Acculturation
experiences and changes that groups and individuals undergo when they come in contact with a different culture
Immigrants
people who move to another country voluntarily. the decision to move can take weeks, months, or even years which allows these people to prepare for the move and to begin the acculturation process before the move
Refugees
people who are forced to move from their homelands because of war or political oppression. the decision is almost immediate, taking days, hours or even minutes which does not allow these people to prepare for the move or to begin the acculturation process because they do not know which country they will settle in
Berry’s six stages of refugee careers
predeparture: conditions that force refugees to flee their homelands
flight: the period of transit away from the homeland
first asylum: first place where refugees settle
claimant: the first country of potential resettlement
settlement: the country of settlement
adaptation: adjustment to the new country of settlement
Common experiences of immigrants and refugees
- Language barriers: older generations have especially hard time with this. younger tend to lose native tongue
- Support Networks: lack of these may lead to greatest source of stress; leads to social isolation and stress particularly when the encounter difficult situations
- Family Hierarchies: Our indvidualistic and egalitarian principles may cause discord in families. How things were in the old country and the changes and sometimes causes families to fall apart
- New family roles: breadwinners turn into stay at home parents, children become spokesperson for families and have more responsibility, grandparents become strangers in their home
Employment: little opportunities, and experiences, limited english, and physical characteristics may be a root for discrimination
Education: U.S. education values differ from most countries
Model of Acculturation (Berry)
Assimilationist: giving up identity of origin to identify with the host culture
Separationist: identify with culture of origin and reject host culture
Marginalist: rejects both cultures
Integrationist: integrates aspects of both cultures
Model of Acculturation (LaFramboise)
Assimilation: Absorption into dominant culture
Acculturated: competent in host culture but maintains own cultural identity as more essential
Fusion: the process of combining one’s culture of origin with the host culture creating somewhat new culture
Alternation: the process of alternating between one’s culture of origin and the host culture depending on what the context dictates
Multicultural: distinct cultural identities are maintained with a single multicultural social structure
The Migration Process
Premigration Period: the time period before migration when the acculturation process can begin to take place
Migration Period: the period when a group is migrating from the country of origin to the host country. this includes period immediately before migration occurs when final feelings on moving are experienced
Postmigration period: the period after settling into the host culture, when the stress of migration continues to be experienced and the adjustment to the new culture takes place
Ecological Context and Fit
similarity of the social and cultural environments between an immigrants country of origin and new host country
Micro (household) - Meso (school and work) - Exo (media and government) - Macro (societal rules and cultural norms)
SB 1070
- 1 Million cross the border a day
- Law may be leading to self deportation
- concerns about racial profiling
- could as for their papers depending on how they and their car looked
Facts about Immigration
- Strong link between social inequality and immigrants
- First gen. immi. are 43% less likely to commit violent crimes
- undocumented workers contribute 7 billion annually to social security/ pay more than they take
