Cultural Clash: The Process of Acculturation
Upon arrival to the destination country immigrants and their descendants find themselves negotiating and deciding what practices, values and behaviors from their country they will maintain and which from the new society they will include in their daily lives. This process is known as acculturation and it can be highly stressful for parents and their children (Berry, 2007; Schwartz, Montgomery and Briones, 2006:2).
There are 4 different strategies that immigrants and their children may use in a foreign country (Berry, 2007). Immigrants may choose to completely adopt the views of the destination country (assimilation), keep their traditional views and not relate at all with the native population (separation), adopt native views but not interact with the native population (marginalization) and mix their views with those of the origin and interact with people from their own community as well as the native population (integration).
Mixing views from the origin and destination country and interacting with people from their own community and the native population, or integration, is the most successful strategy for immigrants and their children (Berry, 2007).
However, parents and children are not the only actors, other family members, presence of an immigrant community, neighborhoods, and the positive or negative context of reception all interact impacting how immigrants experience their lives at the destination country (Nesteruk and Marks, 2011; Portes and Rumbaut, 2001).
Children become acculturated more quickly than parents so a disparity in acculturation may arise. This disparity may be linked to decreased parental authority and control, particularly when children become translators of the language and the culture of their parents (Nesteruk and Marks, 2011; Portes and Rumbaut, 2001).
Studies show that immigrant parents in Western countries like the United States or Canada are mostly worried about disciplining children, children achieving parents’ high educational expectations and instilling in children pride in their cultural heritage (Portes and Rumbaut, 2001; Nesteruk and Marks, 2011). Parents need to get to know what are appropriate disciplining methods and parenting expectations in the receiving country and balance them with those of the origin country. Parents should be aware that they may be judged or misunderstood in schools, other institutions or while interacting with the native population. Be prepared to explain differences in behaviors and values to children but also other people. In contrast to highly valued beliefs in other cultures, like respect for elders or prioritizing the family over the individual, Americans expect parents to foster child creativity, individuality and opinions.
Booklet on Parenting Expectations in the United States for Children
http://www.brycs.org/documents/upload/RaisingChildren-Handbook.pdf
Immigrant parents tend to adopt superficial cultural changes mostly regarding public life (like movies, foods or dress) but hold onto core values and traditions (like matchmaking and respect for elders) mostly enacted in private (Bornstein and Bohr 2011).
Parents and youth who have the most successful migrant and family experiences in the receiving countries have: strong ties to kin and support from their ethnic community, found trustworthy and knowledgeable mentors that helped them navigate the school, health or other structural systems, have good parent-child communication and relationships, and acculturated in customs and language to similar levels (Pollock and Van Reken, 2001; Portes and Rumbaut, 2001).
References
Berry, J.W. (2007). “Acculturation Strategies and Adaptation”. In Immigrant Families in Contemporary Society. Lansford, Deater-Deckard and Bornstein (eds.). The Guildford Press, New York. http://www.guilford.com/cgi-bin/cartscript.cgi?page=pr/lansford.htm
Bornstein, Marc H. and Bohr, Yvonne. (2011). “Immigration, Acculturation and Parenting”. In Encyclopedia of Early Childhood Development. By the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development. http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/Bornstein-BohrANGxp1.pdf
Nesteruk, Olena and Marks, Loren D. (2011). Parenting in Immigration: Experiences of Mothers and fathers from Eastern Europe Raising Children in the United States. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 42(6):809-825. http://www.ilzeearner.com/fall2012/ir791/s11/Parenting%20in%20Immigration%20(2012).pdf
Pollock, David C. and Van Reken, Ruth E. (2001). Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds. Finland: Nicholas Brealey. http://nicholasbrealey.com/london/third-culture-kids.html
Portes, Alejandro and Ruben Rumbaut. (2001). Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation. CA: University of California Press, Russel Sage. http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520228481
Schwartz, Seth J., Montgomery, Marilyn J. and Briones, Ervin. (2006). The Role of Identity in Acculturation among Immigrant People: Theoretical Propositions, Empirical Questions and Applied Recommendations. Human Development, (49):1-30.
http://sethschwartz.info/pdfs/Acculturation_and_Identity.pdf
There are 4 different strategies that immigrants and their children may use in a foreign country (Berry, 2007). Immigrants may choose to completely adopt the views of the destination country (assimilation), keep their traditional views and not relate at all with the native population (separation), adopt native views but not interact with the native population (marginalization) and mix their views with those of the origin and interact with people from their own community as well as the native population (integration).
Mixing views from the origin and destination country and interacting with people from their own community and the native population, or integration, is the most successful strategy for immigrants and their children (Berry, 2007).
However, parents and children are not the only actors, other family members, presence of an immigrant community, neighborhoods, and the positive or negative context of reception all interact impacting how immigrants experience their lives at the destination country (Nesteruk and Marks, 2011; Portes and Rumbaut, 2001).
Children become acculturated more quickly than parents so a disparity in acculturation may arise. This disparity may be linked to decreased parental authority and control, particularly when children become translators of the language and the culture of their parents (Nesteruk and Marks, 2011; Portes and Rumbaut, 2001).
Studies show that immigrant parents in Western countries like the United States or Canada are mostly worried about disciplining children, children achieving parents’ high educational expectations and instilling in children pride in their cultural heritage (Portes and Rumbaut, 2001; Nesteruk and Marks, 2011). Parents need to get to know what are appropriate disciplining methods and parenting expectations in the receiving country and balance them with those of the origin country. Parents should be aware that they may be judged or misunderstood in schools, other institutions or while interacting with the native population. Be prepared to explain differences in behaviors and values to children but also other people. In contrast to highly valued beliefs in other cultures, like respect for elders or prioritizing the family over the individual, Americans expect parents to foster child creativity, individuality and opinions.
Booklet on Parenting Expectations in the United States for Children
http://www.brycs.org/documents/upload/RaisingChildren-Handbook.pdf
Immigrant parents tend to adopt superficial cultural changes mostly regarding public life (like movies, foods or dress) but hold onto core values and traditions (like matchmaking and respect for elders) mostly enacted in private (Bornstein and Bohr 2011).
Parents and youth who have the most successful migrant and family experiences in the receiving countries have: strong ties to kin and support from their ethnic community, found trustworthy and knowledgeable mentors that helped them navigate the school, health or other structural systems, have good parent-child communication and relationships, and acculturated in customs and language to similar levels (Pollock and Van Reken, 2001; Portes and Rumbaut, 2001).
References
Berry, J.W. (2007). “Acculturation Strategies and Adaptation”. In Immigrant Families in Contemporary Society. Lansford, Deater-Deckard and Bornstein (eds.). The Guildford Press, New York. http://www.guilford.com/cgi-bin/cartscript.cgi?page=pr/lansford.htm
Bornstein, Marc H. and Bohr, Yvonne. (2011). “Immigration, Acculturation and Parenting”. In Encyclopedia of Early Childhood Development. By the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development. http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/Bornstein-BohrANGxp1.pdf
Nesteruk, Olena and Marks, Loren D. (2011). Parenting in Immigration: Experiences of Mothers and fathers from Eastern Europe Raising Children in the United States. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 42(6):809-825. http://www.ilzeearner.com/fall2012/ir791/s11/Parenting%20in%20Immigration%20(2012).pdf
Pollock, David C. and Van Reken, Ruth E. (2001). Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds. Finland: Nicholas Brealey. http://nicholasbrealey.com/london/third-culture-kids.html
Portes, Alejandro and Ruben Rumbaut. (2001). Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation. CA: University of California Press, Russel Sage. http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520228481
Schwartz, Seth J., Montgomery, Marilyn J. and Briones, Ervin. (2006). The Role of Identity in Acculturation among Immigrant People: Theoretical Propositions, Empirical Questions and Applied Recommendations. Human Development, (49):1-30.
http://sethschwartz.info/pdfs/Acculturation_and_Identity.pdf