Author: santorem

Immigrants and their children have become a significant segment of American society. Immigrants migrate from various countries possessing diverse backgrounds, beliefs, customs, and languages¹. Families migrate for multiple reasons but all share in the stress of migration that can have lasting effects on the immigrant family. Once these families arrive, they are challenged with adapting to a new language, customs, roles, and activities¹. This can result in conflict between parents and their children, as children readily adapt to the new culture which can differ from their parent’s beliefs and expectations. Children may turn to others for advice, experience divided loyalties, and confusion regarding their cultural identity¹.

Another significant factor in migration is the existence of undocumented parents. In immigrant families, approximately 4.5 million of US citizen children live in families where at least one member is undocumented with an authorized status². Since the 1990s, there has been a growing number of deportations due to stricter laws so the risk of deportation is a real threat that families may face². This threat challenges families who are dealing with multiple socioeconomic stressors resulting in psychological difficulties¹. Immigrants also face the fear of reporting abuse to authorities and the inability to access both medical and mental health services^1,2. Children of these family’s risk developing emotional distress, poor academic performance, physical illness, and developmental delays^2,3. If a parent is detained, this can have devastating effects on the child, leaving them without adequate childcare and the reversal of family roles as the remaining parent struggles to meet the family’s needs².

Furthermore, another potential outcome of detainment is a parent’s difficult decision to either remain separated from their child through deportation or to have the child accompany them back to their country of origin². Detainment itself can lead to negative effects on both the individual and family, resulting in anxiety, depression, trauma, poor school performance, and increased risk of suicide³. If the separation persists, these children can even be at risk for drug use, poor interpersonal relationships, and even delinquent behavior^2,3.  The immigrant community is also impacted by a family’s risk of deportation through increased fear, unreported crime, violence due to fear of discovery, and mistrust of authorities².

Although there have been recent efforts to improve the immigration process through advocacy groups as well as President Trump’s recent signing of an executive order putting an end to family separation, the process of detainment still negatively affects children and their families³. Mental health professionals, advocates, and researchers agree that families must be provided support to address mental health problems that can occur throughout the migration process¹. This support can be challenging as immigrants may hesitate to receive services due to fear of deportation, cultural beliefs, and barriers to accessing treatment. In addition, if treatment is not culturally sensitive, it may result in lack of trust and improper treatment based on an inaccurate assessment¹. Therefore, it is important that mental health professionals be knowledgeable on how to modify treatment to be more culturally sensitive in order to improve outcomes. This includes the need to understand an individual’s perspective, coping skills, prior history, and the emotional impact of migration¹. Further steps can also include increasing a clinician’s self-awareness through supervision, use of professional and community resources, and utilizing culturally sensitive practices¹. Mental health professionals, educators, and others who work with immigrant families must continue in their efforts to advance research, improve clinical practice, and understand the complexity of the migration process¹.

References

1. APA Presidential Taskforce on Immigration (2013). Working with immigrant origin clients: An update for mental health professionals.
2. Brabeck, K. M., Lykes, M. B., & Hunter, C. (2014). The psychosocial impact of detention and deportation on U.S. migrant children and families. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(5), 496–505. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000011
3. Ducharme, J. (2018). Detaining families may also cause mental health issues. Retrieved from https://time.com/5317762/psychological-effects-detaining-immigrant-families

There continues to be a growing wave of immigrants entering the US. However, the face of this current immigrant differs from prior decades in that the immigrant’s country of origin may be vastly different from the new culture⁴. This change has served to complicate the process of acculturation which is defined as a process of adopting cultural traits and patterns from another culture⁴. Earlier perspectives of acculturation noted the expectation that immigrants would naturally adopt the values, beliefs, and practices as well as the language of the new culture while letting go of their initial culture. However, current perspectives on acculturation recognizes that this process can occur in a variety of ways⁴. An individual can adopt the new culture while discarding the old, referred to as assimilation, adopt the new culture while retaining the old, referred to as integration, and may even reject both cultures which is called marginalization. There are individual differences in how people achieve social, psychological, and cultural adaptation of the new culture. Those that pursue the integration type of acculturation experience less stress than those who choose marginalization¹.Research has noted that the type of acculturation with the greatest degree of success with reduced stress is integration¹.

Furthermore, the process of acculturation is impacted by factors which include: the individual’s ability to adjust, the level of familiarity with the new culture, existence of available resources, and the presence of existing barriers such as lack of citizenship⁶. Therefore, entering a new country is only the first step in the process of successful acculturation and learning a new language. The greater the difference in the two cultures, the harder it will be to assimilate and master a new language. Individuals may develop the ability to converse in English but a deeper level of understanding to allow them to succeed in school takes several years⁵. Both acculturation and mastering a new language occurs over time. In both of these processes, it is critical that there be existing resources to promote the learning process in order to reduce potential failure⁵.

A significant barrier faced by immigrants is their lack of citizenship and legal documentation. This dilemma impacts not only the individual, put the entire family. This is particularly true in children as they develop and seek to pursue higher education and independence. Their ability to successfully complete the goal of separation from family is obstructed by their illegal status⁶. However, despite barriers, immigrants adjust to a new environment with their children seeking academic advancement and improved educational outcomes. For example, in Latino/a immigrants children, a higher level of acculturation is associated with their ability and desire to pursue a college education⁷.

As acculturation continues, first and second generation children demonstrate a decline in academic success. This decline has been referred to as the immigrant paradox². There has been growing research that as children become removed from their parent’s initial incentive to migrate to a new country in search of greater opportunities and more exposure to American peers, they lose their enthusiasm and drive³. Therefore, it is critical that the process of acculturation be better understood related to a more integrated perspective of what factors either support or hinder successful acculturation. In addition, consideration must be given to supporting this process through the generations to provide early intervention and to counter the effects of the immigrant paradox². Both acculturation and the immigrant paradox must be better understood as these concepts continue to impact a family and a child’s development, not only upon entry to a new country but through their lifespan³.

References

1. Berry, J.W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29,697-712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.07.013
2. Greenman, E. (2013). Educational attitudes, school peer context, and the “immigrant paradox” in education. Social Science Research, 42(3), 698–714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2012.12.014
3. Marks, A. K., Ejesi, K., & García Coll, C. (2014). Understanding the U.S. immigrant paradox in childhood and adolescence. Child Development Perspectives, 8(2), 59–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12071
4. Schwartz, S. J., Unger, J. B., Zamboanga, B. L., & Szapocznik, J. (2010). Rethinking the concept of acculturation: Implications for theory and research. American Psychologist, 65(4), 237–251. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019330
5. Suárez-Orozco, C., Suárez-Orozco, M. M., & Todorova, I. (2008). Learning a new land: Immigrant students in American society. Cambridge, MA, US: Belknap Press/Harvard University Press. (The Challenge of Language Acquisition)
6. Suárez-Orozco, C., Yoshikawa, H., Teranishi, R. T., & Suárez-Orozco, M. M. (2011). Growing up in the shadows: The developmental implications of unauthorized status. Harvard Educational Review, 81(3), 438–472.
7. Vela, J. C., Johnson, M.B., Cavazos, L., Ikonomopoulos, J., & Gonzalez S. L. (2014). The effects of barriers, acculturation, and academic goals on Latina/o students’ academic performance. The American Counseling Association, 1-11. Retrieved from https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/vistas/article_37.pdf?sfvrsn=6

American society has experienced a growing immigration population with an estimated number of 39.9 million immigrants. These immigrants arrive primarily from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean with diverse levels of education, skills, values, and customs¹. These immigrants face multiple challenges which includes: unfamiliar customs, language, economic burdens, and discrimination. This can result in stress to the family as they seek to overcome these barriers. This process of adjusting to a new culture is referred to as acculturation. Developmental psychologists must gain an increased understanding of acculturation in order to understand its impact on the immigrant family and more importantly on a child’s development. Acculturation is impacted by both the individual’s ability to cope and the attitudes of the receiving society. This interactive process can also be referred to as proximal processes, reinforcing the importance of the interaction between the individual and their environment and its impact on development³.

The level of stress experienced by the family, particularly children, is directly impacted by discrimination. For Developmental psychologists, an understanding of this is critical as children are faced with the burden of discrimination while attempting to meet the expectations of adolescence. Although discrimination is not a new phenomenon, the growing differences between the immigrant population and society increase the likelihood of discrimination¹. The negative view of immigrants is reinforced by daily depictions of immigrants in the current media as dangerous, uneducated, and threatening to American values. Immigrants are perceived as competing for employment, available community resources, and an overall financial burden to society¹. It is noted that the existence of barriers such as discrimination will impact a child’s development and the ability to meet their developmental expectations⁴. Therefore, Developmental psychologists must be proactive in increasing their knowledge of the impact of acculturation and in providing culturally sensitive services to minimize negative outcomes. One such intervention is to promote intergroup relationships amongst adolescents which can increase understanding and reduce the likelihood of discrimination⁷.

A key developmental task in adolescence is the development of attitudes particularly towards different groups such as immigrants. Interactions amongst immigrant children and nonimmigrant peers can also reduce fear and isolation in the immigrant child, reducing the possibility of psychological distress⁴. An educational effort was recently noted when action was taken by Starbucks to retrain its employees following an incident of discrimination which occurred in Philadelphia⁶. Although this intervention targeted adults, it did reinforce the importance of aggressively intervening to reduce discrimination through educational efforts⁶. Developmental psychologists must support opportunities for education which target parents, children, and institutions which interact with the immigrant population⁵. A particular area of concern that requires further exploration is how individual characteristics can influence a child’s development of attitudes such as discrimination⁷. Therefore, psychologists must develop programs that are individually tailored to increase tolerance in early education before adolescent attitudes are firmly established. Such an effort was noted in a recent article in US News and World Report that discussed how to raise tolerant and inclusive children. The author recommended that elementary school educators and professionals increase a child’s exposure to individuals of different races and cultures while exposing them to more diverse ideas. This early intervention was felt to increase the existence of tolerant and inclusive behaviors².

As the numbers of immigrants are anticipated to continue to rise, both Developmental psychologist, educators, and the public must work together to reduce discrimination and its negative impact on the immigrant family, child, and society. Discrimination impacts the physical and emotional well-being of both the immigrants and the receiving society, resulting in both short term and long term consequences¹.

References

1. APA Presidential Taskforce on Immigration. (2013). Crossroads: The psychology of immigration in the new century. Journal of Latina/O Psychology, 1(3), 133–148. https://doi.org/10.1037/lat0000001
2. Borba, M. (2018, April 13). How to raise tolerant, inclusive kids. Retrieved from https://health.usnews.com/wellness/for-parents/articles/2018-04-13/how-to-raise-tolerant-inclusive-kids
3. Bronfenbrenner, U. (2000). Ecological systems theory. In A. E. Kazdin & A. E. Kazdin (Ed) (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Psychology, Vol. 3. (pp. 129–133). Washington, DC, US; New York, NY, US: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10518-046
4. García Coll, C., Lamberty, G., Jenkins, R., McAdoo, H. P., Crnic, K., Wasik, B. H., & Garcia, H. V. (1996). An integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children. Child Development, 67(5), 1891–1914. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131600
5. Gniewosz, B., & Noack, P. (2015). Parental influences on adolescents’ negative attitudes toward immigrants. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(9), 1787–1802. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0291-3
6. Lardieri, A. (2018, April 17). 8,000 Starbucks stores will close to conduct racial bias education. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2018-04-17/8-000-starbucks-stores-will-close-to-conduct-racial-bias-education
7. Zalk, M. H. W., & Kerr, M. (2014). Developmental trajectories of prejudice and tolerance toward immigrants from early to late adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(10), 1658–1671. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0164-1