Acculturation and Adaptation of Immigrant Youth

John W. BerryQueen’s UniversityKingston, Canada

Open Lecture, Moscow, April, 2012

OUTLINE

1.Introduction: Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Psychology2. Immigrant Youth Issues3. Acculturation: Cultural and Individual 4. Acculturation Strategies 5. Research with Immigrant Youth (i) ICSEY study (ii) Montreal-Paris study6. Conclusions 7. Policy Implications

1.IntroductionCross-Cultural Psychology

• Cross-cultural psychology seeks to understand the development and display of individual behaviour in differing cultural contexts.

• Traditionally, these contexts were found in independent societies

• Comparisons of them allowed for relationships between cultural and psychological variables to examined and be established.

• Ref: Berry, Poortinga, Breugelmans, Chasiotis & Sam (2011).Cross-Cultural Psychology: Research and Applications. Cambridge University Press.

1.Introduction: Intercultural Psychology

• In the contemporary world, culturally-independent societies have become rare.

• In their place, most societies are now culturally plural, with many cultural groups living in daily interaction.

• As a result, much interest in the relationship between culture and behaviour has become focused on “Intercultural” or “Acculturation” psychology.

• This enterprise is also being carried out comparatively.

• Ref: Sam & Berry (2006). Cambridge Handbook of Acculturation Psychology. Cambridge UP.

1. Introduction: Plural Societies

• Immigration is a worldwide phenomenon, even in societies that do not seek it.

• Following immigration, ethnocultural groups often become established and continue over generations

• Public debates about immigration, immigrants and ethnocultural groups, are often based on prejudice and self-interest.

• Research can contribute to a less biased public discussion on immigration and intercultural relations.

• Research can also inform public policy and programme development.

2. Immigrant Youth Issues

• In most plural societies, public debate has come to be focused on immigrant and ethnocultural youth.

• In some cases, youth are viewed as problems, with low educational achievement, and a high level of social problems.

• One basis for these presumed difficulties is the set of challenges presented by living in two cultures.

• This is especially the case when the cultures of origin and of settlement differ with respect to values.

• The experience of discrimination and exclusion are also considered to be a major challenge for youth.

2. Immigrant Youth Issues

• In some societies, it is not only these educational and social issues that are of concern.

• There are other issues such as underemployment, and gang activity.

• In some cases, the radicalisation if immigrant youth has become a concern, in which youth can even turn against the larger society.

• One concept that has guided the examination of these issues is that of acculturation.

3. Acculturation: Definition

• Acculturation is the process of cultural

and psychological change following contact between cultural groups and their individual members.

• It takes place in both groups and all individuals.• Although one group is usually dominant over the

others, successful outcomes require mutual accommodation among all groups and individuals living together in the diverse society.

3. General Acculturation Framework

1. How do immigrants and ethnocultural groups acculturate? What are their strategies, identities and attachments?

2. How well do they adapt? What are the psychological and sociocultural outcomes?

3. What is relationship between how they acculturate and how well they adapt?

3. Acculturation Questions

4. Acculturation Strategies

• How individuals and groups seek to acculturate has been examined using the concept of acculturation strategies.

• Groups and individuals in hold differing views about how to relate to each other and how to change.

• These views are based on two underlying issues: - Maintenance of heritage culture and identity to

sustain cultural communities, - Participation with other groups in the life of the

national society.• Their intersection produces 4 acculturation

strategies, in both groups in contact.

4. Acculturation Strategies Framework

4. Four Intercultural Strategies

• On the left are the strategies of ethnocultural individuals and groups.

• On the right are those of the larger society.• Integration/Multiculturalism are defined by holding a

positive orientation to both issues.• Assimilation/Melting Pot exist when there is negative orientation to first, and a positive one to second.• Separation/Segregation exist when there is a

positive orientation to first, and a negative one to second.

• Marginalisation/Exclusion exist when there are negative orientations to both issues.

5. Research with Immigrant Youth

Two studies of the acculturation and adaptation of immigrant youth are reported:

1. International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Youth (ICSEY)

2. The Comparative study of immigrant youth in Montreal and Paris.

6. International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Youth (ICSEY)

• Book: Immigrant youth in cultural transition: Acculturation, identity and adaptation across national contexts. LEA, 2006

• Article in Applied Psychology (2006).

Both by John Berry, Jean Phinney, David Sam and Paul Vedder.

6. International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Youth (ICSEY)

• 13 SOCIETIES OF SETTLEMENT: (5 Settler,8 Recent)• 32 IMMIGRANT GROUPS • Immigrant youth N =5366 (aged 13 -18; 65.3% 2nd generation))• Immigrant parents N =2302• National youth N = 2631 (aged 13-18)• National parents N = 863

ICSEY Question 1. How do immigrant youth acculturate?

Using 12 intercultural variables, cluster analysis yielded four acculturation profiles:

- Integration: 36.4% (oriented to both cults.)

- Separation: 22.5 % (oriented to heritage)

- Assimilation:18.7 % (oriented to national)

- Marginalisation: 22.4%(oriented to neither)

Integration Cluster(Orientation to both groups)

Separation Profile(Orientation to ethnic group)

Assimilation Profile(Orientation to national society)

Marginalisation Profile(Orientation to neither group

Profile Membership is Related to Other Variables:

1. Length of residence in new society

2. Neighbourhood ethnic composition

3. Discrimination against self and group

Acculturation Profiles by Length of Residence

Neighbourhood Ethnic Composition

• We asked immigrant youth to indicate the ethnic composition of the neighbourhood in which they live.

• Rating were provided on the scale: “Almost all are other than my own ethnic group”…to “There is about equal…”…

to “Almost all are my own ethnic group”.

Acculturation Clusters by Neighborhood Ethnic Composition

Perceived Discrimination

• Respondents were asked to indicate (in response to 5 questions) whether they had been treated unfairly because of their ethnic group.

• Sample items were: “I don’t feel accepted by (national) group”. And “ I have been teased or insulted because of my ethnic background”.

• Discrimination was the single most important contibutor to not achieving integration, and to being marginalised.

Perceived Discriminationby Acculturation Strategy

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Role of Discrimination

• In a related analysis (structural equation model), discrimination was the single largest predictor of poor psychological and sociocultural adaptation.

• This finding corresponds to the role of discrimination in limiting the integration of immigrant youth, and promoting their marginalisation.

ICSEY Question 2. How Well do Immigrant Youth

Adapt?

Two forms of adaptation were found in all samples:1. Psychological: Lack of Psychological Problems

(anxiety, depression, psychosomatic symptoms), Self-esteem, Wellbeing.

2. Sociocultural: School Adjustment, lack of Behaviour Problems (eg.,truancy, petty theft).

NB: There were no overall differences between immigrant and national youth.

ICSEY Question 3

Are there relationships between how youth acculturate, and how well they adapt Psychologically and Socioculturally? Yes.

Psychological Adaptation: Integration highest; followed by Separation, then Assimilation; Marginalisation lowest.

Sociocultural Adaptation: Integration highest; followed by Assimilation, then Separation; Marginalisation lowest.

Adaptation by acculturation profiles

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Integration Ethnic National Diffuse

Acculturation profiles

PsychologicalSociocultural

ICSEY: Society Level Analysis

Cultural Diversity (Multiculturalism) Policy was examined across the 13 societies:

Nine criteria included: the existence of a national public policy promoting diversity and equity, and of programmes and institutions to implement it (Banting & Kymlicka, 2004).

ICSEY DIVERSITY POLICY:Impact Across 13 Societies

• High policy diversity higher integration.

• High policy diversity combined higher orientation to national society, and

higher orientation to own cultural group

• High policy diversity higher sociocultural adaptation (but, there is no relationship with psychological adaptation).

Overall ICSEY Findings

1. There are individual and group differences in how youth acculturate: integration, assimilation/national, separation/ethnic, and marginalisation/diffuse.

2. There are two distinct ways in how well people adapt to acculturate: psychological and sociocultural.

3. There are systematic relationships between how and how well immigrant youth adapt to acculturation:

Integration/Multiculturalism clearly serves as the most favourable strategy for immigrant youth well-being.

This pattern corresponds with most previous results from research with adult immigrants.

Study 2.Second Generation Immigrant Youth In France and Canada

• Sabatier, C. & Berry, J.W. (2008).The role of family acculturation, parental style and perceived discrimination in the adaptation of second generation immigrant youth in France and Canada. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 5,(2), 159-185.

• Berry, J. W., & Sabatier, C. (2010). Acculturation, discrimination, and adaptation among second generation immigrant youth in Montreal and Paris. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 34(3), 191-207.

Participants in the study:Youth and Parents

France: Youth N= 395/Parents N=356

Algerians,89/82;Antilleans,63/51;

Moroccans,99/94;Portuguese,94/88;

Vietnamese,50/41.

Canada: Youth N= 323/Parents N=271

Greeks,88/65;Haitians, 94/87;

Italians,83/70;Vietnamese, 58/49

Acculturation Strategies

• Used two scales, one for each dimension:

- Preference for maintaining heritage culture.

- Preference for contact and participation in the larger society.

Used median split to create four acculturations strategies.

Acculturation Strategies and Adaptation

Assimilation Integration Marginalisation Separation F

M SD M SD M SD M SD

Montreal (N=) (65) (94) (80) (84)

Self-esteem

Rosenberg scale 3.21ab 0.41 3.38b 0.47 3.12a 0.44 3.27ab 0.52 4.55 **

Emotional 4.44a 0.86 4.86b 0.58 4.42a 0.87 4.64ab 0.76 6.13 ***

Familial 4.55ab 0.82 4.95c 0.53 4.50a 0.73 4.79bc 0.70 7.66 ***

Social 4.70 0.84 4.89 0.63 4.59 0.70 4.64 0.83 2.80 *

School 5.23b 0.62 5.23b 0.51 4.96a 0.60 5.22b 0.60 4.45 **

Academic Perf. 2.97b 1.00 2.74ab 0.82 2.49a 1.02 2.67ab 1.03 2.96 *

Deviance 1.29 0.29 1.28 0.30 1.27 0.25 1.26 0.33 0.21

Paris (N=) (106) (107) (102) (80)

Self-esteem

Rosenberg scale 3.06 0.45 3.16 0.50 2.99 0.41 3.04 0.53 2.17

Emotional 3.65 0.51 3.75 0.60 3.58 0.48 3.69 0.59 1.66

Familial 3.77 0.84 3.90 0.83 3.59 0.82 3.66 1.06 2.41

Social 3.73a 0.57 3.98b 0.68 3.61a 0.59 3.71a 0.65 6.58 ***

School 3.52b 0.74 3.61b 0.75 3.30a 0.66 3.54b 0.83 3.22 *

Academic Perf. 2.91 1.00 2.63 0.97 2.64 0.99 2.81 0.85 2.07

Deviance 1.37 0.44 1.35 0.29 1.44 0.34 1.39 0.37 1.17

Acculturation Strategies and Adaptation

• France: for all variables, the adaptation for those preferring Integration is numerically better and for Marginalisation it is lower. However, this variation reaches significance only for familial and social self esteem.

• Canada: the same pattern holds, but variation for all adaptation variables (except deviance) reaches significance.

6. Overall Conclusions:Acculturation and Adaptation

• If a society is culturally diverse, the best policy to promote positive adaptation is to accept, promote and support this diversity through Integration/Multiculturalism policies.

• Results of the country- level anaylsis correspond with, and enhance, the results found in the analysis of the adaptation of individuals:

SOCIOCULTURAL ADAPTATION : INTEGRATION (ie., A JOINT ORIENTATION TO BOTH CULTURES) PROMOTES SOCIOCULTURAL ADAPTATION AT BOTH THE INDIVIDUAL- AND COUNTRY-LEVELS OF ANALYSES).

PSYCHOLOGICAL ADAPTATION: THE INTEGRATION ACCULTURATION STRATEGY PROMOTES PSYCHOLOGICAL ADAPTATION AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL OF ANALYSIS (BUT HAS NO IMPACT AT THE COUNTRY-LEVEL OF ANALYSIS).

7. Policy Implications

These consistent relationships may permit the development of policies and programme applications to improve the outcomes for all groups in contact: the national society, public institutions, ethnocultural groups, schools, families and individuals.

7. Policy Implications for National Society

In the national society, public policies of Multiculturalism, supporting the integration of, and security for, all individuals and groups, will serve the general good more than any of the other ways of acculturating.

At all cost, the descent into Marginalisation should be avoided.

7. Policy Implications for Immigrant and Ethnocultural

Communities

For all immigrant groups, it is important to provide financial support and encouragement for both their cultural maintenance and their full and equitable participation in the life of the larger society (integration and security).

• Participation without maintenance promotes Assimilation, and threatens the group’s security.

• Maintenance without participation promotes Separation, and threatens the dominant group’s security.

• Engaging in both promotes Integration, and avoids Marginalisation.

7. Policy Implications for Immigrant and Ethnocultural Individuals

For individuals, general dissemination of information and personal counselling are important in order for youth to understand the benefits of engaging both cultures in a balanced way (integration), and avoiding becoming marginalised.