Acculturation and School Adjustment of Early-Adolescent Immigrant Boys and Girls in Germany
- Navigating between cultures in addition to developmental changes and challenges in early adolescence can be difficult. We investigated school, family, and ethnic group as conditions for acculturation and school adjustment among early-adolescent boys and girls. Analyses were based on 860 mostly second- and third-generation immigrant students from 71 countries (50% male; M-age = 11.59 years), attending German secondary schools. Perceived support for inclusion and integration in school and family were associated with a stronger orientation toward both cultures (integration) and better adjustment (e.g., higher school marks, more well-being). Perceived cultural distance and ethnic discrimination were associated with a stronger ethnic and weaker mainstream orientation (separation), and lower adjustment. Boys perceived contextual conditions more negatively, had a weaker mainstream orientation, and showed more behavioral problems but did not differ from girls in the associations between contextual conditions and acculturation and adjustment.Navigating between cultures in addition to developmental changes and challenges in early adolescence can be difficult. We investigated school, family, and ethnic group as conditions for acculturation and school adjustment among early-adolescent boys and girls. Analyses were based on 860 mostly second- and third-generation immigrant students from 71 countries (50% male; M-age = 11.59 years), attending German secondary schools. Perceived support for inclusion and integration in school and family were associated with a stronger orientation toward both cultures (integration) and better adjustment (e.g., higher school marks, more well-being). Perceived cultural distance and ethnic discrimination were associated with a stronger ethnic and weaker mainstream orientation (separation), and lower adjustment. Boys perceived contextual conditions more negatively, had a weaker mainstream orientation, and showed more behavioral problems but did not differ from girls in the associations between contextual conditions and acculturation and adjustment. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.…
Author details: | Maja Katharina SchachnerORCiDGND, Fons J. R. Van de VijverORCiDGND, Peter NoackGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431616670991 |
ISSN: | 0272-4316 |
ISSN: | 1552-5449 |
Title of parent work (English): | The Journal of Early Adolescence |
Subtitle (English): | Conditions in School, Family, and Ethnic Group |
Publisher: | Sage Publ. |
Place of publishing: | Thousand Oaks |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2016/10/02 |
Publication year: | 2018 |
Release date: | 2022/01/10 |
Tag: | acculturation; context; gender differences; school adjustment |
Volume: | 38 |
Issue: | 3 |
Number of pages: | 33 |
First page: | 352 |
Last Page: | 384 |
Funding institution: | federal program "ProExzellenz" of the Free State of Thuringia, Germany; Graduate School of Human Behavior in Social and Economic Change in Jena |
Organizational units: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften / Department Psychologie |
DDC classification: | 1 Philosophie und Psychologie / 15 Psychologie / 150 Psychologie |