| This study explores the development of intercultural sensitivity among early adolescents and specific factors associated with it including: empathy, authoritarianism, gender orientation, sex (biological), prior intercultural contact, and second language acquisition. Intercultural sensitivity is defined here as the way a person understands, feels about, and responds to cultural differences. It is conceptualized by M. Bennett (1993) as a developmental phenomenon consisting of eight discrete stages or levels, each with its distinct cognitive structures, affective orientations, and behavioral capacities.;One hundred and forty-five seventh rural, suburban, and urban seventh grade students residing in a north central state in the U.S. were the participants in this study. The instruments used in the study included: the Intercultural Development Inventory for intercultural sensitivity, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory for gender orientation, Bryant's Empathy Index for Children for empathy, Altemeyer's Adapted Authoritarian Scale for authoritarianism, and the author's own survey for other background variables such as intercultural contact and second language acquisition. In addition, interviews were conducted with nine participants having high Intercultural Development Inventory scores and 10 having low ones. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis were then compared.;The results showed that the students represented a range of intercultural sensitivity levels, were evenly divided between the monocultural and intercultural categories and were most often located specifically in minimization (stage four) and acceptance (stage five). Intercultural sensitivity was positively associated with intercultural contact (greater number of intercultural friendships), gender orientation (androgynous, as opposed to feminine, masculine, or undifferentiated), and empathy. It was negatively correlated with authoritarianism. Although sex, in general, was found not statistically significant, an interaction between sex, locale, and intercultural sensitivity was noted. No statistically significant associations were found between second language acquisition and intercultural sensitivity. Qualitative data analysis suggest that depending upon the locale, students' conceptualization of cultural difference varied.;Implications of the study are discussed for curriculum development and teaching. This study lends empirical support for the explanatory power of the Bennett intercultural sensitivity model and provides initial support for the validity of the Intercultural Development Inventory as a measure of intercultural sensitivity. |
