Social identification and acculturation in the Basque Autonomous Community

Basque origin undergraduates in four universities of the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) completed the Host Community Acculturation Scale (HCAS) in three life domains: marriage, culture, and work. Undergraduates with a strong Basque identity (N = 308) and those with a strong dual Basque-Spanish identity (N = 219) completed the HCAS towards the co-national Spanish minority and “devalued” Moroccan immigrants residing in the BAC. Results indicate that (1) undergraduates have a preference for individualism and integrationism towards Spanish co-nationals and Moroccans; (2) Strong Dual identifiers endorse individualism and integrationism more than Strong Basque identifiers towards Spanish co-nationals; (3) Strong Dual identifiers favored Spanish co-nationals over Moroccan immigrants in their acculturation orientations, whereas Strong Basque identifiers endorsed more welcoming acculturation orientations towards Moroccans than towards Spanish co-nationals; and (4) undergraduates endorsed more individualism, integrationism, and assimilationism in the work domain, while they endorsed more segregationism and exclusionism in the culture domain. Results are discussed using the Interactive Acculturation Model.     

“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.     

Social axioms and acculturation orientations of English Canadians toward British and Arab Muslim immigrants

The goal of this study was to examine the role of Social Axioms in the endorsement of acculturation orientations held by members of the receiving society toward immigrants. Acculturation orientations of English Canadian undergraduates toward immigrants from Britain and immigrants of Arab Muslim background were measured. Respondents also completed the Social Axioms Survey (SAS) measuring five basic dimensions of social beliefs. A total of 349 undergraduate students (278 female, 71 male) attending a Southern Ontario University in Canada participated in the study. Results showed that participants endorsed the welcoming acculturation orientations, Individualism, Integrationism, and Intergrationism-transformation, more toward culturally close (British) than culturally distant (Arab Muslim) immigrants. Participants also endorsed the unwelcoming acculturation orientations, Assimilationism, Segregationism, and Exclusionism, more toward Arab Muslim than British immigrants. Additionally, social beliefs were related to the acculturation orientations held by English Canadian undergraduates toward immigrants of both British and Arab Muslim origin. More specifically, Religiosity beliefs were associated with the endorsement of Assimilationist, Segregationist and Exclusionist acculturation orientations toward culturally distant and not toward culturally close immigrants.     

Ethnic categorization of immigrants: The role of prejudice, perceived acculturation strategies and group size

People usually perceive immigrants from different national origins as similar to each other, and thus as belonging to a limited number of ethnic out-groups [Sporer, S. L. (2001a). Recognizing faces of other ethnic groups: An integration of theories. Psychology, Public and Law, 7, 36–97, Sporer, S. L. (2001b). The cross-race effect: Beyond recognition of faces in the laboratory. Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 7, 170–200.]. In this study, we examine how host nationals (i.e., Italians) categorize immigrants and how prejudice and perceived acculturation strategies influence this process. In our research, photographs of male faces of members of 16 immigrant groups were shown to the participants (N=305). They were asked to identify the national origin of each person on the photographs. In line with the expected over-inclusion into more numerous and more devalued out-groups, the researchers found that (a) participants who perceived Albanians or Moroccans to be the most numerous, were most likely to categorize immigrants as belonging to these groups; and (b) this over-inclusion effect was most pronounced when participants were prejudiced toward these groups and when they perceived them as wanting to maintain their cultures of origin.     

Predicting Acculturative Orientations of American College Students toward International Students

Acculturation refers to the degree to which immigrants maintain their ethnic culture and accept or reject the new dominant culture. While considerable studies have focused on immigrants’ acculturative processes, little is known about acculturation from the perspective of the host culture. This study examined American students’ acculturation orientations toward international students based on the concept of interactive acculturation and investigated the influence of ethnocentrism, sex, and Facebook use on such acculturation attitudes. Results from a survey of 346 American college students indicated a high degree of individualism and integrationism over other orientations, namely transformation-integrationism, exclusionism, assimilationism, and segregationism. The model with ethnocentrism, sex, and Facebook usage predicted five of the six acculturation orientations, with ethnocentrism being the most important predictor.     

Expectations and acculturation: Further unpacking of adjustment mechanisms within the Russian-speaking community in Montreal

Recent years have witnessed a significant growth in the Russian-speaking community in Montreal, Canada. However, little is currently known about the predictors of psychological adjustment in immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU). In this study we explored the expectations that this group of immigrants (N = 271) hoped to fulfill in their adopted society, the extent to which these expectations have been fulfilled, and the impact of fulfilled expectations on psychological adjustment. We found that the degree of fulfilled expectations was significantly associated with better psychological adjustment independent of personality traits, language proficiency, and acculturation. These findings contribute to the literature on cross-cultural adaptation of immigrants from the FSU and highlight the potential importance of expectations for the study of acculturation more generally.     

Welcome or not? – Natives’ security feelings,attachment and attitudes toward acculturation of immigrants

Cultural diversity due to immigration has become a key topic in many societies today. The question of how the native population experiences these developments is of prime importance for intercultural relations and sets the base for acculturation of immigrants. Drawing on attachment and multiculturalism research, we supposed here that general and specific feelings of security might be related to more positive attitudes toward cultural diversity, whereas feelings of threat might be related to less openness. More precisely, the present study investigated how natives’ general attachment (secure or fearful) as well as their specific feelings of (cultural or economic) security might be related to their expectations about acculturation of immigrants in the multicultural context of Luxembourg. The sample included N = 134 Luxembourg nationals with an average age of M = 45.02 (SD = 17.41) who filled out an online questionnaire. Results revealed that self-reported fearful general attachment was positively related to more unwelcoming acculturation orientations. Relations between general attachment and acculturation orientations were mediated by feelings of cultural security, which had strong effects on host nationals’ (un)welcoming acculturation orientations over and above general attachment. Findings suggest that (un)welcoming orientations toward immigrants, entailing openness for cultural contact and exchange, are related to feelings of cultural and economic security which are partly biased by a general secure or fearful attachment. Feelings of security seem thus to provide a secure base for tolerance and openness to cultural diversity which are needed in order to deal successfully with the challenges of today’s multicultural societies.     

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.     

Personal reactions to ‘strange’ situations: Attachment styles and acculturation attitudes of immigrants and majority members

A growing number of studies examine the influence of individual factors on acculturation attitudes of immigrants, but few studies focus on majority members’ attitudes. In this paper, two studies are reported on the relation between attachment styles and acculturation attitudes of both immigrants (N=177) and majority members (N=243) in the Netherlands. Until now very few studies have associated cultural adjustment with attachment styles. This is remarkable, because attachment theory refers to interaction with others in new situations. Four different styles of attachment (the secure, dismissing, preoccupied and fearful attachment styles) are related to Berry's classification of acculturation attitudes. People, both immigrants and majority members, with a secure attachment style were positive towards integration, whereas people with a dismissing attachment style were not. Dismissing immigrants were more positive towards separation. Whereas both immigrants and majority members with a secure attachment style showed a similar pattern of correlations between attachment and acculturation, they seem to react quite differently, and even in opposite ways, when they have a preoccupied attachment style. Yet, the different reactions may be caused by the same psychological process: The existential ambivalence of preoccupied people may lead to diverse reactions.     

The role of perceived cultural distance,personal growth initiative,language proficiencies,and tridimensional acculturation orientations for psychological adjustment among international students

We investigated the acculturation process of international students (N = 319, 162 female) from 62 countries who were residing in the Netherlands, using the acculturation framework by Arends-Tóth and Van de Vijver (2007). We applied SEM to test the model that acculturation conditions (perceived cultural distance [PCD], personal growth initiative [PGI], proficiency in English and the host language, and length of residence) in conjunction with acculturation orientations as mediators (host, heritage, expatriate) predict psychological adjustment as acculturation outcome (acculturative stress, satisfaction with life, mental health problems). We found direct and indirect effects of acculturation conditions on adjustment; high PGI, high English and Dutch proficiencies, and low PCD were associated with better adjustment. Host orientation (predicted by high PGI, Dutch proficiency, and low PCD) was positively associated with adjustment. Heritage orientation (predicted by low English proficiency) was negatively associated with adjustment. As a novel aspect, we included expatriate orientation - an orientation towards other expatriates in the host community. Expatriate orientation was predicted by low Dutch proficiency and was positively associated with adjustment. We also observed direct links between acculturation conditions and outcomes: positive associations between PCD and acculturative stress and between length of residence and acculturative stress; and negative associations between PGI and mental health problems and between English proficiency and acculturative stress. We provide evidence that including expatriate orientation is relevant among international students: It is stronger than both host and heritage orientations, thereby underlining the importance of studying acculturation in a contextualized way.     

Perceived discrimination and acculturation among Iranian refugees in the Netherlands

The relations between perceived discrimination, perceived acceptance of immigrants, acculturation orientations, and acculturation outcomes (psychological and sociocultural adjustment) were investigated in a sample of 232 Iranian refugees in the Netherlands. A good fit was found for a path model with perceived discrimination and perceived acceptance as correlated antecedent variables, acculturation orientations as intervening conditions, and measures of psychological and sociocultural adjustment as outcome variables. Perceived discrimination was the most salient variable in the model and showed significant associations with all outcome measures. Acculturation orientations (partially) mediated the relations between antecedent variables and outcomes. Gender differences were found. Women reported significantly less discrimination, more positive and fewer negative acculturation outcomes than did men. It is concluded that despite the high levels of sociocultural adjustment of Iranian refugees in the Netherlands, perceived discrimination plays an essential role in their acculturation.     

Multidimensional Individual Difference Acculturation (MIDA) model: Syrian refugees’ adaptation into Germany

European countries have been the key destination for many Syrians since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. In this new context, refugees have faced various challenges, including negative public attitudes and pressure of assimilation that might negatively influence psychophysical adaptation. This indicates the necessity of exploring the factors associated with the adaptation of refugees in their new society. Using a multidimensional individual difference acculturation (MIDA) model as a theoretical framework, the present study investigated the psychophysical adaptation of Syrian refugees (N = 265, M_age = 33.03 years) in Germany. The MIDA model is a theoretical model on immigrants’ adaptation that takes into account the role of psychosocial resources (e.g., psychological strength), co-national connectedness (e.g., ingroup support), hassles, and acculturation orientations in predicting adaptation of immigrants. Using structural equation modelling, specific hypotheses drawn from the MIDA model were tested. It was found that Syrian refugees with high psychological strength and cultural competence reported high levels of adjustment as indicated by low levels of distress. On the other hand, refugees with high levels of perceived hassles reported low levels of adjustment as indicated by high level of distress. The results highlight the importance of psychological strength, cultural competence, and hassles in refugees’ adaption. The study’s findings have the potential to inform host country policymakers regarding the positive integration of refugees into German society, and specific recommendations have been made.     

The double-edged sword of identification. The divergent effects of identification on acculturation stress among Ukrainian immigrants in Poland

Research on the ‘social cure’ points to the many positive outcomes of having strong social identifications for minority and immigrant groups. At the same time, identification is a multi-faceted psychological phenomenon, combining three dimensions: ingroup centrality, ingroup affect, and ingroup ties. The main aim of the present study was to assess the divergent effects of these three facets of social identification on acculturation stress experienced by the members of two ethnolinguistic communities of Ukrainian immigrants in Poland. The study found that ingroup centrality was related to higher levels of acculturation stress, whereas positive ingroup affect and strong ingroup ties were related to lower acculturation stress. Additionally, the immigrant community who speak Ukrainian as their mother tongue reported stronger Ukrainian identification than those declaring Russian as their mother tongue, leading to lower levels of acculturation stress among members of this community. The present study suggests that those aspects of identification that promote exclusivity (ingroup centrality) can be maladaptive in the process of acculturation, whereas the more binding ones (ingroup ties and affect) facilitate acculturation.     

Bilingualism in minority settings in Canada: Integration or assimilation?

This study explores social psychological correlates of bilingualism in the Canadian context. First, it investigates the relation between language confidence and identity as moderated by ethnolinguistic vitality. Second, it examines whether bilinguals can be distinguished from predominantly unilingual participants on subjective vitality and language usage and evaluates the impact of ethnolinguistic vitality on these differences. Data from Statistics Canada collected among minority Francophones outside of Quebec and minority Anglophones in Quebec (N = 7377) were used for analysis. The results show that language confidence is significantly related to levels of identity for all regions. Bilinguals are significantly distinct from predominantly monolingual participants on most factors for maintenance of identity. However, among all Francophone samples, bilinguals most resemble the French-dominant participants.     

Acculturation process of Colombian immigrants into the American culture in Bergen County,New Jersey

This research was conducted to analyze the acculturation process of Colombian immigrants in the Hackensack area of Bergen County, New Jersey. The instrument used to measure acculturation was a questionnaire developed by Szapocznik et al. (1978). The subjects were 218 Colombian immigrants placed in age categories from 13 to 68 years, and 70 native American high school students, as the reference group. The study addressed three questions: (1) Is there any relationship between acculturation of the immigrants and the length of time they reside m the new culture? (2) Does age affect the process of acculturation? (3) Is sex a factor in the process of acculturation? The results of the study showed that (1) acculturation appeared to progress as a function of the length of time Colombian immigrants resided in the host culture (2) the degree of acculturation appeared to be a function of the age of the Colombian immigrants, and (3) generally, males appeared to acculturate more than females. Young males appeared to acculturate more than young females on the behavioral scale. However, in the value scale, young Colombian females appeared to move more readily toward the American reference groups than did young Colombian mates.     

A communication approach to the acculturation process: A study of Korean immigrants in Chicago

This paper explores a theoretical and methodological basis for studying foreign immigrants' acculturation processes from a communication perspective. Communication patterns of immigrants are conceptualized on three levels — behavioral, attitudinal, and perceptual. The behavioral level of communication includes the immigrant's participation in communication channels of the host society as well as the ethnic community. The perceptual level refers to the immigrant's cognitive structure in perceiving the host society. The attitudinal level is examined by the immigrant's affective-evaluative orientation toward the host society. The three levels of communication patterns were empirically investigated in a survey of 400 randomly selected Koreans in the Chicago area. The communication variables were assessed through composite scores using questionnaire items that were tested for reliability. The results show an overall linear trend in the immigrant's interethnic communication with Americans, positive attitude toward Americans, cognitive complexity in perceiving the American society, and satisfaction level. A simultaneous increase is observed in the immigrant's interpersonal communication with Americans and with other Koreans. The immigrant's use of ethnic media rapidly decreases over the years while that of American media steadily increases. Findings are discussed in comparison to previous studies of foreign immigrants and students and to sociological theories of acculturation of minority groups.     

Discordance of Acculturation Attitudes of the Host Population and their Dealing with Immigrants

ABSTRACT

We set out to quantitatively evaluate the discordance between perceived and desired acculturation attitudes by immigrants in Russia in the eyes of host group members and consider relationships between this discordance and other intergroup attitudes. We used the coefficient of intrarater agreement as a measure of discordance between acculturation attitudes of the host population. The host population in Russia mostly preferred an assimilation-type of adjustment of immigrants but believed that immigrants prefer separation. Discordance between acculturation attitudes can have consequences for intergroup relations. Further investigation of the discordance can help to better understand the process of mutual accommodation and the evaluation of discordance can help to enhance this accommodation.     

Acculturation attitudes and adaptation among South Korean residents in Japan: The mediating role of coping strategies

Acculturation processes and intergroup experiences of minority groups have been little studied in East Asian societies, including Japan. The number of migrants in Japanese society is steadily increasing, suggesting that the country is a new immigration destination in the 21st century. Therefore, further research on the acculturation processes of immigrants in Japan is warranted. This study examined the relationships among acculturation attitudes, coping strategies, and psychological adjustment in a sample of South Korean newcomers living in Japan. The results of this study support the integration hypothesis, which states that balanced acculturation attitudes that favor engagement in both the host and home cultures lead to higher levels of psychological and sociocultural adaptation. Assimilation attitudes did not contribute significantly to adaptation. Different coping strategies employed by individuals during interethnic discrimination mediated the links between individual acculturation attitudes and the two aspects of adaptation. By linking acculturation attitudes and relevant social behaviors, this study sheds light on the role of coping strategies as mediators of the relationships between acculturation attitudes and psychological and sociocultural adjustment in ethnic minority groups.     

Intercultural contacts and acculturation resources among International students in Australia: A mixed-methods study

This paper explores the impact of acculturation conditions, orientations and outcomes on international students in Australia’s tertiary education sector. Specifically, we investigate the factors that facilitate or hinder acculturation of international students within a multidimensional acculturation context (Arends-Tóth & van de Vijver, 2006). We used a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design in two studies to investigate acculturation of international students at an Australian university and test how these factors are related to psychological and sociocultural outcomes. In Study 1, we conducted a generic qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with a conventional content analyses approach,which compared the experiences of international students who on average had high numbers of positive experiences versus those who had high numbers of negative experiences. We found that a support network of mixed-nationals, and especially host locals, facilitates positive psychological and sociocultural adjustment, and buffers acculturative stress. Study 2 quantitatively tested the association of factors found in Study 1 (perceived stereotypes, intercultural and ethnic network/resources) with psychological and sociocultural acculturation outcomes. Study 2, shows that perceived negative stereotypes loosen ties with the dominant (host) culture and reinforces ties with the ethnic (non-host) culture. The social resources associated with either culture was found to be useful for acculturation, with both independently contributing to participant well-being. Contact with host locals played a particularly crucial role in developing these resources. Our findings provide foundations for pragmatic policy implications, suggesting value in the development of formally organized contact programs in the early sojourn experience of international students.