Embracing Complexity in the Study of Acculturation Gaps: Directions for Future Research

Costigan, Catherine L.

doi:10.1159/000322607

Cited by 37 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Costigan (2010) points out the need to move beyond difference scores in studying acculturation discrepancy and towards a method of modeling discrepancy that takes into account the multilevel structure of dyads. Therefore, multilevel modeling was used to estimate the acculturation discrepancy scores for parent-adolescent dyads in our study.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal linkages among parent–child acculturation discrepancy, parenting, parent–child sense of alienation, and adolescent adjustment in Chinese immigrant families.

Kim

Chen

Wang

et al. 2013

Developmental Psychology

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Parent-child acculturation discrepancy is a risk factor in the development of children in immigrant families. Using a longitudinal sample of Chinese immigrant families, the current study examined how unsupportive parenting and parent-child sense of alienation sequentially mediate the relationship between parent-child acculturation discrepancy and child adjustment during early and middle adolescence. Acculturation discrepancy scores were created using multilevel modeling to take into account the interdependence among family members. Structural equation models showed that, during early adolescence, parent-child American orientation discrepancy is related to parents’ use of unsupportive parenting practices; parents’ use of unsupportive parenting is related to increased sense of alienation between parents and children, which in turn is related to more depressive symptoms and lower academic performance in Chinese American adolescents. These patterns of negative adjustment established in early adolescence persist into middle adolescence. This mediating effect is more apparent among father-adolescent dyads than among mother-adolescent dyads. In contrast, parent-child Chinese orientation discrepancy does not demonstrate a significant direct or indirect effect on adolescent adjustment, either concurrently or longitudinally. The current findings suggest that early adolescence is more susceptible to the negative effects of parent-child acculturation discrepancy; they also underscore the importance of fathering in Chinese immigrant families.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal linkages among parent–child acculturation discrepancy, parenting, parent–child sense of alienation, and adolescent adjustment in Chinese immigrant families.

Kim

Chen

Wang

et al. 2013

Developmental Psychology

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“…Criticism of the model includes its neglect of the wider context in which parent–child dyads sit [51]. To use Bronfenbrenner’s terminology, in the context of the Somali Bantu participants in these focus groups, this wider context includes other members of the family microsystem, such as siblings; the youth’s mesosystem, including the children’s school; aspects of the exosystem, such as the help given to refugee families by government assistance projects, and the broader macrosystem in which all residents in the United States operate, such as wider political climate [10, 11].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another criticism of acculturation-gap distress model research is the isolated focus on parent–child dyads [51]. This current study moves beyond such a narrow scope and considers the impact of sibling relationships in the cultural negotiation process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“We would never forget who we are”: resettlement, cultural negotiation, and family relationships among Somali Bantu refugees

Frounfelker

Assefa

Smith

et al. 2017

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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Somali refugees are resettling in large numbers in the US, but little is known about the Somali Bantu, an ethnic minority within this population. Refugee youth mental health is linked to the functioning of the larger family unit. Understanding how the process of culturally adjusting to life after resettlement relates to family functioning can help identify what kind of interventions might strengthen families and lead to better mental health outcomes for youth. This paper seeks to address the following research questions: (1) How do different groups of Somali Bantu refugees describe their experiences of culturally adapting to life in the US?; and (2) How, if at all, do processes of cultural adaptation in a new country affect Somali Bantu family functioning? We conducted 14 focus groups with a total of 81 Somali Bantu refugees in New England. Authors analyzed focus groups using principles of thematic analysis to develop codes and an overarching theoretical model about the relationship between cultural adaptation, parent–child relationships, and family functioning. Views and expectations of parent–child relationships were compared between Somali Bantu youth and adults. Cultural negotiation was dependent upon broader sociocultural contexts in the United States that were most salient to the experience of the individual. Adult and youth participants had conflicting views around negotiating Somali Bantu culture, which often led to strained parent–child relationships. In contrast, youth sibling relationships were strengthened, as they turned to each other for support in navigating the process of cultural adaptation.

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“…Parent–child acculturation discrepancy has mostly been studied using cross-sectional data from the adolescent and just one parent in the family, usually the mother (Costigan 2010). The current study used longitudinal data to examine parent–child acculturation discrepancy as an ongoing risk factor for adolescent delinquency, and explored possible variations of this effect between more and less discrepant parent–adolescent dyads in terms of how their different acculturation levels might affect the functions within each family group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Examining the effect of parent–child acculturation discrepancy without considering the family context may yield inconclusive results, as the dynamics in each of the parent–child dyads within a family are interdependent (Costigan 2010; Minuchin 1985). For example, an acculturation discrepancy with one parent may not influence family functioning if there is a great deal of tension between the child and the other parent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parent–Child Acculturation Discrepancy, Perceived Parental Knowledge, Peer Deviance, and Adolescent Delinquency in Chinese Immigrant Families

Wang

Kim

Anderson

et al. 2011

J Youth Adolescence

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Parent–child acculturation discrepancy has been considered a risk factor for child maladjustment. The current study examined parent–child acculturation discrepancy as an ongoing risk factor for delinquency, through the mediating pathway of parental knowledge of the child’s daily experiences relating to contact with deviant peers. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal project with 4 years between data collection waves: 201 Chinese immigrant families participated at Wave 1 (123 girls and 78 boys) and 183 families (110 girls and 73 boys) participated at Wave 2. Based on the absolute difference in acculturation levels (tested separately for Chinese and American orientations) between adolescents and parents, one parent in each family was assigned to the “more discrepant” group of parent–child dyads, and the other parent was assigned to the “less discrepant” group of parent–child dyads. To explore possible within-family variations, the mediating pathways were tested separately among the more and less discrepant groups. Structural equation modeling showed that the proposed mediating pathways were significant only among the more discrepant parent–adolescent dyads in American orientation. Among these dyads, a high level of parent–child acculturation discrepancy is related to adolescent perceptions of less parental knowledge, which is related to adolescents having more contact with deviant peers, which in turn leads to more adolescent delinquency. This mediating pathway is significant concurrently, within early and middle adolescence, and longitudinally, from early to middle adolescence. These findings illuminate some of the dynamics in the more culturally discrepant parent–child dyad in a family and highlight the importance of examining parent–child acculturation discrepancy within family systems.

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Embracing Complexity in the Study of Acculturation Gaps: Directions for Future Research

Cited by 37 publications

References 21 publications

Longitudinal linkages among parent–child acculturation discrepancy, parenting, parent–child sense of alienation, and adolescent adjustment in Chinese immigrant families.

Longitudinal linkages among parent–child acculturation discrepancy, parenting, parent–child sense of alienation, and adolescent adjustment in Chinese immigrant families.

“We would never forget who we are”: resettlement, cultural negotiation, and family relationships among Somali Bantu refugees

Parent–Child Acculturation Discrepancy, Perceived Parental Knowledge, Peer Deviance, and Adolescent Delinquency in Chinese Immigrant Families

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