Cultural competence, acculturation orientations, and attachment dimensions in future social workers and occupational therapists before entering these professions: A comparative study

The paper discusses the importance of considering diversity in public institutions and the need for intercultural training for practitioners. It emphasizes the psychological characteristics essential for dealing with diversity, focusing on multicultural personality traits, host community acculturation orientations, and adult attachment. The study aims to assess these psychological characteristics in future social workers and occupational therapists across three settings (France, n=273, Quebec, n=63, and Switzerland, n=66) before their integration internships. It is expected that certain personality profiles will be associated with favorable acculturation orientations and secure attachment, while others will be linked to less welcoming acculturation orientations and insecure attachment. Participants completed the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQF), the Host Community Acculturation Scale (HCAS) and the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (R-AAS). Analysis methods include hierarchical cluster analysis on the MPQF to identify intercultural personality profiles and subsequent ANOVAs to explore associations with acculturation orientations and attachment dimensions. Four multicultural personality profiles are identified: considerate (open and attentive), adaptive (handling new situations well), maladaptive (low scores on all traits, uncomfortable in intercultural situations), and reticent (reserved in intercultural encounters). Specific profiles align with distinct acculturation orientations, such as the considerate profile with a rejection of exclusion. Additionally, the adaptive profile displays consistently low anxiety levels. The study highlights that a significant proportion of students (40% to 60%) may lack competence in intercultural contexts. It questions the adequacy of intercultural training in curricula and emphasizes the need for further research on the impact of such training on students’ competence in handling diversity.

Auteur·e·s
Leanza Yvan
Bernard Gabriel
Demers Valérie
Brisset Camille
Yampolsky Maya
Jones-Lavallée Ahisha
Arsenault Stéphanie
Giroux Dominique
Gagnon Raymonde
Gulfi Alida
Kühne Nicolas
Kühne Nicolas
Tétreault Sylvie
Liens
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.102113
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Références

Leanza, Y., Bernard, G., Demers, V., Brisset, C., Yampolsky, M., Jones-Lavallée, A., Arsenault, S., Giroux, D., Gagnon, R., Gulfi, A., Kühne, N., & Tétreault, S. (2025). Cultural competence, acculturation orientations, and attachment dimensions in future social workers and occupational therapists before entering these professions: A comparative study. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 105, 102113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.102113.