The Role of Identity in Acculturation among Immigrant People: Theoretical Propositions, Empirical Questions, and Applied Recommendations

The present paper advances theoretical propositions regarding the relationship between acculturation and identity. The most central thesis argued is that acculturation represents changes in cultural identity and that personal identity has the potential to ‘anchor’ immigrant people during their transition to a new society. The article emphasizes the experiences of nonwhite, non-Western immigrant people moving to Western nations. The article also calls for research on heretofore unexplored aspects of the relationship of acculturation to personal and social identity. Ideas are proposed for interventions to promote cultural identity change and personal identity coherence. Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel In recent decades, labor mobility and population migration have become prominent (and presumably permanent) in many parts of the world [van de Vijver & Phalet, 2004]. This means that many people in the world, whether by choice, necessity, or coercion, are born in one country and move to another during their lifetime. Even when voluntary, immigration is often a diffi cult process for individuals and families. The decision to leave one’s country of origin and move to another often brings disSeth J. Schwartz, Center for Family Studies Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine University of Miami, 1425 N.W. 10th Avenue, 2nd Floor Miami, FL 33136 (USA), Tel. +1 305 243 4359 Fax +1 305 243 5577, E-Mail [email protected] © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel 0018–716X/06/0491–0001$23.50/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/hde Fax +41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail [email protected] www.karger.com Human Development 2006;49:1–30 2 Schwartz /Montgomery /Briones connection from familiar social institutions and cultural practices, separation from family members, and isolation from sources of support in one’s new homeland [Suárez-Orozco, Todorova, & Louie, 2002]. In most cases, the immigration experience is accompanied by acculturation. In the most general terms, acculturation can be defi ned as ‘the process of cultural change and adaptation that occurs when individuals from different cultures come into contact’ [Gibson, 2001, p. 19]. When specifi cally applied to the context of international migration, acculturation refers to the process of adaptation along two dimensions: (a) adoption of ideals, values, and behaviors of the receiving culture, and (b) retention of ideals, values, and beliefs from the immigrant1 person’s culture of origin [Phinney, Horenczyk, Liebkind, & Vedder, 2001]. As will be discussed in detail throughout this article, these acculturation dimensions are closely related to social and cultural identity [Bhatia & Ram, 2001]. Of course, immigrant people bring about cultural change and adaptation in the receiving culture as well, but we leave examinations of this process to sociological and anthropological scholars. The focus here is on processes that occur at the individual level for people who see their new country as their primary residence and as the place where their descendants will live. The concept of acculturation has been used to refer both to immigrant people and to nonimmigrant ethnic groups [Pope-Davis, Liu, Ledesma-Jones, & Nevitt, 2000; Saxton, 2001; Suleiman, 2002]. Nonimmigrant ethnic groups are faced with acculturation challenges not because they have chosen to enter a new society, but rather because they have been involuntarily subjected to the dominance of a majority group (often on their own land). Examples of such nonimmigrant ethnic groups include African Americans and Native Americans in the United States, Palestinians in Israel, and Catholic Irish in Northern Ireland. Acculturation among groups such as these is quite different from acculturation among voluntary immigrant people or refugees because their status as ‘minorities’ or ‘ethnic groups’ within the receiving culture is involuntary. As such, acculturation among members of nonimmigrant ethnic groups involves issues that are beyond the scope of the present analysis [Markus, Steele, & Steele, 2000]. In addition to acculturation, identity is also often an important issue for immigrant people [e.g., Bhatia & Ram, 2001; Phinney, 2003]. The purpose of the present article is to explore the relationship between acculturation and identity. We argue that (a) social and cultural identity underlie acculturation and (b) personal identity can help to ‘anchor’ the immigrant person during cultural transition and adaptation. In formulating our argument, we employ theories of identity advanced by Erikson [1950], Tajfel and Turner [1986], and others. Our goal in explicating the acculturation-identity relationship is to adopt and pursue a specifi c theoretical position, namely that it is possible to defi ne acculturation and identity in terms precise enough to support specifi c theoretical propositions, calls for empirical research, and rationales for interventions to promote identity development in acculturating individuals. Accordingly, an important element of this paper is the call for empirical research 1 The term ‘immigrant’ is used here to refer both to fi rst-generation (born outside the host country) and second-generation (born in the host country but raised by foreign-born parents) individuals.