Experiences of cultural clashes at home and ethnic victimization in school: “I live between two cultures, and neither of them understands me”

Abstract

The present study aims to examine the extent to which adolescents of immigrant background experience acculturative stress (i.e., cultural clashes with parents and ethnic victimization in school) in multiple contexts, and the reasons why such stress takes a toll on their psychological functioning and views of themselves. The analytic sample includes adolescents of immigrant background residing in Sweden (N = 423, Mage = 13.19, SD = 0.51). Cluster analysis revealed five distinct groups of adolescents, based on their reports of cultural clashes with parents and ethnic victimization in school: (1) low on both acculturative stressors, (2) average on both acculturative stressors, (3) high on cultural clashes only, (4) high on ethnic victimization only, and (5) high on both acculturative stressors. Mediation analysis showed that adolescents who experienced cultural clashes at home and who were also victimized by their peers in school reported higher levels of feeling in between cultures than adolescents in all the other clusters (except those high on cultural clashes only), and in turn reported higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels of self‐esteem. The present study highlights the importance of understanding immigrant youth's experiences across multiple contexts simultaneously in order to develop a holistic perspective on their adjustment and integration processes.

Intersecting identities, minority stress, and mental health problems in different sexual and ethnic groups.

“…These items assessed victimization based on ethnic identity since the age of 16. The adapted scale uses the same approach as a 5-item ethnic victimization scale used with school children (Bayram Özdemir et al, 2021), which also asked for specific victimizing events connected with the individual's ethnic identity (e.g., "Has anyone said nasty things to you about your ethnic origin?"). Our scale had an internal consistency of α = .80.…”

Ethnic-Racial Identity and Attitude Change: Assessments of Outgroup and Diversity Attitudes among Adolescents in Sweden

“…As such, adolescents in Sweden form a highly diverse group, yet many share the everyday experience of having a migration background and belonging to one or more minoritized ethnic groups. This shared experience among adolescents of being minoritized, or navigating multiple cultural backgrounds, has been associated with increased perceptions of discrimination and adverse health effects (Mock-Munõz de Luna et al, 2019), such as lower levels of self-esteem and depressive symptoms (Bayram Özdemir et al, 2021b).…”

The impact of migration on child and adolescent development: The role of socialization experiences in family and school

“…Bayram Özdemir et al. (2021) link experiences of immigrant youth in Sweden in both contexts. The authors take a person‐centered approach to better understand the effects of acculturative stress at home (i.e., cultural clashes with parents) and at school (i.e., victimization) on psychological adjustment difficulties (i.e., depressive symptoms, low self‐esteem).…”

“…In doing so, it takes a particular focus on indicators of youth's psychological and social (mal‐)adjustment and highlights a great variety of experiences in family (Cross et al, 2021; Davis et al., 2021), school (Caravita et al., 2021; Civitillo et al. 2021; Kunyu et al., 2021; Miklikowska et al, 2021; Oczlon et al., 2021; Solomontos‐Kountouri & Strohmeier, 2021) and dynamics that arise from the interplay of both contexts (Bayram Özdemir et al., 2021; Shah et al., 2021). This issue comprises a methodologically rich collection of empirical studies that draw—among others—on longitudinal, multilevel, person‐centered, and qualitative approaches and are conducted among diverse samples from Europe and the United States.…”