Preimmigration Beliefs of Life Success, Postimmigration Experiences, and Acculturative Stress: South Asian Immigrants in the United States

Abstract

This study retrospectively explored the links between preimmigration beliefs of life success and postimmigration experiences and their influence on acculturative stress among a group of parents who recently immigrated with their children from three non-English speaking countries-Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan-to the United States. The respondents, 75 sets of parents residing in New York City, participated in semistructured qualitative interviews. Discrepancies between the parents' anticipated life success in the United States and actual experiences after immigration were associated with the parents' expectations of their children fulfilling parents' own dreams of success. Two criteria specific to Asian culture that guided parental expectations were the responsibility of children in enhancing family pride and the role of education as a way to advance through the social class and the caste systems. Implications for understanding immigrant parents' sociocultural contexts, the potential negative impact of unrealistic expectations on children's development, and the significance of acculturative stress for parents as well as their children were discussed.

South Asian Immigration and Education in the U.S.: Historical and Social Contexts

“…Vartanian et al (2007) examined Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Southeast Asian, and South Asian populations in NELS:88 data and found that South Asian students had the highest GPA amongst them. On the other hand, some qualitative studies warn the children of a recent subgroup of South Asian immigrants arriving since the mid-1980s face difficulty in adjustment to school and performance in school (Bhattacharya, 2000;Bhattacharya & Schoppelrey, 2004;National Asian Pacific American Community Development Data Center, 2005;Verma, 2008;Wright, 2007). This trend has not yet affected the achievement statistics for South Asians overall, but there is a possibility of lowered achievement levels in the future.…”

“…India, Pakistan and Bangladesh once constituted one big nation under British rule, called India. In 1947, when British rule ended, the country was divided into the independent countries of India and Pakistan (Bhattacharya & Schoppelrey, 2004). The majority of Indians were Hindu while Bangladeshis and Pakistanis were predominantly Muslim.…”

“…The first wave of immigrants arrived between 1897 and 1924, and consisted of mainly illiterate male Sikh and Muslim peasants from the Punjab province in India (Bhattacharya & Schoppelrey, 2004;Leonard, 1997). Like the East Asians, they were looking for better economic opportunities in the US and came to fulfill the cheap labor needs of rail, agricultural and lumber industries in California, Oregon and Washington.…”

“…This wave of immigrants was drawn from all over India and from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The new immigration laws gave preference to highly skilled professionals, such as scientists, doctors and engineers, and their families (Bhattacharya & Schoppelrey, 2004;Purkayastha, 2005;Saran, 2007). Consequently, a large percentage of South Asians who migrated after 1965 have been college educated, urban middle class professionals, or students seeking advanced university training.…”

“…Even those with foreign post-secondary credentials often found they were unaccepted in the US. These individuals settled into urban ethnic enclaves and worked mostly bluecollar jobs as taxi drivers, store clerks, or small motel operators, or owned small businesses (Bhattacharya & Schoppelrey, 2004;Verma, 2008). More Bangladeshis and Pakistanis began migrating in this third wave of immigration and thus tend to have lower socioeconomic statuses than their Indian counterparts (National Asian Pacific American Community Development Data Center, 2005).…”