Cross-cultural romantic relationships help personal growth, says researcher

Couples in cross-cultural romantic relationships benefit from each other’s cultural differences as they open up new perspectives, knowledge and identities, three recent studies by York University researchers show.

“Cross-cultural romantic relationships are becoming more common, and while the obstacles such couples face are well documented, the factors that contribute to their success are less well understood,” says Amy Muse, author of new work. “This is shown by the results of our current study personal growth was related to relationship quality and identity outcomes.”

Growing Together Across Our Cultural Differences: Self-Expansion in Cross-Cultural Romantic Relationships, published today in Journal of personality and social psychologyis a research-based research paper using cross-sectional, dyadic, time-course, and experimental methods to understand opportunities for growth through cultural exchange in relationships.

Research shows that personal growth through a partner’s culture was uniquely associated with identity outcomes such as greater cultural awareness, in addition to general growth through the relationship. “Furthermore, actively sharing cultures and discussing their differences was associated with greater cultural and relational self-expansion, which in turn differentially predicted partner relationship quality and cultural identity,” emphasizes Muse, who is also chair of the research department. relations and relations of York. Sexuality.

These studies provide a first look at the role of self-expansion in cross-cultural relationships, demonstrating that how couples negotiate their cultures is related to both relational and personal outcomes.