Petra Sidler | University of Neuchâtel (original) (raw)

Papers by Petra Sidler

Frontiers in Sociology

Acculturation is a mutual process, meaning that members of minority as well as majority groups ac... more Acculturation is a mutual process, meaning that members of minority as well as majority groups acculturate and thus experience cultural and psychological changes when having intercultural contact. This study assessed mutual acculturation attitudes in the school context through a four-dimensional measurement examining attitudes toward (1) migration background students' heritage culture maintenance and their (2) dominant culture adoption, (3) majority students' intercultural knowledge acquisition, and (4) schools' intercultural contact endorsement. Acculturation attitudes are commonly analyzed through minority and majority perspectives; however, the ways in which researchers categorize group members can differ significantly from how those members self-identify. This matters particularly for adolescents because they explore group identities and belongings. So far, adolescents' mutual acculturation attitudes have not been studied in relation to national self-identificati...

PLOS ONE, Dec 1, 2022

Adolescence is a developmental stage with high risks in terms of psychological challenges and adj... more Adolescence is a developmental stage with high risks in terms of psychological challenges and adjustments related to subjective well-being. Thus far, the findings reported a general decrease in school-related well-being over time. We considered well-being a multidimensional and latent construct that included both feeling good and functioning well at the individual level, and focused on the interplay between hedonic and eudemonic factors. Data of N = 377 high school students in Switzerland were used by conducting an online longitudinal study with two waves. Baseline data was gathered in autumn 2019 and the subsequent time point occurred 1 year later (2020; grades seven and eight). By applying a person-oriented analytical approach via latent class and latent transition analyses, we were able to identify and compare longitudinally three distinct well-being patterns and the respective trajectories. Regarding the distribution of the well-being patterns for both waves, significant changes over time were identified: particularly from wave 1 to wave 2, where there was an increase for the low and high well-being patterns, yet a decrease for the middle pattern. Comparing the stability of the respective patterns over time, the high well-being level showed the highest stability of all identified patterns. Multinomial logistic regression of covariates to the identified latent status membership established for both waves showed low but significant effects of socio-demographic variables. At wave 1, having a migration background was associated with a significant increase of being in a low versus high well-being level pattern. At wave 2, being female was associated with a significant increase of being in a low versus high and in a middle versus high well-being pattern.

European University Institute, RSCAS, 2020

1 data file; 1 documentation file (Zipped) + 1 data file; 1 documentation file (Zipped)This datas... more 1 data file; 1 documentation file (Zipped) + 1 data file; 1 documentation file (Zipped)This dataset features systematic information on mobility restrictions within and across national borders that have been introduced in response to the Covid-19 outbreak between 1 March and 31 May 2020. The two waves cover the same time period, but the second wave has a broader geographical scope. It includes 27 EU countries, four EFTA-states as well as the United Kingdom, for a total of 32 countries as opposed to the 26 of the first wave. This dataset is used for the first part of the study "Citizenship, Migration and Mobility in a Pandemic" (CMMP-A

Journal of Youth and Adolescence

4 data files; 2 documentation filesThe Mobility and Border Control in Response to COVID-19 Datase... more 4 data files; 2 documentation filesThe Mobility and Border Control in Response to COVID-19 Dataset features systematic information on decisions regarding border closures and lockdowns in 27 European countries in response to the COVID-19 outbreak from 1 March to 20 June 2020. This dataset is used for the first part of the study 'Citizenship, Migration and Mobility in a Pandemic' (CMMPA)

Although acculturation is considered a mutual process, no measure assesses attitudes toward mutua... more Although acculturation is considered a mutual process, no measure assesses attitudes toward mutual acculturation. Through a novel four-dimensional measurement, this study addresses this research gap by assessing attitudes toward minority and majority acculturation and its relation to psychological adjustment for immigrant-background minority and non-immigrant majority adolescents in public secondary schools in three European countries: in Germany (n = 346, 46% female, M age = 12.78 years, range 11-16), Greece (n = 439, 56% female, M age = 12.29 years, range 11-20), and Switzerland (n = 375, 47% female, M age = 12.67 years, range 11-15). Latent profile analyses led to three distinct acculturation profiles in all three countries: strong and mild mutual integration profiles, where both migrant and majority students are expected to integrate, and a third profile assuming lower responsibility upon the majority. Additionally, those in the strong-and mild-integration profiles reported stronger psychological adjustment than those assuming lower responsibility upon the majority, which held for all students in Switzerland and mostly for those without a migration background in Germany. The findings demonstrate the importance of a mutual acculturation framework for future research. Moreover, as most adolescents fit in with one of the mutual integration patterns, findings stress that no matter their migration background, adolescents favor mutual integration including the expectation on schools to enhance intercultural contact.

PLoS ONE, 2022

The present study investigated resilience profiles (based on levels of symptoms of anxiety and de... more The present study investigated resilience profiles (based on levels of symptoms of anxiety and depression and five dimensions of protective factors) of 1,160 students from Germany (n = 346, 46.0% females, Mage = 12.77, SDage = 0.78), Greece (n = 439, 54.5% females, Mage = 12.68, SDage = 0.69), and Switzerland (n = 375, 44.5% females, Mage = 12.29, SDage = 0.88) using latent profile analyses. We also checked for measurement invariance and investigated the influence of gender and migration on class membership. A three-profile-solution was found for Switzerland (nonresilient 22.1%, moderately resilient 42.9%, untroubled 34.9%), and a four-profile-solution was the best fitting model for Germany (nonresilient 15.7%, moderately resilient 44.2%, untroubled 27.3%, resilient 12.7%) and Greece (nonresilient 21.0%, moderately resilient 30.8%, untroubled 24.9%, resilient 23.3%). Measurement invariance did not hold across the three countries. Profile differences regarding class membership predic...

International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2021

Assessment of acculturation attitudes usually has focused on the importance of two dimensions: fi... more Assessment of acculturation attitudes usually has focused on the importance of two dimensions: first, immigrants’ maintenance of cultural heritage and, second, immigrants’ adoption of the majority culture. Because acculturation is a reciprocal interaction, we extended a bidimensional scale to four dimensions to assess mutual acculturation. Given the importance of the social context for acculturation and schools as a crucial context for immigrant pupils’ acculturation, the scale extension was validated within the context of school. We hypothesised that acculturation attitudes are held not only towards immigrant pupils but also towards native pupils and towards schools’ responsibility to support intercultural contact. The study sample comprised 364 secondary school pupils in Swiss multicultural schools. Using exploratory structural equation modelling, we validated four distinct dimensions of acculturation attitudes: attitudes towards immigrant pupils’ (a) heritage culture maintenance and (b) adoption of the dominant culture and attitudes towards (c) native pupils acquiring cultural knowledge and (d) schools enabling intercultural contact. We conclude that the proposed four-dimensional scale is a valid tool for assessing attitudes towards mutual acculturation within the school context and that acculturation attitudes are held not only towards immigrant pupils but also towards native pupils and schools.