Acculturation
The process and implications of cultural change
Cultural change
 Socialization (cultural learning without intent)
parents
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Vertical transmission
kids
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Horizontal transmission
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Oblique transmission
sibling
teacher
student
sibling
More definitions
Enculturation: Deliberate cultural learning
Acculturation: Individual or group-level change
that occurs as a result of first-hand contact with
another culture
Acculturation
Individual or group-level change that occurs as
a result of first-hand contact with another culture
Early conceptualization and scales were unidimensional
More
“Russian”
More
“American”
Four modes of acculturation
Issue 1
Is it considered to be of value to maintain
the traditional cultural identity and
characteristics?
“YES”
“NO”
Issue 2
Is it considered to be of
value to develop and
maintain relationships
with members of the
new culture?
“YES”
BICULTURALISM
ASSIMILATION
“NO”
SEPARATION
MARGINALIZATION
Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans (ARSMA)
by Cuellar, Harris, and Jasso (1980).
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What language do you speak? (LFU)
What language do you prefer? (LFU)
How do you identify yourself? (EPI)
Which ethnic identification does (did) your mother use? (EPI)
Which ethnic identification does (did) your father use'? (EPI)
What was the ethnic origin of the friends and peers you had, as a child up to age 6? (EI)
What was the ethnic. origin of the friends and peers you had, as a child from 6 to 18? (EI)
Whom do you now associate with in the outside community? (EI)
What is your music preference? (language) (LFU)
What is your TV viewing preference? (language) (LFU)
What is your movie preference? (language) (LFU)
What is the nearest generation of the family member born in Mexico? (GP)
Where were you raised? (CH)
What contact have you had with Mexico? (e.g., lived there, visited, occasional communications with
people there) (CH)
What is your food preference? (EI)
In what language do you think? (LFU)
In which language do you read better (Spanish or English)? (LFU)
In which language do you write better (Spanish or English)? (LFU)
If you consider yourself a Mexican, Chicano, Mexican American member of La Raza, or however you
identify this group. how much pride do you have in this group? (EPI)
How would you rate yourself? (very Mexican, mostly Mexican, bicultural, mostly anglicized, very
anglicized) (EPI)
Note. LFU = Language Familiarity and Usage: EPI = Ethnic Pride and Identity; EI = Ethnic Interaction;
GP = Generational Proximity; and CH = Cultural Heritage.
The Acculturation Process
Acculturative Stress
family differences
in acculturation
low SES or
drop in SES
Individua
l Stress
prejudice and
discrimination
“forced”
migration
age
language
deficits
Factors affecting acculturative stress
Behavioral change as function of phase
Generation Status and Life Outcomes
Acculturation outcomes
 “Healthy immigrant” phenomenon
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Acculturation may lead to some negative consequences
 Burnam et al. (1987) study of acculturation of 1245 Mexican
Americans in L.A.
 Younger immigrants acculturated faster
 Males acculturated faster
 More educated acculturated faster (accounts for sex
difference but not age)
 Less acculturated individuals report less prevalence of
alcohol and drug abuse, phobia, antisocial personality
(Epidemiological Catchment Area study of rates of
psychopathology in US. Related to Latinos)
 Depression rates lower in Mexican born people vs. US born
Latino persons (Kessler et al, 1994)
Acculturation, Gender and Health
Lopez-Gonzalez, Aravena, Hummer (2005)
Interpreting Odds Ratios:
• 1=equal chance;
• 1.24 = 24% increase in odds
compared to comparison group
• .25 = ¼ probability compared
to comparison group
Acculturation, Gender and Health
Lopez-Gonzalez, Aravena,
Hummer (2005)
Acculturation and Latino Health
ACCULTURATION AND LATINO HEALTH IN THE UNITED
STATES: A Review of the Literature and its Sociopolitical Context
Annual Review of Public Health
Vol. 26: 367-397 (Volume publication date April 2005)