Understanding adolescents’ acculturation processes: New insights from the intergroup perspective

Abstract

Recent developments in the acculturation literature have emphasized the importance of adopting intergroup perspectives that provide a valuable background for investigating how acculturation orientations (i.e., maintenance of the culture of origin and the adoption of the destination culture) of adolescents from migrant families are embedded in their proximal socialization contexts. Accordingly, we sought to understand the combined effects of the perceived parents' acculturation orientations and classmates' acculturation preferences on adolescents' own acculturation orientations in two independent cultural contexts, namely NorthEast of Italy (Study I) and SouthEast of Turkey (Study II). Participants were 269 (53.2% female; M age = 14.77) and 211 (71.1% female; M age = 15.37) adolescents from migrant families in Italy and in Turkey, respectively. Findings indicated that adolescents' acculturation orientations were influenced by their perceptions of both parents' acculturation orientations and classmates' acculturation preferences. In addition, the effects of parents' adoption of the destination culture were stronger than the effects of classmates' preferences for adoption of the destination culture in both countries. However, the effects of parents' maintenance of the culture of origin were stronger than the effects of classmates' preferences for

Psychological and social adjustment in refugee adolescents: The role of parents’ and adolescents’ friendships

“…In line with our mediational hypothesis (H3), the present findings indicate that adolescents’ cross‐ethnic friendships mediated the positive links of parents’ cross‐ethnic friendships with adolescents’ social and psychological well‐being. As the role models within both primary socialization and acculturative contexts (Crocetti et al., 2016; Karataş, Crocetti, Schwartz, & Rubini, 2020; Ward & Geeraert, 2016), parents can provide guidance for their children via their own intergroup contact experiences (Wright et al., 1997), and refugee parents can therefore model cross‐ethnic friendships for their adolescents. Moreover, adolescents might also establish cross‐ethnic friendships due to their parents’ friendship networks.…”

Resilience and empowerment in immigrant experiences: A look through the transconceptual model of empowerment and resilience.

“…TMER, which conceptualizes risk at the extra-individual level, leads us to hypothesize that this finding may emanate from the difference in the context of risk in the U.S. versus in Italy. Specifically, it may be due to the many restrictions on full “assimilation” experienced by immigrants in the Italian context, regardless of generation (Karataş et al, 2020; Marinaro & Walston, 2010). As predicted, participants reported that they were living in contexts of risk; however, their enactment of resilience goals and action was not always predicted by their expressed belief that they themselves were currently at risk.…”

The role of coping strategies in interpersonal identity development of war‐affected immigrant adolescents

“…Consistent with this explanation, a qualitative study on the coping strategies of recently migrated immigrants reported that, rather than engagement coping strategies, they were likely to use religious or spiritual coping, social support seeking through their connections, help‐seeking, and distraction (Yakushko, 2010). Moreover, classmates represented especially important actors in the social environment for Syrian immigrants in Turkey when compared to immigrants in Italy during acculturation processes (Karataş et al., 2020).…”