North Korean defectors' tendency to rate themselves highly depended more on felt support from people around them and on optimism than on culture, and its link to adjustment differed between men and women.
Influence of North Korean Defectors' self-enhancement bias to their psychological adaptation in South Korea
북한이탈주민의 자기고양 편파가 남한 내 심리적 적응에 미치는 영향
QUESTION
Is North Korean defectors' self-enhancement bias shaped more by personality, social relationships, or culture, and how does it affect depression and life satisfaction?
FINDINGS
Defector university students' self-enhancement (seeing oneself as better than one is) was not significantly higher than that of South Korean students.
북한이탈주민 대학생의 자기고양 수준은 남한 대학생보다 유의미하게 높지는 않았다The self-enhancement level of North Korean defector university students was not significantly higher than that of South Korean university students.p14What best explained defectors' self-enhancement bias was how much support they felt from those around them (50.0%) and optimism (6.9%).
지각된 사회적 지지와 낙관성이 50.0%와 6.9%로 가장 설명력이 높은 변인으로 드러났다Perceived social support and optimism, at 50.0% and 6.9%, emerged as the variables with the highest explanatory power.p20Overall, greater self-enhancement went with lower depression — but also lower life satisfaction, somewhat different from earlier research and the authors' predictions.
자기고양 편파를 많이 할수록 우울감은 낮고, 생활만족도는 낮은 것으로 보였는데…the more self-enhancement bias, the lower the depression, and the lower the life satisfaction…p21이러한 결과는 기존의 연구 결과와 앞서의 예측과는 다소 다른 것이다These results are somewhat different from existing research findings and the earlier predictions.p21Unlike men, women defectors showed the same pattern as earlier research (self-enhancement helping adjustment).
여자 북한이탈주민들의 경우에는 남자들과는 달리 기존 연구 결과와 일치하는 방향으로 나타났다In the case of women defectors, unlike men, the results appeared in a direction consistent with existing research findings.p21기존 연구에서는 자기고양 편파가 많을수록 심리적으로 더 적응하는 것으로 드러났는데…in existing research, the more self-enhancement bias, the better the psychological adjustment…p18IN DAILY LIFE
According to earlier research, South Koreans strongly tend to treat defectors as an inferior, different breed of people simply because their customs and values differ a little — despite being the same people.
열등한 별종의 인간으로 취급하려는 성향을 강하게 보이고 있다…strongly showing a tendency to treat [them] as inferior people of a different kind.p6A self-enhancing attitude shows in the defectors' line of thinking, "I just haven't done it — if I did, I'd do it well" (citing earlier research).
안 해서 그렇지, 하면 잘 한다라는 식의 논리를 갖고…with the logic of "it's only because I don't do it; if I do, I do it well"…p11In depth
This paper, more closely — every sentence carries an original quote and page number.
Background
Because adjustment depends heavily on how people see themselves, the authors expected defectors' adjustment in South Korea to vary greatly with how they evaluate themselves.
북한이탈주민들이 자신을 어떻게 평가하고 지각하느냐에 따라 남한 사회에서의 적응 정도에서 큰 차이가 날 것으로 예상할 수 있다It can be expected that defectors' degree of adjustment in South Korean society will differ greatly depending on how they evaluate and perceive themselves.p2Defectors' inflated self-evaluation could either help or hurt their adjustment; the study set out to see which.
이처럼 북한이탈주민들의 과장된 자기 평가는 심리적 적응에 순기능적일 수도 있고 역기능적일 수도 있다Thus, defectors' exaggerated self-evaluation may be functional or dysfunctional for psychological adjustment.p2Method
A survey followed by group comparisons, correlations, and regression analyses.
최종적으로 121명(남자 55명, 여자 66명)을 분석하였다Finally, 121 people (55 men, 66 women) were analyzed.p12서울과 경기도에 거주하고 있는 북한이탈주민들과 남한 주민 대학생을 대상으로 하였다The study targeted North Korean defectors living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and South Korean university students.p12북한이탈주민 중 대학생 집단과 남한 주민 중 대학생 집단을 대상으로 자기고양 편파와 관련된 기본적인 비교…a basic comparison related to self-enhancement bias between the university-student group among defectors and the university-student group among South Koreans…p11양측 대학생을 성별로 구분하여 변량분석한 결과에서는 유의미하였는데…in the analysis of variance dividing both groups of students by gender, it was significant…p14자기고양 편파와 관련된 변인들과 상관 관계를 분석한 결과가The results of analyzing correlations with variables related to self-enhancement bias…p16종속변인은 자기고양 편파로 하고, 독립변인은 낙관성, 지각된 사회적지지, 지각된 차별감, 사회적 바람직성 모두를 대상으로 하였고…the dependent variable was self-enhancement bias, and the independent variables were optimism, perceived social support, perceived discrimination, and social desirability…p17종속변인은 우울감과 생활만족감으로 구분하여 별도로 분석하였다…the dependent variables were divided into depression and life satisfaction and analyzed separately.p17Detailed findings
Split by gender, only male defector university students scored notably high on self-enhancement, at 4.04.
북한이탈주민 남자 대학생만이 4.04로 유의미하게 매우 높은 자기고양 점수를 보여주었다…only male North Korean defector university students showed a significantly very high self-enhancement score of 4.04.p14양측 대학생을 성별로 구분하여 변량분석한 결과에서는 유의미하였는데…in the analysis of variance dividing both groups of students by gender, it was significant…p14Defector students scored significantly higher than South Korean students on social desirability (the wish to look good to others).
북한이탈주민 대학생은 남한 대학생들보다 사회적 바람직성이 유의미하게 높았다North Korean defector university students had significantly higher social desirability than South Korean university students.p14Self-enhancement rose together with optimism, perceived support, and social desirability, and moved opposite to perceived discrimination, depression, and life satisfaction.
낙관성, 지각된 사회적 지지, 사회적 바람직성과 정적으로 유의미한 상관을 보였고, 지각된 차별감, 우울감, 생활만족감과는 부적으로 유의미한 상관을 보였다…showed significant positive correlations with optimism, perceived social support, and social desirability, and significant negative correlations with perceived discrimination, depression, and life satisfaction.p16In the regression, the predictors explained 56.9% of self-enhancement, with perceived social support alone accounting for 50.0%.
전체 설명량은 56.9%이었고, 지각된 사회적 지지가 50.0%로 매우 높았다The total explained variance was 56.9%, and perceived social support was very high at 50.0%.p17For women, perceived social support explained much less (22.3%), and optimism carried more weight.
여자의 경우에는 지각된 사회적 지지의 설명량(22.3%)이 매우 낮아지고…for women, the explained variance of perceived social support (22.3%) became very low…p17여자는 지각된 사회적 지지의 영향력은 적고 낙관성의 영향력이 상대적으로 높은 것으로 드러났다…for women, the influence of perceived social support was small and the influence of optimism was relatively high.p20Perceived discrimination and social desirability were correlated but did not significantly explain self-enhancement in the regression.
지각된 차별감과 사회적 바람직성은 유의미한 설명량을 보이지 않았다Perceived discrimination and social desirability did not show significant explained variance.p17지각된 차별감과 사회적 바람직성은 자기고양 편파와 유의미한 상관을 보였지만Perceived discrimination and social desirability were significantly correlated with self-enhancement bias, but…p1The link between higher self-enhancement and lower life satisfaction was even stronger among male defectors.
이러한 경향은 남자 북한이탈주민들의 경우에 더욱 심하게 나타나는데This tendency appeared even more strongly in the case of male North Korean defectors…p21여기서 다른 점은 자기고양 편파를 많이 할수록 생활만족감이 낮다는 것이다The difference here is that the more self-enhancement bias, the lower the life satisfaction.p21Authors’ interpretation
Defectors' self-enhancement depends less on "South Korean culture" at large than on how much support they feel in real interactions with people around them.
남한 문화의 영향보다는 남한의 생활 주변인들과의 실제적인 상호작용에서 사회적 지지를 얼마나 받고 있다고 생각하는…rather than the influence of South Korean culture, how much social support they think they receive in actual interactions with people around them in South Korea…p20Earlier research found male defectors more conservative than women and unwilling to show weakness — meaning they are highly sensitive in dealing with South Koreans around them.
남자 북한이탈주민들이 여자에 비해 상대적으로 더 보수적이고, 자신의 약한 모습을 가급적 드러내지 말아야 한다고 생각하고 있다…male North Korean defectors are relatively more conservative than women and think they should avoid showing their weak side as much as possible.p21주변 남한 주민들과 상호작용할 때 매우 민감한 상태에 있음을 보여주는 것이라고…shows that they are in a very sensitive state when interacting with South Koreans around them…p21The men's unexpected result may be because they feel capable enough to deserve good treatment but lack the conditions to use their ability, leaving them without deep attachment to life in the South.
자신들이 충분히 대접받을만한 능력이 있는데, 이를 사용할 여건도 조성이 안되기 때문에 남한의 삶에 대한 깊은 애정이 없을 가능성이 있다…they have enough ability to deserve good treatment, but conditions to use it are not in place, so they may lack deep affection for life in South Korea.p21Limits the authors note
The study could not compare defectors' and South Koreans' self-enhancement with a rigorous cross-cultural design.
북한이탈주민들의 자기고양 편파의 정도를 남한 주민들과 정교하게 비교문화심리학적으로 분석하지 못한 점…that it could not analyze the degree of defectors' self-enhancement bias against South Koreans in a refined cross-cultural-psychological way.p22To see how self-enhancement changes over time, a longitudinal study following the same people is needed.
이를 좀 더 정확히 확인하기 위해서는 이들에 대한 종단적 연구법이 적용되어야 한다To confirm this more precisely, a longitudinal research method should be applied to them.p22북한이탈주민들의 자기고양 편파의 변화 가능성인데…the possibility of change in the defectors' self-enhancement bias…p22Key terms
Self-enhancement (자기고양) The tendency to describe oneself more positively than objective standards would predict; of two definitions, the study adopted this one.
규범적인 기준에 의해 예측한 것보다 자신을 더 긍정적으로 기술하려는 경향…the tendency to describe oneself more positively than predicted by normative criteria.p2후자보다 전자의 견해를 따르는 것이 더 낫다…it is better to follow the former view than the latter.p3Social support (사회적 지지) Positive resources received from, or through relationships with, people important to you — siblings, relatives, friends, neighbors, teachers, colleagues.
개인에게 있어서 중요한 타인들로부터, 혹은 그들과의 관계를 통해 제공받게 되는 긍정적 자원을 말한다…refers to positive resources provided by significant others to the individual, or through relationships with them.p5형제자매 및 가까운 친척, 친구, 이웃, 교사 및 동료들과 같은…such as siblings and close relatives, friends, neighbors, teachers, and colleagues…p5Perceived discrimination (지각된 차별감) Distinct from actual discrimination: one can feel discriminated against even when none occurs, so the study focused on felt discrimination.
실제는 차별이 이루어지지 않아도 차별받는다고 느낄 수 있기 때문이다…because one can feel discriminated against even when discrimination does not actually occur.p7