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Cited by 83Racial and Ethnic Identity ResearchPsychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionMigration, Health and Trauma

Acculturation and Well-Being Among College Students From Immigrant Families

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Schwartz, Seth J., Waterman, Alan S., UmañaTaylor, Adriana J., Lee, Richard M., Kim, Su Yeong, Vazsonyi, Alexander T., Huynh, QueLam, Whitbourne, Susan Krauss +5 more·2012·Journal of Clinical Psychology
DOI 10.1002/jclp.21847PMC PMC7871524
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to ascertain the associations between acculturation and well-being in first-generation and second-generation immigrant college students. Acculturation was operationalized as a multidimensional construct comprised of heritage and American cultural practices, values (individualism and collectivism), and identifications, and well-being was operationalized in terms of subjective, psychological, and eudaimonic components. METHOD: Participants were 2,774 first-generation and second-generation immigrant students (70% women), from 6 ethnic groups and from 30 colleges and universities around the United States. Participants completed measures of heritage and American cultural practices, values, and identifications, as well as of subjective, psychological, and eudaimonic well-being. RESULTS: Findings indicated that individualistic values were positively related to psychological and eudaimonic well-being, and positively, although somewhat less strongly, linked with subjective well-being. American and heritage identifications were both modestly related to psychological and eudaimonic well-being. These findings were consistent across gender, immigrant generation (first versus second), and ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological and eudaimonic well-being appear to be inherently individualistic conceptions of happiness, and endorsement of individualistic values appears linked with these forms of well-being. Attachments to a cultural group-the United States, one's country of origin, or both-appear to promote psychological and eudaimonic well-being as well. The present findings suggest that similar strategies can be used to promote well-being for both male and female students, for students from various ethnic backgrounds, and for both first-generation and second-generation immigrant students.

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  • Adolescent immigrants who struggled to assimilate their home language with the dominant language had identity challenges.

    “Adolescent immigrants who struggled to assimilate their home language with the dominant language had identity challenges, according to research by Schwartz et al. (2013).”

    From Heritage Language Maintenance Among Immigrant Youth: Factors Influencing Proficiency and Identity (2024) · cites this paper as Schwartz et al. (2013)

    In “Conceptualizations of Acculturation” (page unavailable), the paper gives a contrary example: many Asian immigrant adolescents and young adults lose proficiency in their native languages yet identify strongly with their countries of origin. It does not present language difficulty as producing identity challenges. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Authors
Schwartz, S. J., Waterman, A. S., UmañaTaylor, A. J., Lee, R. M., Kim, S. Y., Vazsonyi, A. T., Huynh, Q., Whitbourne, S. K., Park, I. J. K., Hudson, M., Zamboanga, B. L., Bersamin, M. M., & Williams, M. K.
Affiliations
  • University of Miami (US)
  • The College of New Jersey (US)
  • Arizona State University
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • The University of Texas at Austin (US)
  • University of Kentucky (US)
  • California State University-Northridge
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst (US)
  • University of Notre Dame (US)
  • University of San Francisco (US)
  • Smith College (US)
  • California State University, Sacramento (US)
  • University of Connecticut (US)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Clinical Psychology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2012-04
Volume
69
Issue
4
Pages
n/a-n/a
ISSN
0021-9762 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1002/jclp.21847
PMC
PMC7871524
OpenAlex
W1947086362
Cited by
83
References
119
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 1
FWCI
27.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1 (tdm, 1248 d)
Locations
  • Journal of Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • California State University ScholarWorks (system-wide DSpace) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2CHD042849)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
Keywords
acculturation, well-being, first-generation immigrants, immigrant children, individualism, collectivism, cultural identification, heritage culture, eudaimonic well-being, psychological well-being, subjective well-being, ethnic identity
MeSH terms
Acculturation, Adolescent, Adult, Culture, Female, Humans, Male, Social Identification, Students, United States, Universities, Emigrants and Immigrants, Young Adult

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