Acculturation as Adaptation: Dr. Su Yeong Kim on Cultural Navigation Among Immigrant Families

Understanding Acculturation Beyond Assimilation

Acculturation is commonly defined as the ways individuals or organizations adapt their social, cultural norms, values, and beliefs to those of another. While this definition is commonly used in textbooks and research, it tends to oversimplify a more nuanced experience. Acculturation is the process by which individuals and communities negotiate the norms, beliefs, and values of a different culture alongside their own. It is a process which can lead to biculturalism of cultures rather than assimilation, which is about full absorption of a different culture. Adapting to biculturalism is a dynamic and fairly complex process. It is not a one-and-done process but rather an ongoing process of moving between multiple cultures, languages, and values.

To better understand how this complex process unfolds in real life, it helps to look at the experiences of those living between cultures daily. This article leverages the perspective of immigrant families as a lens through which to explore acculturation. In what is referred to as "cultural brokering," more than 90% of immigrant-origin children assist their parents in navigating mainstream US society. They do this in different ways, such as accompanying family members to doctors’ appointments as translators. Through this lens, the article will expound on the cultural navigation and adaptation by immigrant families.

Cultural Navigation: The Immigrant Family Experience

In a new culture, children often become bicultural faster. This is a result of cultural brokering, peer exposure, school, and pressure from their peers to adapt to their new culture. Code-switching is a perfect example of this adaptation. Code-switching is the act of speaking while changing languages, dialects, or even accents between multiple languages. Migrant children are often adept at doing this as well as role-shifting in cultural contexts. This is seen in the difference in their roles in the home setting versus the public setting.

Notably, immigrant-origin children adapting faster has resulted in a generational gap in terms of language, norms, and the values shared. The children can navigate biculturalism with more ease, and this generational gap can lead to multiple differences within family dynamics. Among the key aspects to consider in children being cultural brokers is the stress and its impact on their development. Research on Mexican-origin youth language brokers showed significant differences in cortisol levels when brokering. This is often affected by the perceived efficacy of the brokering. Efficacy in brokering may buffer the negative effects of stress, which relate to their psychological functioning.

Language as A Core Acculturative Tool

At the heart of these experiences lies language. Bilingualism is a central marker of an adaptive form of acculturation. It can serve as both a challenge and a stepping stone in the adaptation journey. It is a resource that facilitates communication across cultures, while at the same time, it can be a stressor. This is particularly clear when it comes to language brokering. Language brokers are people, oftentimes children and youths, who serve as language mediators between multiple cultures or languages. Language brokering is essentially an informal type of translation that facilitates communication, especially for immigrant families. Language brokering has its benefits and costs to the young people who do it.

The costs of language brokering stem from the more nuanced aspects of the role. Among the key concerns is stress on the children. In high-stakes situations such as hospital visits or immigration paperwork, the pressure to ‘get things right’ can cause stress. Unchecked, this would result in chronic stress. Another related cost is the adultification of children as they are introduced to certain themes too early. Taking up the translator role can lead to premature emotional maturity. Related to this is the family role confusion. Children are often pushed towards taking up roles that are meant for parents or adults. Parental authority and children’s sense of boundaries can become a point of conflict in such situations.

Moreover, language brokering can result in identity confusion. This is because of the duality of roles played by children as well as the constant shifting from one language and culture to another. Combined with stress, this can lead to poor developmental outcomes. Yet even with these challenges, language brokering isn’t inherently harmful. When supported well, it can also bring real advantages.

Among the benefits of it is improved cognitive capabilities. Young language brokers can build their cognitive skills subconsciously as they switch between languages. They also gain insights on negotiation and mediation as they sometimes navigate complex situations that require an understanding of cultural nuances. Exposure to certain languages and themes within contextualized settings also improves their understanding, which can result in better educational outcomes. Take, for example, a child negotiating prices at the car dealershipfor a family member. This child could get better opportunities to contextualize mathematical principles and lessons that would otherwise be simply theoretical. When practiced through empowerment and with the children’s well-being as a focus, language brokering can be a great strength. This strength can show up both in cognitive abilities as well as socially. Individual experiences don’t exist in a vacuum. The social environment around immigrant-origin youth can either cushion or make the negative effects worse.

Cultural Stressors and Protective Factors

Cultural stressors come into play, affecting the everyday lives of young people, especially language brokers. Among the key environmental and cultural pressures are economic hardship, ‘foreigner stress’, and discrimination. In new spaces, immigrant-origin children often face discrimination from the primary culture of their environment. This can lead to stress and cultural dislocation, where they don't feel like they belong anywhere. Both their culture and the new culture they are adapting to seem disconnected from who they are, to some level.

At the same time, the stress that comes with being a foreigner plays a role in creating stressful situations. As a foreigner, many things are new, and adjusting can be a stressful experience. This stress, combined with economic hardship, which affects many immigrant families, can have adverse effects on immigrant-origin youth. The best way to curb the stressors and their consequences is to have strong protective factors.

Protective factors can assist young people to grow positively from biculturalism by lowering the emotional, social, and cognitive toll that the practice may have. These protective qualities, circumstances, or resources can help shield young people from the damaging consequences of stress, hardship, or risk. Protective factors make acculturation a more seamless process, allowing adaptation to cultures more accommodating. Some key forms of protective factors are strong ethnic community ties, cultural pride, and family support.

These factors are a form of safety net for young people, keeping them afloat as they navigate what can be a destabilizing situation. Being entrenched in their background gives a sense of dignity and confidence. This goes beyond simply knowing where they are from. Maintaining pride in one's culture can be a source of stability for young immigrants. This is more so for those who are continuously bouncing between cultures. It serves as a reminder that their identity is multifaceted rather than fractured. It cements the idea that speaking a second language or dressing traditionally are assets rather than things to hide from others.

Approaching More Inclusive Models of Adaptation

Given the complexity of navigating biculturalism, it is important to have appropriate success and adaptability measures. Traditional measures such as academic performance and income are not enough. They do not effectively capture the context of bicultural populations, especially young people's experiences. Better factors to consider could include mental health and well-being, bilingual proficiency, and intergenerational cohesion. Intergenerational cohesiveness speaks to how closely parents, grandparents, and children understand and support one another. This is despite their differing ways of adjusting to new situations. Oftentimes, kids acculturate faster than the adults in their lives. This difference can threaten the cohesiveness of immigrant families. However, when families figure out how to close these gaps through mutual respect, open communication, or shared customs, it turns into a strong protective factor.

Evaluating the strength of cultural identity is also a better metric for creating inclusive models to approach adaptation. For this to happen, there needs to be more holistic support systems. Ranging from schools to healthcare and policies, there needs to be more care put into supporting acculturation. Immigrant families can thrive and teach us new, more inclusive frameworks for adapting to biculturalism or even multiculturalism.

Conclusion

Acculturation is not a linear process. There is more nuance to cultural adaptation that makes it deeply relational and personal. It is also a fluid process that needs to be handled with the nuance that it has. Immigrant families navigate through this process with what seems to be grace and ease. This is despite the challenges that they may face along the journey. They portray a unique form of resilience that pushes them to thrive and survive across cultures. There are many strengths to the process, as well as visible and hidden challenges that affect migrant populations. Resilience in the process of navigating multicultural spaces is something that we need to honor and celebrate across cultures.