“I Feel More Luxembourgish, but Portuguese Too” Cultural Identities in a Multicultural Society

The Sense of Belonging in the Context of Migration: Development and Trajectories Regarding Portuguese Migrants in Luxembourg

The sense of belonging can be defined as a highly subjective and dynamic feeling of acceptance, inclusion, and connectedness to a specific contextual entity. Perceiving belongingness to others is positively related to psychological well-being, happiness, or higher self-esteem. The present contribution examined how the sense of belonging to spatial, social, and cultural entities evolves over the migration process of Portuguese first-generation migrants and their second-generation offspring residing in Luxembourg. The current study drew on the qualitative content analysis of ten semi-structured interviews, carried out with ten Portuguese migrant family dyads (one parent and one adult child per dyad). The results affirmed that the sense of belonging showed to be a complex and multi-faceted concept and highly shaped by specific contexts. The initially unfamiliar Luxembourgish context became a familiar setting and even a "home" over time. While the older generation presented noticeable belongingness to Luxembourg as a homeland, their affiliation to the Luxembourgish community and culture remained rather low. Simultaneously, they preserved a high connectedness to the Portuguese culture as well as to fellow Portuguese migrants living in the Grand Duchy. The younger generation expressed a much more pronounced attachment to Luxembourg, since they perceived belongingness to the Luxembourgish spatial, social, and (multi)cultural milieu. In addition to this, a certain affiliation to the Portuguese culture and language could be discerned. Although some factors, which might have contributed to this evolution, could be identified in the present study, one can assume that there are significantly more that have not been addressed yet.

Exploring experiences of proculturation in international students during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study intends to find what are the experiences of international students semiotically adapting to unfamiliar signs in the United Kingdom before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six international university students to learn about their experiences of adapting to a new country. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes were classified as dialogical self in interpersonal adaptation and linguistic elements of semiotic adaptation, each with two subthemes. Participants' experiences of merging self-constructs seem reflective of proculturation theory. The researchers termed 'language bridges' to refer to social representations dependent on language-specific signs. Some of the participants' self-constructs relied on signs not provided by the environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, proculturation offers insight into the complex psychological and social processes of adapting to unfamiliar signs.

Perceived loneliness and the role of cultural and intergenerational belonging: the case of Portuguese first-generation immigrants in Luxembourg

The risk of loneliness for migrants, particularly in older age, has been documented across multiple studies. Migration is a life-changing transition. While often retaining links to their country of origin, an important developmental task for migrants is the establishment of bonds in the receiving country. Drawing on recent studies, I will explore the role of cultural and intergenerational belonging in order to identify both protective and risk factors regarding loneliness in middle and older age in a sample of first-generation immigrants from Portugal living in Luxembourg. The sample comprises N = 131 participants (51.9% female) between the ages of 41 and 80 (M = 56.08; SD = 7.80) who have on average spent M = 31.71 years (SD = 8.81) in Luxembourg and raised children in Luxembourg. They took part in the IRMA project ('Intergenerational Relations in the Light of Migration and Ageing') which was funded by the Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg. A standardised questionnaire assessed socio-demographic data, aspects of cultural belonging (i.e. cultural attachment to both countries, bicultural identity orientation, acculturative stress), intergenerational belonging (i.e. family cohesion, family conflict, perceived intergenerational value consensus) and perceived loneliness. Results showed that while cultural and intergenerational belonging were protective factors, the strongest predictors for participants' perceived loneliness were cultural identity conflict and, even more so, intergenerational conflict. Our findings suggest that establishing roots and bonds in the host country is a protective factor against loneliness, whereas the feeling of not fitting in is a strong risk factor.