Acculturation and Identity

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Acculturation refers to the psychological and cultural adjustment that occurs within individuals, families, and cultural groups who come into contact with others from different cultural backgrounds.

Acculturation can be considered from the perspective of the extent to which relationships are sought between members of different cultural groups. If members of both cultural groups desire a relationship (e.g., the immigrant seeks daily interactions with the majority group, and the majority group is open to these interactions), integration is achieved. If members of neither cultural group want a relationship (e.g., the immigrant prefers to live only within the structures provided by the immigrant group, and the majority group does not encourage participation from the immigrant), the immigrant group is marginalized. If members of the immigrant group desire a relationship with the majority cultural group but the majority cultural group does not reciprocate, the immigrant group may assimilate into the majority group but lose their unique culture (e.g., a ‘melting pot’ phenomenon). If the majority culture is open to establishing a relationship with the immigrant group but the immigrant group does not reciprocate (e.g., the majority group does not discriminate against immigrants, but the immigrant chooses not to have daily interactions with the majority group), the immigrant group remains separate from the majority cultural group by their own desire.

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As immigrant adolescents are acculturating with respect to the country of destination, the larger society is making adjustments as a result of incoming immigrants. Acculturative experiences can vary, both to the degree to which immigrants enter into relationships with people and situations in the country of destination, and how much cultures adjust to new immigrants. From the perspective of the country of destination, a multicultural society results when immigrants are embraced into existing cultural structures but also encouraged to retain their cultural heritage from the country of origin. In contrast, a melting pot society results when immigrants are taken into existing cultural structures but discouraged from maintaining their own cultural heritage. On the other hand, a segregated society results when immigrants are excluded from existing cultural structures but are allowed to maintain their own cultural heritage. An exclusionary society results when immigrants are excluded from existing cultural structures and are also prevented from embracing their own cultural heritage within it; the most extreme example of an exclusionary society is one in which immigrants are deported to their country of origin.

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Therefore, acculturation can be conceptualized as a bidirectional interaction between the immigrant and majority cultural groups that can result in different levels of integration, marginalization, assimilation, or separation of the immigrant group. Some domains that are open to change during the process of acculturation are rather superficial, such as dressing, speaking, or eating in a particular way. However, other domains that are open to change are more deep-seated in values, beliefs, and worldviews.

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From the standpoint of an immigrant adolescent, the process of acculturation can have major implications for identity formation, one of the key developmental tasks of adolescence. Ethnic identity has been defined as a sense of belonging to one’s ethnic group. Adolescents whose acculturation results in integration have been found to have positive ethnic identities (derived from their country of origin) as well as national identities (derived from their country of destination). Adolescents whose acculturation can be characterized as separate have a positive ethnic identity but a negative or neutral national identity, typically are friends only with peers from their own cultural group, and speak the language from their country of origin rather than destination. Adolescents whose acculturation results in assimilation have a negative ethnic identity but a positive national identity, are friends with peers from the country of destination rather than from their own ethnic group, and speak the language from the country of destination rather than their heritage language. Adolescents whose acculturation results in marginalization have negative ethnic and national identity and appear to be diffuse and struggling with their sense of direction and purpose in their lives.

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Stress during the process of acculturation can result in psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and feelings of uncertainty as well as behavioral problems such as aggression and delinquency. The most adaptive, as well as the most common, outcome of acculturation is integration, in which the adolescent participates in the majority culture without giving up his or her own cultural background. The least adaptive outcome of acculturation is marginalization, in which the adolescent struggles to identify with either the majority culture or the heritage culture. Marginalized adolescents often struggle with both internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas integrated adolescents have better mental health and fewer behavior problems.

Developmentally, more mature ethnic identity is generally achieved over time from early to late adolescence for immigrant youth, beginning with an unexamined sense of identity and passing through an exploratory phase before achieving a commitment to a particular identity. As key socializing agents, parents can play an important role in the development of adolescents’ ethnic identity. For example, by discussing their cultural history, teaching about cultural traditions, speaking the language from the country of origin, and instilling ethnic pride, parents can increase adolescents’ sense of ethnic identity. Some of these processes, such as early exploration followed by commitment to a particular identity, are not unique to immigrant adolescents but rather are shared by most adolescents. Other processes, such as identifying with a group that is not the cultural majority, are shared by immigrant adolescents and nonimmigrant ethnic minorities. Other processes, such as a redefinition of identity that might occur as a result of moving from one country to another, are likely unique to immigrant adolescents.

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