Development and preliminary validation of an acculturation scale for China’s rural to urban migrant children

The large-scale internal migration in China has provided an unparalleled scientific opportunity to study the conceptualization and measurement of adaptation processes among Chinese migrant youth. The present study aims to develop an acculturation instrument for Chinese children participating in the rural to urban migration. The newly developed acculturation scale was tested in a two-wave cross-sectional survey (N = 301 for phase 1 and N = 1773 for phase 2). The results suggested that the acculturation scale possessed adequate content and face validity as evaluated by expert panel and participants. Through exploratory factor analysis, the 20-item scale identified four theoretically supported factors: integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization. The internal consistency of the four subscales was found to be adequate. The criterion-related validity estimates using the life satisfaction scale and depressive symptoms supported the use and continued development of the acculturation scale.     

Acculturation,self-efficacy and social support among Chinese immigrants in Northern Ireland

An opportunity sample of 108 Chinese participants (n_male = 51 and n_female = 57; M_age = 29.34) was compared to a second opportunity sample of 98 Northern Irish participants (n_male = 45 and n_female = 53; M_age = 23.67) on levels of acculturation, self-efficacy and social support. The administered questionnaire contained three scales to measure the aforementioned constructs. The first was the AMAS-NIC, a version of the Abbreviated Multidimensional Acculturation Scale [Zea, M. C., Asner-Self, K. K., Birman, D., & Buki, L. P. (2003). The Abbreviated Multidimensional Acculturation Scale: Empirical validation with two Latino/Latina samples. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9, 107–126] modified to apply to a population of Chinese immigrants in Northern Ireland. The second measure was Mary Wegner's 1992 English version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale [Wright, S., Johnston, M., & Weinman, J. (1995). Measures in health psychology portfolio. UK: Windsor]. The third was the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) whose items emerged through a semi-structured interview and was designed to measure levels of received and sought social support. The purpose of the study was to ascertain the extent to which previous findings concerning acculturation can be generalised to a Chinese immigrant population in Northern Ireland, a country characterised by segregation. T-tests, correlation analyses and a hierarchical regression initially provided support for the generalisability of previous studies on the health benefits of integration as a preferred acculturation strategy [Berry, J. W. (2008). Globalisation and acculturation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32, 328–336], but further interpretation of the results brought to light the shortcomings of this model in the context of a segregated society and the inapplicability of the GSES measure within a collectivistic immigrant population. The limitations of the study are discussed and recommendations for future research are made.     

Remote acculturation of early adolescents in Jamaica towards European American culture: A replication and extension

Remote acculturation is a modern form of non-immigrant acculturation identified among early adolescents in Jamaica as “Americanization”. This study aimed to replicate the original remote acculturation findings in a new cohort of early adolescents in Jamaica (n = 222; M = 12.08 years) and to extend our understanding of remote acculturation by investigating potential vehicles of indirect and intermittent intercultural contact. Cluster analyses replicated prior findings: relative to Traditional Jamaican adolescents (62%), Americanized Jamaican adolescents (38%) reported stronger European American cultural orientation, lower Jamaican orientation, lower family obligations, and greater conflict with parents. More U.S. media (girls) and less local media and local sports (all) were the primary vehicles of intercultural contact predicting higher odds of Americanization. U.S. food, U.S. tourism, and transnational communication were also linked to U.S. orientation. Findings have implications for acculturation research and for practice and policy targeting Caribbean youth and families.     

Understanding transnational political involvement among Senegalese migrants: The role of acculturation preferences and perceived discrimination

In political debates, migrants’ political involvement in their countries of origin and successful adaptation to receiving countries are often portrayed as incompatible. We address this concern by examining the links between acculturation preferences, perceived discrimination, and migrants’ transnational political involvement in their country of origin. In line with collective action research, a cross-sectional questionnaire study (N = 84) among Senegalese migrants in Paris (France) and Geneva (Switzerland) examined three pathways to transnational political involvement (motivations and actual behaviour). Perceived discrimination, the grievances pathway, was positively related to both transnational motivations (but only when desire to adopt the receiving culture was low) and political behaviour in Senegal. Desire to adopt the culture of the receiving society as an acculturation preference, the embeddedness pathway, was also positively linked to transnational motivations and political behaviour. Finally, desire to maintain the culture of origin as an acculturation preference—the collective identification pathway—was unrelated to transnational political involvement. These findings underscore the compatibility of transnational political involvement in countries of origin and adaptation to receiving societies. We discuss the pivotal role of political psychology in bringing together acculturation psychology and transnationalism studies.     

Resilience and acculturative pathways underlying psychological well-being of immigrant youth

Most immigrant adolescents in Western Europe seem to feel well despite social-economic-cultural disadvantage. Researchers tend to relate the well-being of these youths to immigrants’ distinctive experiences associated with their background culture, i.e., relatedness. Combining insights from resilience and acculturation perspectives in light of an ecological perspective, we tested the hypothesis that communal (e.g., school) and individual resources (e.g., autonomy) that highlight mainstream culture and values of independence are also conducive to the well-being of immigrant youth, especially when these youths are high on mainstream culture adoption. A questionnaire study among immigrant and nonimmigrant vocational school students in Belgium (N = 290) revealed that not only relatedness but also school engagement and autonomy were predictive of a high well-being of immigrant youth, particularly of those who adopted mainstream culture. Results suggest that in different cultural contexts acculturating youth rely on multiple resources to cope with social adversity and use acculturation orientations to maximize their benefit from these resources.     

Facilitating adaptation and intercultural contact: The role of integration and multicultural ideology in dominant and non-dominant groups

Research on acculturation has documented that adaptation to a receiving society is affected by both the immigrants’ acculturation strategies and the dominant group's expectations about how immigrants should acculturate. However, the acculturation expectations have received relatively less attention from researchers, and support for multiculturalism has rarely been examined from the perspective of immigrants. The present study used the framework of the Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies (MIRIPS) project to investigate the acculturation experiences and intercultural relations in Hong Kong by incorporating mutual views of both the dominant and non-dominant groups. It also tested the mediating role of the dominant group's tolerance towards different cultural groups and the non-dominant group's perceived discrimination. Two community samples were recruited, including Hong Kong residents (N = 181) and immigrants from Mainland China (N = 182). Among Mainland immigrants, the integration strategy predicted both psychological adaptation and sociocultural adaptation. Multicultural ideology predicted psychological adaptation and played a significant role in intercultural contact with Hong Kong people through the mediation of lower perceived discrimination. Among Hong Kong residents, the integration expectation predicted psychological adaptation. Multicultural ideology indirectly affected intercultural contact with Mainland immigrants through the mediation of greater tolerance. These results suggest that the integration strategy and expectation are more important to intrapersonal functioning, whereas multicultural ideology may be more crucial in facilitating social interactions between members of the society of settlement and immigrants in culturally plural milieus. Future research should test the proposed models of dominant and non-dominant groups in other cultures.     

Majority–minority acculturation preferences concordance as an antecedent of attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating role of perceived symbolic threat and metastereotypes

Through an experimental design, we investigated the effects of majority–minority acculturation preferences concordance and immigrants’ generational status on Italians’ attitudes towards Albanian immigrants. The role of perceived threat and metastereotypes in mediating this relationship was examined. Participants (N = 178) were categorized into different levels of culture maintenance and intercultural contact concordance. Findings showed that discrepancies in the contact dimension affected majority members’ attitudes towards immigrants. Both perceived threat and metastereotypes were found to mediate the relationship between contact discrepancies and attitudes towards immigrants. Culture maintenance concordance interacted with immigrants’ generational status in influencing majority members’ attitudes. This research confirmed the importance of taking into account the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between majority and immigrant acculturation preferences, confirming that the most positive attitudes were produced when immigrants were perceived to adopt the same strategy as the majority, especially with respect to intergroup contact.     

Collective identity factors and the attitude toward violence in defense of ethnicity or religion among Muslim youth of Turkish and Moroccan Descent

Collective deprivation, connectedness to mainstream society (friendship and psychological closeness to majority individuals) and in-group identity factors (i.e. strength of in-group identity, and perceived in-group superiority) were investigated among Muslim Dutch youth of Turkish and Moroccan descent, in relation to their attitudes toward violence in defense of religion or ethnicity, and the willingness to use such violence. Data come from a sample of students (N = 398, age 14–18 years). Results show that perceptions of in-group superiority were predicted by higher connectedness to the in-group and lower connectedness to Dutch society in both ethnic groups and by collective relative deprivation among Moroccan-Dutch participants only. In both groups, attitudes toward violent in-group defense and violence willingness were predicted by perceptions of in-group superiority. Collective relative deprivation directly predicted more positive attitudes to violent in-group defense among Turkish-Dutch youth, as well as indirectly (via in-group superiority) among Moroccan-Dutch. Connectedness to the in-group directly predicted the willingness to use a violent in-group defense among the Turkish-Dutch participants and again indirectly (via in-group superiority) among Moroccan-Dutch participants. The results underline the relevance of collective identification processes to the attitudes of violent in-group defense among young Muslims of the second generation in a rather tensed socio-political climate. The study outcomes emphasize the importance of examining the dynamics between different Muslim groups, as their unique acculturation patterns yield particular pathways to the attitudes toward violent in-group defense and the willingness hereof.     

The International Friendly Campus Scale: Development and psychometric evaluation

The International Friendly Campus Scale (IFCS) was developed with a sample of 501 international students. The 18-item IFCS includes five subscales: International Center Services (α = .85), Social Engagement (α = .70), Academic Support (α = .84), Identification with Institution (α = .86), and Campus Discrimination (α = .75). The factor structure was examined and cross-validated with two randomly split samples. Moreover, multigroup confirmatory factor analyses results indicated measurement and structural invariance of the IFCS between men and women. The construct validity of the IFCS was supported by its associations with life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, social connection with mainstream society, academic stress, and two forms of discrimination (i.e., racial/national and language) in the expected directions. Moreover, the IFCS total score and four subscale scores added significant incremental variance in predicting life satisfaction over and above positive and negative affect. The initial psychometric evaluation indicates that the IFCS is a promising measure that could be further used to assess the international friendliness of university campuses.     

Is multiculturalism a viable path in Chile? Intergroup and acculturative perspectives on Chilean society and Peruvian immigrants

Many Western democracies have implemented multiculturalism to integrate different minority groups, including immigrants. What happens with countries that are recently experiencing an increasing growth in their immigration rates? This is the case of Chile. As a consequence of continuing economic growth, it has become an attractive destination to people from neighbouring nations. Among these immigrants, Peruvians are the largest group. Since in Chile multiculturalism has started to become an issue of public opinion, the current study analyzed levels of endorsement of multiculturalism and differences in Socioeconomic Status (SES) among Chileans (N = 300) and Peruvian immigrants (N = 400). Based on the Instrumental Model of Group Conflict and Social Identity Theory, we tested predictors of multiculturalism. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between acculturation and intergroup variables in both samples. Findings showed Chilean endorsement of multiculturalism. This was negatively associated with perceived threat and Social Dominance Orientation, especially among people of low SES. Moreover, permeability and legitimacy proposed by Social Identity Theory emerged as important predictors of desire for separation among Peruvian immigrants. These results are discussed in terms of its conceptual and public policy implications in Chile.     

Intercultural relations among migrants from Caucasus and Russians in Moscow

This study examines intercultural relations in post-Soviet Russia. Russia currently has the world’s second highest number of immigrants with most migrants coming from the former Soviet Union, mainly the Central Asian and South Caucasian states. The research was carried out in Moscow, which is the most attractive destination for these immigrants. The paper presents the findings of an empirical study with migrants (N = 378) and residents of Moscow (N = 651) examining their intercultural relations, including their acceptance of multicultural ideology, intercultural contacts, intercultural strategies and mutual adaptation. The study was guided by three general hypotheses: the integration, the multicultural and the contact hypotheses. Data processing was carried out using path analysis, separately for migrants and Muscovites. For both samples, multicultural ideology predicts the strategy of integration positively, and of assimilation negatively. Intercultural contacts predict both acculturation strategies positively for migrants, but not for Muscovites. For migrants, both strategies positively predict life satisfaction, and integration predicts better sociocultural adaptation. For Muscovites, integration predicts life satisfaction. These specific findings fully support the two underlying hypotheses: integration and multicultural for both groups and contact hypothesis only for migrants. Multicultural ideology has positive relation to intercultural contacts of Muscovites and has indirect positive impact on intercultural strategies of migrants. Models demonstrated similar as well as different psychological processes underlying mutual acculturation and intercultural relations in the two groups. The similarities suggest that efforts should be directed at developing a multicultural ideology and facilitating intercultural contacts between migrants and members of the larger society.     

We are (migrant) families: The interdependence between family members’ actual and perceived acculturation

Acculturation has been studied extensively in the context of migrant families. Acculturation gaps between parents and youth have been associated with negative outcomes for migrant families and youth. Importantly, past studies have used different methods to operationalize this gap. Some studies compare self-reported acculturation from both family members in a parent-child dyad, the actual measure. In contrast, other studies rely on a single participant to report acculturation levels of both their relative and themselves, the perceived measure. The current study directly examined the interplay between actual and perceived measures of the acculturation gap by surveying migrant parents and their children in the community (parents: N = 153, M_age = 49.03, 60 % female, 71.2 % 1st generation migrants; youth: N = 153, M_age = 19.64, 58 % female, 58.8 % 2nd generation migrants). All families were residing in the United Kingdom, but varied in their heritage cultures. Parents and youth were asked to report acculturation towards their heritage and settlement cultures, of themselves and of their relative (youth and parents respectively). Using the Accuracy and Bias in the Perception of the Partner model (in SEM), participant’s perceived acculturation was found to be associated with the acculturation of themselves, but also with their partners’ acculturation level. The co-existence of accuracy and bias in parents’ and youth’s perception of their partners’ acculturation indicates that perceived acculturation might not be an accurate proxy measure of the actual acculturation. Future research may wish to take differences between the perceived and actual measures of acculturation into consideration.     

Factors affecting emigration intentions in the diaspora population: The case of Russian Jews

The present study formulated a new theoretical model predicting emigration intentions in diaspora populations and tested it among Jews living in Russia. The study sample consisted of Jews and their relatives living in the vicinity of five large cities in Russia (n = 824). The results obtained demonstrated that a more negative attitude toward the country of residence and a more positive attitude toward the historical homeland were associated with stronger emigration intentions. A higher preference for the self-enhancement values and a lower preference for the conservation values were associated with stronger emigration intentions. The effect of the self-enhancement values on emigration intentions was complex: while their direct effect was positive, their indirect effect (through attitude toward Russia) was negative. The effect of the conservation values on emigration intentions was indirect (through attitudes toward Russia and Israel). Perceived socioeconomic conditions in the country of residence affected emigration intentions indirectly, through attitude toward Russia, whereby a higher level of perceived discrimination and a lower level of perceived economic conditions were associated with a less positive attitude toward Russia and stronger emigration intentions. Jewish identification also affected emigration intentions indirectly, through its positive connection with attitude toward Israel. Age negatively affected emigration intentions, both directly and indirectly (through its effect on values and perceived economic conditions). Religiosity and family ethnic composition affected emigration intentions indirectly, whereby a lower level of religiosity and a higher proportion of Jewish relatives in the family were associated with stronger emigration intentions.     

Structural and normative conditions for interethnic friendships in multiethnic classrooms

Interethnic friendships between students are important for harmonious intercultural relations at school. Drawing on research on intergroup contact and cultural distance between immigrant and non-immigrant groups, we examined how structural and normative conditions in the classroom context are associated with friendships between early adolescents with and without an immigrant background in ethnically heterogeneous schools. The sample comprised 842 students (M_age = 11.50 years, SD_age = .71; 53% male) attending multiethnic schools in Southwest Germany.Results revealed that perceived positive contact norms in class and perceived cultural distance predicted friendships between immigrant and non-immigrant students in both groups, even when the ethnic composition of the classroom was taken into account. The associations were largely the same for immigrants and non-immigrants. We conclude that interventions to foster interethnic friendships should aim to reduce perceptions of cultural distance and monitor and improve contact norms in intergroup settings.     

Alien at home: Adjustment strategies of students returning from a six-months over-sea's educational programme

This paper assesses German students’ adjustment strategies after a six months expeditionary learning programme on high seas with intercultural encounters in Cuba and Costa Rica. A postal survey (N = 128, global response quote r_g = .44) has been conducted with students having returned from four separate learning expeditions from 2008 to 2012. The students reports were coded in five categories, i.e. (1) reintegration narratives (RN), (2) perception of schooling (PoS), (3) self-perception (SP), (4) perceived programme effects (PPE), and (5) social context (SC), which were also quantified on a 5-point Likert-scale. By means of principal components analyses (PCA) and polynominal interpolation (PI), we searched into underlying distribution patterns in the categories. No significant differences were found with respect to gender in the four groups in a one-way ANOVA. However, significant differences with respect to (4) self-perception (SP) and perceived programme effects (PPE) can be referred to group 3. This accords well with the findings of the PCA and PI, which corroborate a U-curve with its apex after eight months at home. It can be shown that all four cohorts show symptoms of expedition reverse culture shock, which indicates that pedagogical intervention also after the cruise may be undertaken.     

Influences of organizational communication tactics on trust with procedural justice effects: A cross-cultural study between Japanese and American workers

This study looked into possible relationships between workplace organizational communication tactics, workers’ feelings of trust, and workers’ perceptions of procedural justice. Raw data was collected by questionnaires, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to reveal the relationships. The subjects in the study were Japanese (N = 417) and American (N = 591) workers, surveyed in a period running up to late May 2004. For both the Japanese and the Americans, perceived procedural justice was influenced positively by rational communication tactics, and negatively by hard communication tactics; and soft communication tactics did not relate to perceived procedural justice. In the case of Japanese workers, it was found that, after controlling for perceived procedural justice, soft, rational, and hard communication tactics affected trust in different ways: positively, positively, and negatively, respectively. Therefore, perceived procedural justice had a partially mediating effect on the relationships between rational and hard communication tactics and trust. In contrast, for the Americans, there were no direct relationships between communication tactics and trust; rather, there were indirect effects from rational and hard communication tactics, via perceived procedural justice as a full mediator. The influence of three communication tactics on trust was much stronger for Japanese workers than their American counterparts. On the other hand, the influence of hard and rational communication tactics on perceived procedural justice and that of perceived procedural justice on trust were much stronger for American workers than their Japanese counterparts. Based on the results, some academic and practical implications are presented.     

Learning language that matters: A pedagogical method to support migrant mothers without formal education experience in their social integration in Western countries

BackgroundCourses for migrants in Europe are mostly aimed at literacy in western languages as a means for participation in society. These curricula are not suitable for migrants without previous basic education, which leaves groups of migrants vulnerable to alienation and without support for social integration.MethodThe IDEAL-programme (Integrating Disadvantaged Ethnicities through Adult Learning), which takes a participatory didactic approach and in which daily personal and family life is the starting point for learning, was provided and evaluated in the Netherlands and Sweden in 2011–2013. The participants (N = 16) were migrant mothers of Berber and Arabic origin without formal educational experience. The teachers shared the same background and served as role model facilitators and social brokers.ResultsThrough exploring their personal narratives, the participants showed new insights, skills, and attitudes on the topics of communication, health and parenting. All participants showed progress in language acquisition and participation in society. The Dutch group of migrant mothers reported to use less physical punishment and threats to their children, and to practise more positive parenting skills instead.DiscussionLiteracy oriented programmes for social integration are not suitable for all migrants and do not encourage acculturation. The proposed method offers a feasible alternative, so that migrants may be more adequately supported in their efforts for social integration in receiving societies. In order to advance the future development of participatory programmes for civic education, several key intervention design principles and political conditions are discussed.     

“It's on Time That They Assimilate” – Differential acculturation expectations towards first and second generation immigrants

Research has shown that societal majority members have specific conceptions (i.e., acculturation expectations) about how immigrants should acculturate. These expectations are often less welcoming towards devalued than valued immigrant groups. In a 2 × 2 experiment with a sample of 187 German majority members we show that acculturation expectations also differ in terms of which generation members of the targeted immigrant groups belong to. Our results revealed lower endorsement of integrationism towards the second generation of both valued and devalued immigrants. However, the results indicated that acculturation expectations were particularly unwelcoming towards the second generation of devalued immigrant groups. For valued immigrants, segregationism was lower towards the second generation than towards the first generation. For devalued immigrants in contrast, assimilationism was higher towards the second generation compared to the first generation. Majority members’ tendency to be less willing to endorse cultural maintenance for second generations stands in stark contrast to immigrants’ preference of cultural maintenance and may therefore lead to particularly conflictual societal outcomes. Implications of the findings for future studies are discussed.     

Signs of transcendence? A changing landscape of multiraciality in the 21st century

The relation between multiracial identity selection and psychological outcomes related to the self and well-being was explored among minority/White biracials spanning four different mixed-race groups (n = 201): Black/Whites, East Asian/Whites, Latino/Whites, and South Asian/Whites. The mixed-race groups showed considerable variability in their selection of multiracial identity categories and different patterns of identity selection, as well as a higher overall representation of transcendent identity (i.e., identity that challenges traditional notions of race) than reported in previously published studies. Our findings demonstrated that biracial identity selection, especially when differentiating between identities that are socially validated or not socially validated by others, was related to a person's level of multiracial identity integration, identification with Whites, perceived discrimination from Whites and non-Whites, and psychological well-being. Identity selection groups did not significantly differ from each other in levels of self-concept clarity or identification with their non-White racial group. Theoretical implications for extending a multidimensional model to other mixed-race groups and redefining race as a social and cultural construction are discussed.     

War-exposed newcomer adolescent immigrants facing daily life stressors in the United States

For adolescents new to the United States, the experience of war and acculturative stressors may play complex roles during early stages of adjustment to a new culture and country. The overall purpose of this study was to deepen understanding of the experiences of adolescents who are new to the United States, also called “newcomers”, through the examination of pre-migration war exposure and post-migration acculturative stressors as predictors of psychosocial adjustment and academic achievement. The study sample included newcomer immigrant and refugee youth (N = 184) with an average of 3.5 years in the United States. Triangulated data were collected from youth, teachers, and official school records. Results indicated that the participants who were exposed to war (N = 57) experienced more self-reported and teacher-reported anxiety, more self-reported conduct problems, and had lower academic achievement than participants who had not been exposed to war. Acculturative stressors also predicted more self-reported anxiety, conduct problems, and lower academic achievement, but only for those adolescents without war exposure, suggesting that exposure to traumatic events like war may change newcomer adolescents’ response to acculturative stressors. This may be related to the development of coping or growth that follows after trauma, which enable youth to navigate other life challenges. Understanding potential risk and resilience associated with war exposure among newly arrived students can assist clinicians, educators, and researchers in creating solutions to difficulties in psychosocial adjustment and academic performance.