The acculturation process: Antecedents, strategies, and outcomes

Decoding the Dynamics of Cultural Change: A Cultural Evolution Approach to the Psychology of Acculturation

PUBLIC ABSTRACT

Acculturation describes the cultural and psychological changes resulting from intercultural contact. Here, we use concepts from "cultural evolution" to better understand the processes of acculturation. Cultural evolution researchers view cultural change as an evolutionary process, allowing them to borrow tools and methods from biology. Cultural evolutionary mechanisms such as conformity (copying the numerical majority), anti-conformity (copying the numerical minority), prestige bias (copying famous individuals), payoff bias (copying successful people), and vertical cultural transmission (copying your parents) can cause people to adopt elements from other cultures and/or conserve their cultural heritage. We explore how these transmission mechanisms might create distinct acculturation strategies, shaping cultural change and diversity over the long-term. This theoretical integration can pave the way for a more sophisticated understanding of the pervasive cultural shifts occurring in many ethnically diverse societies, notably by identifying conditions that empower minority-group members, often marginalized, to significantly influence the majority group and society.

Research hotspots and frontiers of ethnic cultural identity--based on analysis of "web of science" database

Cultural identity is of great significance to the formation of group consensus and the establishment of cultural self-confidence. In order to understand the history, current situation and trend, and provide theoretical support for future research, this paper makes a quantitative analysis of knowledge map including annual publication volume, trend, distribution of authors and institutions, co-occurrence, clustering and timeline of keywords as well as emergent keywords on the literature concerning ethnic cultural identity published in "Web of Science" database for a period from 2012 to 2022, with CiteSpace software as a tool. The results show an overall upward trend with diversified ethnic and regional characteristics; major institutions including universities of the U.S., the U.K., Australia, China and other countries and regions engage in their research from different disciplines such as psychology, sociology, ethnology and education; the researchers have not formed a core group of authors despite their accumulating number; research hotspots are indicated by keywords such as national identity, identity, ethnic identity and attitude; specifically, keyword clusters fall into three categories: emotional perception, multicultural identity process and ethnic cultural adaptability; researchers probe into various issues at different stages with direct relation to international situations and regional cultures. This study has positive implications for understanding and mastering the current research hotspots and development trends of ethnic cultural identity in the world.

Who Am I and Where Do I Belong? The Impact of Heritage Cultural Identity Salience on Immigrant Workers Acculturation Strategies

There has been growing interest among organizational researchers in the relationship between acculturation strategies and organizational outcomes of immigrant employees. However, what is noticeably missing from the literature on acculturation strategies is how cultural values such as heritage cultural identity salience affect an immigrant employee's acculturation strategy and subsequent work attitude and behaviors. Drawing on Berry's (1997) acculturation strategy and framework, we examined heritage cultural identity salience, harmony enhancement, integration and marginalization acculturation strategy, turnover intention, and affective commitment among immigrant employees in the USA. In this time-lagged study, we found that heritage cultural identity salience was negatively related to marginalization and positively related to integration. Harmony enhancement significantly buffered the relationship between heritage cultural identity salience and marginalization and integration, respectively. Heritage cultural identity salience had significant indirect effects on affective commitment via marginalization and both affective commitment and turnover intention via integration. Lastly, results from the moderated mediated analysis showed that the indirect effect of heritage identity salience on affective commitment and turnover intention via integration was significantly different at varying levels of harmony enhancement. Our study affirms existing research on acculturation strategy and extends the literature by introducing harmony enhancement as a moderator. The use of Berry's (1997) framework and the results of this study provide useful insights into the inclusion and retention of immigrant employees in the US workforce. Practical implications, as well as theoretical contributions, are discussed.

How does culture influence work experience in a foreign country? An umbrella review of the cultural challenges faced by internationally educated nurses

BACKGROUND

Internationally educated nurses experience multidimensional challenges affecting their acculturation process in a foreign country. Cultural differences have been highlighted by research as a common barrier. There is a need to understand the cross-cultural challenges experienced by internationally educated nurses to promote a culturally inclusive workplace, particularly when these nurses practice in another country wherein cultural attitudes and beliefs are different from their own.

OBJECTIVES

To identify and synthesise the challenges to cultural values, beliefs, and practices of internationally educated nurses working in a foreign country.

DESIGN

An umbrella review was undertaken by synthesising evidence from systematic reviews.

DATA SOURCES

Databases searched were MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL and Scopus. Reviews published between 2000-2019 were considered.

METHODS

The review protocol was guided by the guidelines from the Joanna Briggs Institute. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Instrument for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the retrieved reviews. The extracted findings were tabulated, categorised into themes, and presented in a narrative synthesis.

RESULTS

Ten reviews met the inclusion criteria. These reviews examined the experiences of internationally educated nurses from different countries. The reviews highlighted that cultural differences had impacted the adaptation and professional experiences of internationally educated nurses. Four themes were identified: cultural differences lead to the feeling of being an outsider, intercultural communication issues transcend beyond fluency, differing nursing cultures complicate adaptation, and ethnic identity challenges work adjustment.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite having a great interest in the literature on the experiences and issues faced by internationally educated nurses, a distinct gap still exists. There is an absence of knowledge on the challenges experienced by internationally educated nurses concerning their cultural beliefs, values, and practices. Further work is needed to enhance understanding and to promote a culturally sensitive workplace.

Evaluation of the Effects of a Bullying at Work Intervention for Middle Managers

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of a workplace bullying intervention based on the training of middle managers regarding bullying awareness, the consequences of bullying, strategies in conflict resolution and mediation/negotiation abilities. Overall, 142 randomly selected middle managers participated in the study. First, participants completed an information record and two scales assessing bullying strategies, role conflict and role ambiguity. The last two scales were completed again in a second phase three months after the intervention had finished. The intervention produced a decrease in the following bullying strategies: effects on self-expression and communication, effects on personal reputation and effects on occupational situation and quality of life, with all of the mentioned bullying strategies being suffered by part of the sample. In addition, the conflict role decreased in the group which received the intervention. Moreover, the decrease in the effects of the bullying strategy effects on occupational situation and quality of life was especially important in managers with higher responsibilities within the workplace. Results are discussed in the framework that (1) leadership practices and, more specifically, conflict resolution skills are strongly responsible for bullying at work; and (2) the importance of intervening in the early stages of the bullying process as a key element in the correction, but also as a potential prevention element, of bullying in the workplace.

The Role of Social Media in Accelerating the Process of Acculturation to the Global Consumer Culture

This article highlights the role of social media in the context of global consumer culture by showing consumers' perceptions regarding social influence, social networks, cultural novelty and economic rewards. If focuses on the mediating role of social media in the acculturation to the global consumer culture (AGCC). This article develops and tests a conceptual model integrating new antecedents of AGCC. Based on the 322 answers to an online survey targeting international students and consumers, smart PLS software and structural equation modelling are applied to assess the causal relationships among the constructs. The findings show that (1) social network, social influence, cultural novelty and economic rewards significantly accelerate the process of acculturation and that (2) social media plays a mediating role on social networks, cultural novelty and trust. This article offers a substantial contribution to related theory by developing and testing a social media-based model that provides a more comprehensive view of the process of AGCC.

Acculturative stress as a mental health predictor of North Korean refugees in South Korea

South Korea is an emerging immigration destination where over half of the country’s immigrant population are ethnic return migrants. Thus far, little attention has been given to the effect of acculturation on the mental health of coethnic migrants in non-traditional immigration states such as South Korea. Using 2010 survey data on 1,200 North Korean refugees, this study examines the effect of preserving cultural norms and practices from the home country on the mental health of North Koreans in the South. Based on an acculturation typology, we categorize respondents into four groups based on their attitudes toward home and host cultures. Given South Korea’s homogenous context, our cluster analyses extracted two acculturation types—the integrated and the assimilated groups. The finding that integrated or bicultural individuals had better mental health status than assimilated individuals underscores the crucial role of the culture of origin in attenuating acculturative distress for coethnic migrants in South Korea.

Perceived Employability of Nonlocal Chinese University Students in Hong Kong

Perceived employability has been found to be related to the career development and well-being of both working adults and university students. In a first initiative to examine perceived employability among nonlocal Chinese university students, we collected data from a sample of 246 graduating students who had come from Mainland China to study in Hong Kong. After controlling for demographic variables and migration intentions, we found that perceived employability was explained by career exploration, relational support, acculturative hassles, and the assimilation strategy of acculturation. Career exploration was also found to mediate the relationship between the assimilation strategy of acculturation and perceived employability. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory building and career guidance practices regarding the perceived employability and career guidance of nonlocal and international Chinese students.

Acculturative stress negatively impacts maternal depressive symptoms in Mexican-American women during pregnancy

BACKGROUND

Mexican-American women exhibit high rates of prenatal maternal depressive symptoms relative to the general population. Though pregnant acculturated Mexican-American women experience cultural stressors such as acculturation, acculturative stress and discrimination that may contribute to elevated depressive symptoms, the contribution of these socio-cultural correlates to depressive symptomology is unknown.

METHOD

Ninety-eight pregnant women of Mexican descent were recruited from a community hospital clinic during their first trimester. Women completed surveys about acculturation, acculturative stress, perceived discrimination, general perceived stress, and maternal depressive symptoms as well as the potential protective factor of Mexican cultural values.

RESULTS

Women who experienced greater acculturative and perceived stress, but not perceived discrimination or acculturation, reported significantly elevated depressive symptoms during pregnancy. Also, women who experienced greater acculturative stress identified with a mixture of Mexican and American cultural values. However, only the Mexican cultural value of respect was protective against maternal depressive symptoms while adhering to the Anglo value of independence and self-reliance was a risk factor.

LIMITATIONS

A limitation in the study is the cross-sectional and descriptive self-report nature of the work, underscoring the need for additional research. Moreover, physiological measures of stress were not analyzed in the current study.

CONCLUSIONS

Results point to acculturative stress, above other cultural stressors, as a potential intervention target in culturally competent obstetric care. These findings have implications for maternal mental health treatment during pregnancy, which likely affects maternal-fetal programming and may favorably affect perinatal outcomes in the vulnerable Mexican-American population.