Toward a measure of the group-oriented lifestyle : a cross-cultural study

Attitudes and life-styles of collectivist and individualistic societies have been studied. There is a need however, to assess the degree to which societies are collectivist or individualistic. The purpose of this study is to begin addressing this deficit by refining the Individual-Group Measure (IGM) and to compare the expectations about counseling of Americans and Bahamians. A 52 item, self­ report instrument, the IGM was developed to measure attitudes of group-oriented societies. One hundred and twenty-six Americans and 126 Bahamians participated in the study. A factor analysis conducted on the IGM yielded six factors: Socialization and Limit-Setting, Responsibility for Self, Relationships at Work and School, Group Support, Moral Duty to Others, and Obligation to Family. Pearson correlations and Cronbach Alphas were calculated in order to obtain test-retest reliability estimates. A MANOVA and a Pearson correlation were conducted on the IGM (Family, Community, School, and Work) and four Expectations About Counseling-Brief scales (Empathy, Nurturance, Directiveness, and Concreteness). Results suggest that Bahamians are more group-oriented than Americans. Bahamians showed a greater need than Americans for directiveness and empathy in counseling, and a greater obligation to Community and Family life. Americans revealed greater obligation to work than Bahamians. Inter-correlations among the eight scales yielded significant and direct correlations.