b | χ2 (2) = 95.44 |
| Go on dates but with groups of people | 26a | 28a | 43b | χ2 (2) = 30.22 |
| Casual dates just the two of us | 34a | 31a | 56b | χ2 (2) = 66.94 |
| Only date boyfriend/girlfriend | 34ab | 27a | 51b | χ2 (2) = 58.68 |
- Note. Superscripts indicate significantly disproportionate endorsements among cultural groups, ***p < .001.
Media
The Teen Media and Culture Questionnaire was used to assess Western and social media use (Connolly et al., 2010). To assess Western media, participants named their favorite musician, TV show, and movie. Research assistants determined media origin by coding positive responses to indicate whether they originated from the West (North America or Europe) and summing (range 0–3). Media dissonance was calculated by asking youth to rate how much they believed each media favorite related to issues they struggled with. Responses were rated from 1 = strongly agree to 4 = strongly disagree and were averaged across the three media favorites. Items were internally consistent (α = .70). A score for Western media was created by averaging media origin and dissonance scores, which were highly correlated (r = .60, p < .001). To assess social media use, youth rated how frequently they chatted or texted with friends using (1) the Internet and (2) mobile devices. Responses were rated from 1 = rarely to 4 = as often as I can. Items were correlated (r = .31, p < .001), and averaged to calculate a total score.
Friends
Friend permissiveness was assessed using a subscale of the Teen Timetable Scale (Feldman & Rosenthal, 1990). This measure assesses the age at which youth perceive that their friends expect them to make independent decisions, such as how late to come home at night. In the current study, lower perceived age expectations by friends were labeled as permissive. Nineteen items were rated from 1 = never to 7 = before age 14 and then averaged. Items showed excellent internal consistency (α = .93). The Peer Network Inventory (Connolly et al., 2000) was used to assess number of cross-sex friends, by asking youth to list the most important people in their social networks (up to 12), the person's relationship (kin vs. non-kin), and gender. Next, the preponderance of cross-sex over same-sex non-kin affiliates was calculated as a difference score. Positive scores reflected more cross-sex friends and negative scores reflected more same-sex friends. Friend communication was assessed using six items asking youth how much they talked to their friends about dating, family problems, and so on. Responses were rated from 1 = little or none to 5 = the most, and then averaged. Items were internally consistent (α = .82) and showed a one-factor solution using principal axis factoring.
Results
Plan of Analysis
First, χ2 goodness of fit tests were conducted to assess cultural groups' differential endorsement of various romantic activities. Second, a MANOVA was conducted to assess culture and gender differences in romantic experience, media use, and friendships. Third, a path analysis was used to test for the mediating role of media and friends between cultural context and romantic experience. The path analysis was conducted following Lei (2009), who endorses the use of ordinal data in such applications when variables increase on monotonic function, are unskewed, and are based on a large sample. Cultural context was converted to a 3-point scale (1 = traditional, 2 = transitional, and 3 = diaspora) to allow for the meditational design. Missing values occurred for less than 3% of the sample on any variable and were handled using full-information maximum likelihood estimation procedures. Given the small percentage of nonheterosexual endorsement and because similar results were obtained when only heterosexual youth were analyzed, sexual orientation was not distinguished.
Romantic Activity Endorsement
A picture of youths' romantic activities is shown in Table 1. Diaspora youth were more likely to spend time and go places with both boys and girls compared with traditional youth. They were also more likely to go on group dates or casual dates compared with both homeland groups. Finally, they were more likely to report a boyfriend or girlfriend compared with transitional youth.
Cultural Differences in Romantic Experience, Media, and Friends
MANOVA results are shown in Table 2. Hotellings' trace multivariate tests showed a large effect of cultural context F(16, 2602) = 108.88, p < .001, η2 = .40, a moderate effect of gender F(8, 1302) = 21.23, p < .001, η2 = .12, and a small culture by gender interaction, F(16, 2602) = 4.44, p < .001, η2 = .03.
| Variable | Group | Homeland India | Canada | Overall | Effects | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional | Transitional | Diaspora | ||||||||||
| Mean | SE | Mean | SE | Mean | SE | Mean | SE | Culture | Gender | Interaction | ||
| Romantic desire | Overall | 36.77 | 1.52 | 38.11 | 1.16 | 37.52 | 1.29 | ns |
p < .01 η2 = .01 |
p < .001 η2 = .01 |
||
| Boys | 39.18a | 2.03 | 34.24ab | 1.59 | 31.53b | 2.00 | 35.32 | 1.09 | ||||
| Girls | 34.36a | 2.25 | 40.97b | 1.70 | 43.50b | 1.63 | 39.62 | 1.09 | ||||
| Romantic autonomy | Overall | 3.34a | 0.06 | 3.56b | 0.04 | 4.10c | 0.05 |
p < .001 η2 = .09 |
p < .001 η2 = .07 |
p < .001 η2 = .02 |
||
| Boys | 3.80a | 0.07 | 3.72a | 0.06 | 4.32b | 0.08 | 3.95 | 0.04 | ||||
| Girls | 2.87a | 0.08 | 3.40b | 0.06 | 3.87c | 0.06 | 3.39 | 0.04 | ||||
| Romantic activities | Overall | 2.13a | 0.07 | 2.35a | 0.06 | 3.23b | 0.06 |
p < .001 η2 = .11 |
p < .001 η2 = .01 |
ns | ||
| Boys | 2.37 | 0.10 | 2.42 | 0.08 | 3.34 | 0.10 | 2.71 | 0.05 | ||||
| Girls | 1.89 | 0.10 | 2.28 | 0.08 | 3.11 | 0.08 | 2.42 | 0.05 | ||||
| Western media | Overall | 1.25a | 0.04 | 1.38b | 0.03 | 2.72c | 0.03 |
p < .001 η2 = .51 |
p < .001 η2 = .01 |
ns | ||
| Boys | 1.30 | 0.04 | 1.48 | 0.04 | 2.80 | 0.05 | 1.86 | 0.03 | ||||
| Girls | 1.20 | 0.05 | 1.29 | 0.04 | 2.62 | 0.04 | 1.71 | 0.03 | ||||
| Social media | Overall | 1.75a | 0.05 | 2.03b | 0.04 | 2.20c | 0.05 |
p < .001 η2 = .05 |
ns | ns | ||
| Boys | 1.79 | 0.06 | 2.06 | 0.05 | 2.12 | 0.06 | 1.99 | 0.03 | ||||
| Girls | 1.70 | 0.07 | 2.01 | 0.05 | 2.27 | 0.05 | 2.00 | 0.03 | ||||
| Friend permissiveness | Overall | 2.47a | 0.06 | 2.61a | 0.04 | 3.89b | 0.05 |
p < .001 η2 = .28 |
p < .001 η2 = .02 |
ns | ||
| Boys | 2.59 | 0.07 | 2.82 | 0.06 | 3.97 | 0.07 | 3.13 | 0.04 | ||||
| Girls | 2.34 | 0.08 | 2.40 | 0.06 | 3.75 | 0.06 | 2.83 | 0.04 | ||||
| Cross-sex friends | Overall | −1.77a | 0.14 | −1.23b | 0.11 | −0.93b | 0.13 |
p < .001 η2 = .02 |
ns |
p < .001 η2 = .01 |
||
| Boys | −2.06a | 0.19 | −1.22b | 0.15 | −0.52c | 0.18 | −1.26 | 0.10 | ||||
| Girls | −1.48 | 0.21 | −1.15 | 0.16 | −1.28 | 0.15 | −1.31 | 0.10 | ||||
| Friend communication | Overall | 3.28a | 0.05 | 3.24a | 0.04 | 3.54b | 0.05 |
p < .001 η2 = .02 |
p < .001 η2 = .01 |
p < .01 η2 = .01 |
||
| Boys | 3.24 | 0.07 | 3.19 | 0.06 | 3.32 | 0.07 | 3.25 | 0.04 | ||||
| Girls | 3.31a | 0.08 | 3.28a | 0.06 | 3.76b | 0.06 | 3.46 | 0.04 | ||||
- Note. Superscripts designate significant differences among cultural groups using a family-wise error rate, *p < .05.
Romantic experiences
Youth in all cultural contexts showed similar levels of romantic desire. Still, desire generally increased across Westernizing contexts for girls, but decreased for boys. Next, more romantic autonomy was shown in each increasingly Westernized context. This pattern held up for girls; for boys, there was a difference between diaspora and homeland contexts, but not within homeland contexts. Finally, diaspora youth reported more romantic activities than both homeland groups, and boys reported more activities than girls.
Media
Diaspora youth reported more Western and social media use than transitional youth, who in turn reported more such media use than traditional youth. Boys endorsed more Western media use than girls.
Friends
Diaspora youth endorsed more friend permissiveness than homeland youth, and boys endorsed more than girls. Diaspora and transitional youth had more cross-sex friends than traditional youth. Boys in increasingly Westernized contexts reported more cross-sex friends, although girls reported a constant number. Finally, diaspora youth reported more friend communication than homeland youth. Girls in the diaspora talked to friends more than in other contexts, whereas boys reported the same level of friend communication across contexts.
Linking Cultural Context and Romantic Experience: Roles of Media and Friends
Table 3 presents correlations among study variables; the general pattern conforms to expectations. Consistent with MANOVA results, living in a Westernizing context was linked to more romantic autonomy and activities, Western and social media, friend permissiveness, cross-sex friendships, and friend communication. Romantic variables were moderately intercorrelated. Media and friend variables generally showed moderate associations with romantic activities. A subset of these showed moderate correlations with romantic autonomy. Under half showed any correlation with romantic desire. Among media and friend variables, there were several significant intercorrelations.
| Variable | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Western cultural context | |||||||||
| 2. Romantic desire | .02 | ||||||||
| 3. Romantic autonomy | .25*** | .17*** | |||||||
| 4. Romantic activities | .30*** | .18*** | .32*** | ||||||
| 5. Western media | .64*** | .04 | .30*** | .32*** | |||||
| 6. Social media | .22*** | −.04 | .10*** | .22*** | .16*** | ||||
| 7. Friend permissiveness | .47*** | .02 | .30*** | .28*** | .46*** | .16*** | |||
| 8. Cross-sex friends | .12*** | .12*** | .14*** | .23*** | .08** | .01 | .09** | ||
| 9. Friend communication | .14*** | .13*** | .10*** | .16*** | .13*** | .28*** | .13*** | .11*** |
- Note. *p < .01; **p < .01; ***p < .001.
In testing whether or not the media and friend variables mediated the link between cultural context and romantic experience, all direct and indirect pathways were included in the model, as were covariances between residuals of all remaining variables. Since romantic desire was not shown to differ by cultural context and was unlinked to most other variables, suggesting mediation was not possible, it was not included in this analysis. Using standards by Hu and Bentler (1995), the model was found to fit the data well, χ2(7, N = 1316) = 14.91, p = .037, CFI = .99, TLI = .98, RMSEA = .03, 90% CI [.01, .05] (shown in Figure 1). Covariances were retained between the residuals of romantic autonomy and activities (β = .20, p < .001), Western media and friend permissiveness (β = .24, p < .001), social media and friend communication (β = .25, p < .001), and friend communication and cross-sex friends (β = .12, p < .001).
As predicted, the overall link between culture and romantic experience was explained by media and friends. In particular, there was a mediated association between culture and romantic autonomy via increased Western media, friend permissiveness, and cross-sex friendships (β = .23, p < .001). The link between culture and romantic activities was mediated by these same variables as well as by social media and friend communication (β = .27, p < .001). Estimates for indirect effects in a multiple mediator model were generated following the bootstrapping approach by Preacher and Hayes (2008). In the prediction of romantic autonomy and activities, bootstrap estimates using 90% confidence intervals were all significantly different from zero, p < .01. Thus, each specific mediator demonstrated a unique effect of its own, once other mediators were accounted for.
To test for gender invariance in the originally proposed model, the multi-sample testing approach outlined by Byrne (2001) was followed. When the unconstrained model where all paths were allowed to vary by gender was compared with a constrained model where the paths were set to be equal for gender, the model fit changed significantly (∆χ2(13) = 34.56, p < .001). Path-by-path analyses revealed the links from cultural context to friend communication (∆χ2(1) = 10.03, p = .002) and cross-sex friends (∆χ2(1) = 14.72, p < .001) varied by gender. Specifically, friend communication remained an important mediator for girls but not boys. Cross-sex friends remained an important mediator for boys but not girls. Remaining paths operated similarly by gender.
Post Hoc Analysis
A post hoc analysis was conducted to assess whether or not the media and friend mediators had similar links to romantic experience within each of the three cultures separately, using the multi-sample testing approach outlined by Byrne (2001). When the unconstrained model where all paths were allowed to vary by culture was compared with a constrained model where the paths were set to be equal for culture, the model fit changed significantly (∆χ2(20) = 29.97, p = .007). Within the diaspora group, paths between the mediators and romantic variables held up in the same way as the overall model. These paths also held up within the transitional group, with one exception: friend permissiveness was not linked with romantic activities (∆χ2(2) = 4.36, p = .113). Within the traditional group, there were two exceptions in the links between the mediators and romantic variables: friend permissiveness was not linked with romantic activities (∆χ2(2) = 4.36, p = .113) and Western media was not linked with romantic autonomy (∆χ2(2) = 5.41, p = .067).
Discussion
The goal of the current study was to provide a cross-cultural perspective on the romantic experiences of youth from the Majority World. The adolescent years are believed to be a time for romantic maturation (Connolly & McIsaac, 2009), but only a modest amount of research on the impact of culture is available. With the rise of globalization, there is a shifting balance of power in how young people become romantically involved. Thus, a fuller understanding of the macro-level global forces that shape these experiences was garnered by drawing on an innovative sample of South Asian youth from a spectrum of Westernizing contexts. The inclusion of an intermediary group from co-educational India allowed an expansion of current knowledge to include those youth exposed to competing traditional and Western norms. Our findings extend past research in three ways. First, support for the idea that adolescence is a time for romantic expansion, across cultures, was shown (Erikson, 1968; Fisher, 1998). Although youth in Westernized settings demonstrated more romantic activities than youth in traditional settings, all youth desired romance. Traditional youth just did not feel as autonomous in this domain as Western youth. Second, it was shown that youth in increasingly Western contexts were more likely to accrue social capital in the form of global media and peer culture. Third, it was found that the link between the Westernizing cultural continuum and such social capital, in turn, readied youth for romantic experience. Thus, the findings support current theories of how global restructuring affects social experiences of youth as they prepare for adulthood; in particular, growing autonomy in partner choice and experiences of romance prime youth for future relationships where they will have few family resources available and will need to exercise independence in relationship decisions (Arnett, 2002; Larson, 2002).
The current study was the first of its kind to measure multiple features of youthful romance in a cross-cultural sample: romantic desire, autonomy in partner selection, and active involvement. Most importantly, our findings confirm past studies showing homeland youth are less romantically involved (Li et al., 2010) and elaborate on them by showing these youth are still very fascinated by and desire romance. The finding that diaspora youth showed greater endorsements of romantic activities relative to homeland youth suggests that social stigma around premarital romance still exists in India. However, such social scripts there may be breaking down, as trends in the predicted direction emerged within the homeland setting as well: although they did not show more overall activity, the transitional group showed more early stage romantic activities emphasizing mingling with mixed-gender groups than the traditional group. Findings also showed that romantic activity is linked to feeling autonomous from parents in romantic domains. Youth in progressively Western settings were more likely to take charge of their romantic lives whereas traditional youth more often expected parents to make these decisions for them. Furthermore, Indian gender norms, whereby parents control the socialization experiences of girls more than those of boys and expect them to embody social reticence, were shown to persist in the traditional homeland (IIPSM & PCND, 2010; Verma & Saraswathi, 2002). Here, girls were less likely than boys to endorse romantic activities and autonomy. Notably, as girls entered increasingly Western cultural contexts, their romantic desire and autonomy became amplified relative to that of boys. Thus, it appears globalization opens more opportunities for romantic experience for girls than boys, as cultural pressure to represent traditional ideals seems diminished. It was also shown that boys in the traditional group exhibited greater desire than boys in the diaspora group. As girls are expected to be the gatekeepers to romantic experiences in traditional society, this finding may reflect the boys' heightened longing in the face of romantic denial (Fisher, Brown, Aron, Strong, & Mashek, 2010). Taken together, a somewhat different picture emerges depending on what romantic feature is indexed, and for whom, highlighting the value of assessing multiple romantic domains in cross-cultural research.
A prominent finding pertained to youths' increasing access to global media in each more Westernized cultural context. With a large effect, Westernized groups were tremendously more likely to report that their favorite music, TV, and movies originated from the West, which they simultaneously reported were unrelated to the issues they personally struggled with. The dissonance created when youth report a media form is their favorite, but is also unrelated to their lives, may compel them to behave more like the Western mainstream to remit the conflict. Westernizing youth were also more likely to report engagement in social media, via the Internet and mobile devices. Thus, the study provides empirical support for theories suggesting that with Westernization, youth negotiate their global identities by viewing media portrayals and connecting to virtual social communities, online or via mobile devices (Larson, 2002).
Findings pertaining to friends painted a less uniform picture than did the media findings. Westernizing youth reported that their friends endorsed more permissive expectations of their behavior (a large effect) and fostered interpersonal communication. These effects were more pronounced for diaspora youth compared to both homeland groups of youth, and are consistent with the idea that globalizing effects occur more intensely for families who emigrate to the West than for families who remain in the local context (Arnett, 2002). Westernizing youth were also more likely to have cross-sex friends in their social networks, supporting Larson et al.'s (2002) notion that youth become connected to heterogeneous peers with Westernization. However, unlike findings on permissiveness and communication, both the diaspora and the transitional homeland youth endorsed having more cross-sex friends than the traditional homeland youth. This finding suggests that although larger cultural differences in friendship interactions exist for diaspora over homeland youth, cultural restructuring is emerging in the homeland too. The co-educational situation in the transitional context provides opportunities for cross-sex interactions, but like the traditional context, it does not yet stimulate permissiveness from friends, intimate communication, or romantic activities.
Paramount to the current study, the overall links between cultural context and particular features of romantic development were explained by the media and friend variables. Notably, how globalization affects the experience of romantic desire, overall or differentially by gender, could not be explained by the Westernizing processes of media and friends. However, there was a mediated association between cultural context and romantic autonomy via increased Western media, cross-sex friends, and friend permissiveness—factors which educate youth about culturally prescribed norms. Furthermore, the association between culture and romantic activities was mediated by these same variables as well as by social media and friend communication—factors reflecting direct peer-to-peer interaction. As such, the current study shows global restructuring is connected to a variety of media and friend influences, which in turn are linked to youths' romantic autonomy and activities, but not desire. Mechanisms implicating permissive Western values are important for increased autonomy from parents in romantic choice. Mechanisms implicating social connection are important for romantic activities. Thus, findings suggest that autonomous participation will flourish when youth are exposed to Western portrayals, have many cross-sex affiliates populating their social networks, perceive that their friends will be permissive, and are able to connect with their friends via social media and discuss personal issues with them.
Post hoc analyses showed that the findings hold up much the same way within the diaspora and transitional groups, and to a lesser degree in the traditional group. Although our findings generally suggest the pace of romantic development is accelerated via the media and peer group in the Westernizing groups, it is possible that advancement through romantic stages for traditional youth may not involve media or peers in the same way, but rather, continues to rely heavily on parental involvement (Gupta, 1976). Additional research is needed to explore parental mechanisms of romantic progression in traditional societies.
Gender differences were generally compatible with expectations. Supporting the idea that boys are more likely to invest in personal leisure time outside the family than girls (Larson & Verma, 1999), boys endorsed more Western media use and permissive expectations of friends. In line with less consistent friend versus media effects shown in the current study, cultural differences in friends but not media were moderated by gender. In particular, boys in more Westernized contexts reported more cross-sex friends, whereas girls reported a constant number. Thus, cross-sex friends fostered romantic autonomy and activities for boys, but girls remained impervious to such influences. In addition, girls in the diaspora invested more time communicating with friends than in less Western settings, whereas all boys reported the same level of friend communication. Thus, friend communication was linked to romantic activities for girls, but was irrelevant for boys. This differential effect is in step with the influential nature of shared experiences for boys and emotional self-disclosures for girls in Western research (Camarena, Sarigiani, & Petersen, 1990; Rose & Rudolph, 2006). Taken together, our findings confirm past research demonstrating that friends are linked to romance for both genders (Li et al., 2010) and extend the base of knowledge to show the differential mechanisms of influence with Westernization: intimate friend communication for girls and possessing friends of the opposite sex for boys.
Study limitations should be noted. First, assumptions of directionality could not be made because of the cross-sectional nature of the data. Future research should test directionality by measuring key variables over time. Still, past research that has longitudinally studied media and peer effects on romantic experiences gives us confidence in the ordering of our effects (e.g., Connolly et al., 2010; Dhariwal et al., 2009). Second, a number of indices were based on one-item reports. Third, some selection processes may be operating as youth were not randomly assigned to the three cultures, for example, South Asian parents with Westernized values may be more likely to allow their children to attend co-educational colleges or move their families to Canada. Finally, the sample only included English-speaking youth attending postsecondary school, reflecting a middle-class orientation. Caution is called for in generalizing current findings to youth from families without the economic means to undergraduate education, as they may have differential access to global media and peer culture. At the same time, the cross-cultural nature of youthful romance among South Asians, one of the world's most populous peoples (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004), is little explored so far. Our findings provide great promise by laying a solid foundation that future studies can build on.
The current study permits a deeper understanding of youthful romantic development in today's changing world by contrasting three novel intra-ethnic groups: South Asian youth in traditional gender-segregated homeland contexts in India, those in modernizing co-educational homeland contexts in India, and immigrant youth in Canada's diaspora. Beyond focusing on romantic activity levels alone, other important aspects of budding romantic development such as romantic desire and autonomy from parents in partner choice were also evaluated. Furthermore, participation in global forces such as media and peer culture afforded a nuanced understanding of cultural differences in romantic development that goes beyond concepts derived in Western settings. The current study is the first empirical examination we know of to explain the underlying process by which Westernization has an impact on youthful romantic experiences. Study implications include supporting the social networks of globalizing youth, particularly if their access to traditional kinship resources is diminished. Parents, in particular, can be helped to understand the ways in which their children are changed by the cultural setting via media and peers. This study makes an important contribution to understanding the transformations young people undergo as they attempt to adapt to Westernizing systems.
