An interdisciplinary framework examining culture and adaptation in migrant children and adolescents

Abstract

With increasing rates of globalization, understanding the cultural factors that promote positive adaptation in migrant children and adolescents is vital. In prior research, acculturation and enculturation frameworks often rely on unidimensional or bidimensional conceptions of culture to study the effects of migration on child and adolescent development. However, the contemporary strategies that migrant children and adolescents utilize to navigate multicultural contexts remain undertheorized. Therefore, we advance an interdisciplinary framework that describes the factors and processes that affect migrant child and adolescent development across four contexts: global, macrosystem, microsystem, and the individual level. Additionally, conceptualizations of cultural adaptation are broadened in our framework by examining the intersections of community cultural wealth, cultural preservation, and cultural restoration. We highlight the importance of prioritizing the culture and experiential knowledge of migrant children and adolescents in the development of policy, research, and practice, to support their positive adaptation in a globalized society.

Maternal positive coparenting and adolescent ego-identity: the chain mediating role of fathers’ marital satisfaction and adolescent peer relationships

“…Therefore, the mediating pathway of “father’s marital satisfaction → peer relationships” serves as an important bridge between a maternal positive coparenting and adolescent ego-identity. This finding confirms the perspective of the ecological systems theory, where both family and peers are core microsystems in adolescent development, interconnected and able to jointly affect adolescent psychological development ( Pérez et al, 2021 ; Rivers et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Similarly, based on the ecological systems theory, the family and peer relationships serve as two crucial microsystems in adolescent development. These two systems are not mutually exclusive; rather, they are interconnected and mutually influential ( Pérez et al, 2021 ; Rivers et al, 2022 ). Therefore, father’s marital satisfaction, as a crucial variable in the family system, may also impact adolescent relationships with peers.…”

Emotional and relational realms of unaccompanied migrant adolescents: an approach to their lived experiences

“…The social vulnerability of unaccompanied children is a characteristic that has a significant impact during adolescence, representing a stage in human development in which several developmental challenges arise. These lead to the formation of their identities, the ultimate goal of this developmental stage that strongly relies on social relationships and socialisation (Pérez et al, 2021). In the case of migrant adolescents, apart from the paramount need to form bonds with their peers, family is a critical pillar in the construction of their cultural and ethnic identity that helps overcome acculturative stress (Suárez-Orozco et al, 2018).…”

“…In the case of migrant adolescents, apart from the paramount need to form bonds with their peers, family is a critical pillar in the construction of their cultural and ethnic identity that helps overcome acculturative stress (Suárez-Orozco et al, 2018). Unaccompanied children encounter more difficulties at this point due to being separated from their families and lacking opportunities to socialise as any other adolescent, especially considering that, in most cases, their school attendance is disrupted (Pérez et al, 2021).…”

The influence of school-based musical training on acculturation processes in children: Findings from a longitudinal study

“…Research over the last two decades has made great strides toward a better understanding of the acculturation of migrated children (e.g. Arends-Tóth & van de Vijver, 2006; Berry et al, 2006; Pérez, Wu, Murray, & Bravo, 2021; see also Frankenberg et al, 2013). For all age groups, the process of acculturation is associated with potential risks, for example, the experience of discrimination.…”