Cultural Estrangement and Terror Management Theory

A new measure of cultural estrangement was described. The scale assesses the extent to which individuals believe (a) that their ideas, beliefs, or values differ from those of most Americans (the A typicality subscale) and (b) that they do not fit in with main-stream American culture (the Misfit subscale). Those scoring high on the A typicality subscale reported that they perceived themselves to be nonconformists, yet these individuals did not show evidence of poor psychological adjustment. In contrast, those scoring high on the Misfit subscale reported being alienated, depressed, anxious, and low in self-esteem and life satisfaction. Self-discrepancies (a perceived gap between one's real and ideal self) were found to partially mediate the relationships between feeling like a misfit and these negative psychological outcomes. Results were discussed primarily within the context of terror management theory.