Effects of Cultural Intelligence on Perceived Stress Among the Japanese Overseas Workers

Abstract

We evaluated the effects of cultural intelligence (CQ) on perceived stress and explored the factors associated with CQ. We constructed a model that included the antecedents that may affect the CQ based on hypotheses derived from a preliminary feasibility study. The main study comprised an Internet survey of Japanese workers who were currently working or had previously worked overseas (n = 296). The Expanded Cultural Intelligence Scale (E-CQS) was used to assess the CQ and the Perceived Stress Scale was used to assess the cognitive appraisal of stressors. The path analysis results showed that “Self-efficacy to adjust” in CQ was influenced by all explored antecedents and negatively related to perceived stress. This suggests that facilitating the antecedents of CQ and developing “Self-efficacy to adjust” may ameliorate perceived stress in overseas Japanese workers.