Several descriptions seek to explain culture and its components. Culture creates a unique bond among the people, which enables them to live with each other. It is the humans' adaptive way to survive in the world through the creation of a social world within the natural domain (Ratner, 2008). Culture is defined as the way of life of a particular group of people. It includes the beliefs, values, language, symbols, and artifacts that are unique to a specific society. These components of culture are passed from one generation to the next orally and through imitation.
This definition of culture suggests that the components of culture can be classified into two primary categories. These are the non-material culture and material culture. The non- material culture includes the cultural values, beliefs, and the language that characterize a culture. The material culture, on the other hand, consists of the physical objects that are unique to a particular culture. These include the artifacts, clothing, and the tools used within society.
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Some examples of culture include the Western culture, Eastern culture, and African culture. The cultures are described based on the region of the world where it is practiced. The Western culture, for instance, is unique to countries in the West region of the world, such as the United States. The Eastern culture is unique to most Asian countries such as Japan and China, while the African culture is specific to countries in Africa. However, each country may have its distinctive cultures that are specific to tribes within the nation.
The cultural beliefs, values, and practices differ from one culture to another (Ratner, 2008). This may raise issues when two different cultures are integrated within the same region. Also, the difference in cultural values, beliefs, and even language may create barriers to individuals who move to a new region with different cultures. The current event that I will discuss will illustrate how these differences in culture have triggered issues that affect immigrants.
The Current Event
In recent years, the United States has faced an immigration crisis at the US-Mexico border. The crisis has sparked debate between the Democrats and the Republicans on how to deal with the crisis. The treatment of the immigrants at the border, especially children, has received criticism from opposition lawmakers and human rights groups. A recent news article revealed some of the horrifying conditions that children face in the border control custody.
About 2000 children are usually held in the US Border control custody on any particular day. They are kept for days or weeks contrary to the legal requirements. The law demands that the children should be sent to the Department of Health and Human Services within 72 hours after arrival on the border (Lind, 2019). The conditions in the detention facilities are horrifying and inhuman. The Flores agreement requires that immigrant children in US custody be treated decently. In one particular facility in Texas, investigators found out that the facility had lice outbreak yet the authorities did little to curb the menace.
The stories given by the investigators sparked outrage from American citizens, and the pressure led to the resignation of the acting commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection. The situation also received criticism from lawmakers such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who referred to the cells as concentration camps (Lind, 2019). Some policymakers argue that the current situation at the border custody facilities is due to limited resources that the US government allocates to the Customs and Border Protection department. Other lawmakers feel that there is a need for Congress to increase the resource allocation to ensure that the border crisis is mitigated.
The number of immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras has continually increased in recent months (Lind, 2019). The facilities at the border do not have adequate resources to handle the rising numbers, which leads to the crisis at the border. The ill-treatment at the border has a significant impact on the psychological health of the immigrants in the long run. Some children have died in US custody, and this leaves a permanent imprint in the minds of the young children. The mistreatment of the immigrant children at the border reveals some of the challenges that they face due to their cultural differences. Also, the situation at the border alludes that immigrants who live on the US soil face challenges in almost every aspect of their lives.
Lifespan Development
Their culture significantly impacts immigrant children development. The cultural background of these children may have an impact on their language development. Also, discrimination associated with cultural differences may lead to psychological issues that may derail their cognitive development. For instance, language competence is essential for adaptation in a new culture. The immigrant children speak a different language from that spoken by the natives. This significantly impacts their integration into the new culture. The natives also tend to be skeptical of the immigrants, which further affect their integration into the new culture.
Also, language incompetency due to cultural differences impacts the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive development of immigrant children (Hoff, 2018). Studies indicate that immigrant children are more likely to show delays in cognitive development, an aspect that psychologists attribute to language incompetence. This explains the low academic achievement in immigrant children. Language competency is essential for social communication and navigation (Hoff, 2018). It is crucial in the formation of friendships in school and other social settings. The language competency in immigrant children is limited, and this negatively impacts their social and behavioral development. Language competency, therefore, limits the social adaptation of these children, which affect their development.
Specific Recommendations
Cultural differences such as language, beliefs, and values may lead to discrimination of immigrants. The bias may be experienced at the border and also on the US soil. The impact of this discrimination on children development has been an issue of interest to psychologists. Several studies indicate that the influence of culture on human development is real and should not be ignored. The children are most affected since they are still developing, and the cross-cultural interaction impacts their development. Psychological approaches can be used to address the immigrants issue at the border and on the US soil. Some of the approaches include revisiting cultural awareness and relevancy, as well as the promotion of cultural humility.
Cultural Awareness and Relevancy
Cultural awareness is an essential remedy to the issues that face immigrant children in the United States. Globalization has led to continued interaction of cultures from across the world (Abi-Hashem, 2015). The advancement in technology has made it easier for people from different cultural backgrounds to interact with each other. It is therefore essential to learn of different cultures to ensure that we can socially interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. In schools, students should be equipped with adequate knowledge of different cultures to enable them to deal with the complex phenomena of the various global cultural backgrounds.
Cultural awareness will boost respect for other people’s culture and also maintain cultural relevancy. For instance, in the immigrant crisis in the United States, cultural knowledge of the immigrants' culture would facilitate their smooth transition to the new culture. Also, cultural awareness would reduce discrimination of the immigrants both at the borders and inside the United States. The locals would be more understanding of their cultural beliefs and values as well as language incompetency and assist them in adapting to the new cultural setup. It is crucial to realize that cultural self-awareness should be frequent and up-to-date. This is because we are living in a dynamic world where societies are drastically varying in terms of their cultural values and beliefs.
Cultural Humility
Cultural humility is the cornerstone that ensures positive interaction between culturally different people. Globalization has increased interactions between people with different cultural backgrounds. For instance, psychologists interact with people from different cultural backgrounds in their work. This emphasizes the reality of globalization; hence, cultural interactions cannot be ignored. Cultural humility is essential to ensure effective interaction between culturally different individuals. Both individuals should not feel that their culture is superior to the other. This promotes respect for other people's culture, and issues such as discrimination are significantly reduced.
Cultural humility involves the willingness to acknowledge that we are limited in understanding the cultural background of others. It requires people to respect the viewpoints of others and appreciate their cultural identity and experience (Abi-Hashem, 2015). The aspect of cultural humility would help to curb the immigrant crisis in the United States. This is because all individuals would be open to understand the cultural background of the immigrants and appreciate their identity. Instances of discrimination would, therefore, be curbed.
In conclusion, it is essential to appreciate other people's cultural values and beliefs. Culture can shape the development of an individual socially and psychologically. It is, therefore, crucial to be sensitive to this fact and create an environment where every individual develops to their potential. Immigrant children deserve better treatment to ensure they experience healthy cognitive, social, and behavioral development.
References
Abi-Hashem, N. (2015). Revisiting cultural awareness and cultural relevancy. The American Psychologist, 70(7), 66–661
Hoff, E. (2018). Bilingual development in children of immigrant families. Child development perspectives, 12(2), 80-86.
Lind, D. (2019). The horrifying conditions facing kids in border detention, explained. Retrieved 27 August 2019, from https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/25/18715725/children-border-detention-kids-cages-immigration
Ratner, C. (2008). Cultural psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and indigenous psychology. Nova Publishers.
