1. Psychological Adaptation of Adolescents With Immigrant Backgrounds.
- Author
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Sam, David Lackland
- Subjects
- *
IMMIGRANTS , *FAMILIES , *VALUES (Ethics) , *ACCULTURATION , *CULTURAL identity , *ASSIMILATION (Sociology) , *CULTURAL pluralism , *CULTURE shock ,TEENAGERS & society - Abstract
ABSTRACT. In the present study, the author examined 3 theoretical perspectives--family values, acculturation strategies, and social group identity--as predictors of the psychological well-being of adolescents from immigrant backgrounds. The 3 perspectives share the view that immigrants' successful adaptation involves the balancing of their heritage culture and the culture of the society of settlement. The participants were 506 adolescents from 4 backgrounds--Vietnamese, Pakistani, Turkish, and Chilean--who were living in Norway. The 3 theoretical perspectives together accounted for between 12% and 22% of the explained variance of mental health, life satisfaction, and self-esteem. The predictive powers of the different perspectives, however, were dependent on which outcome was predicted. On the whole, social group identity showed the strongest predictive power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2000
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