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Acculturation Stress of Immigrant Latino Children: A narrative investigation

Santana-Wynn, Jari
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1272815276

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Psychology.
The effect of immigration on children is life-long. Latino immigrant youth represent a rapidly growing segment of the United States population. Few studies have explored the ways in which they experience the process of moving to a new country and adjusting to a new culture. This study examined the immigration and acculturation experiences of 23 immigrant Latino children in order to provide a descriptive understanding and conceptualization of the stress they face in the process of acculturation. Participants completed individual interviews or focus groups. Transcriptions of the interviews were analyzed utilizing content analysis and multiple reading analysis methodologies. The children identified pre-migration factors such as loss and multiple separations as stressful. Challenging post-migration factors included adaptation to new school system, learning a new language, coping with racism, and managing new family dynamics. Results highlight a number of general stressors faced by most participants such as concerns about the health of their parents and siblings, the well being of family members left in the country of origin, and typical conflict with peers. Stressors specific to the acculturation process centered on the acquisition of English language skills, making friends of diverse backgrounds, and worries about deportation. Participants reported using a variety of coping strategies and accessing available resources. The children’s stories convey themes of ambivalence surrounding their appraisal of the events they lived through, variability in their evaluation of where their locus of control lies, a highly behavioral definition of the cultural conflict they experience, and a fluid grasp of cultural orientation. Overall, it is evident that the acculturative process faced by immigrant children is complex and stressful, characterized by unremitting conflict and intricate dynamics of coping and adaptation. Though resilient and resourceful, the stressors can exceed their coping resources. This emphasizes the importance of early identification of children experiencing acculturation stress and development of prevention programs to support and facilitate the acculturation process in order to ensure successful adjustment by fostering resilience, decreasing the number of stressors, and increasing the range of coping skills.
Karen Maitland Schilling, PhD (Committee Chair)
Yvette R. Harris, PhD (Committee Member)
Margaret O'Dougherty Wright, PhD (Committee Member)
Peter Magolda, PhD (Committee Member)
168 p.
Bilingual Education; Developmental Psychology; Educational Psychology; Hispanic Americans; Mental Health; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Social Work; Therapy
Acculturation stress; Immigration; Latino children; Pre-migration; Post-migration; Cultural orientation; Cultural conflict; Coping strategies; Qualitative research

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Santana-Wynn, J. (2010). Acculturation Stress of Immigrant Latino Children: A narrative investigation [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1272815276

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Santana-Wynn, Jari. Acculturation Stress of Immigrant Latino Children: A narrative investigation. 2010. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1272815276.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Santana-Wynn, Jari. "Acculturation Stress of Immigrant Latino Children: A narrative investigation." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1272815276

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1272815276
876
© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.