The stages involved in the adaptation of immigrants is essential in determining the way they settle within the USA. The acculturation method they choose will depend on the experiences they go through during the adaptation process (El Hussein, Hirst, Salyers, Osuji, 2014). The impact of a particular stage of adaptation will depend on the amount of time one takes there. The first phase entails happiness and fascination before or immediately after getting into the USA. The second phase involves confusion, irritation, and disappointment since they miss family, feel lonely and have difficulty finding housing and job opportunities. Thirdly, one adjusts and recovers, and finally, he or she accepts to settle in the USA.
The differences in the sender country’s way of life and that of the USA will force the immigrant to equip himself or herself with various attributes to survive. For instance, some will have to learn a new language, deal with racism, accept jobs outside of their expectations, and find solace in people from their country (Juang & Meschke, 2017). However, others may find it easy to settle in especially when they have a job guaranteed, or they are drawn into a specific group or community of individuals. If an immigrant faces tough times adapting, their acculturation is likely to border separation and marginalization. In this case, they may choose to retain their culture and reject that of the USA or reject both of them for different ideologies.
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For those whose adaption process if reasonably smooth, they are likely to be assimilated or integrated into the USA culture. However, most immigrants, in this case, will likely feel a loss of status, distance from friends and family, and unfamiliar social systems (Yu, Cheah, & Calvin, 2016). In this regard, they mostly adopt integration acculturation by ensuring they retain elements of their culture while settling into the new one. However, it is only the first generation that may experience this kind of acculturation as the offspring will likely be fully assimilated into the US culture due to schooling, friends, and language.
Perception of Parenting in the USA compared to home country
Parenting in the USA is quite different from that of immigrants’ native counties as the children will be exposed to various tools of authority other than the parent. In this regard, it will be difficult for the parents to have full control of their children. The school, the local authorities, the friends and the religious bodies will have forceful impacts in the children of immigrants as their parents will strive for them to be fully absorbed into the culture of the new country (Rasmussen, Cissé, Han, & Roubeni, 2018). Consequently, many parents will receive many incidences of rebellion, correction, ridicule or contempt from their children if the ideas do not match those of the other entities of influence.
The parenting process in the US is different from native parenting due to the differences in the Americans’ perception of various issues. Both parents and children will meet different norms and values which are mainstream in America that may not be the same in their home country (Juang & Meschke, 2017). What is more, most of these practices are backed up by various clauses of legislation. For instance, rules regarding smoking, drinking, privacy, and religion may be different from that of the sender’s country. In this regard, the parents will have to adjust their parenting styles appropriately from that of the native nation to ensure that they do not violate rules or appear socially out of place.
The differences between native parenting and the expectations of the US society forces many immigrant parents to retain the aspects of their culture and use them only when it is essential. For instance, the knowledge of one’s background may help a youth who faces self-esteem issues to have a sense of identity and importance (Yu, Cheah, & Calvin, 2016). Therefore, in cases where the traditions from the home country help to strengthen the immigrant families’ stay in the USA, they are mentioned. However, in many cases, the native parenting aspects will be hidden beneath the desire to conform to the USA society and benefit from various opportunities.
Compromises that Immigrant Parents Make in their Acculturation Process in the US
Parents have to compromise on the language they will use. More often, immigrant families are from countries that speak different languages other than English. To communicate in their new environment, parents have to learn the indigenous language of the US and drop frequent use of their mother tongue ( Juang & Meschke, 2017 ). Such language readjustments have to be made in the family, start teaching their children and encourage them to use English. In this case, some parents urge their children to speak English when outdoors but use their native language when in the home setting.
Parents will also compromise to accept some aspects of the way of life of the US people. Different countries of origin have different norms, traditions, religions, and ways of life. The parents have to learn to accept some of the most essential attributes and beliefs of the US culture even when they do not agree with them( Spiegler, Güngör, & Leyendecker, 2016 ). They should tolerate things like the dressing code, marriage systems especially the same sex relationships, mode of justice, education systems and many more other things they will encounter.
Immigrant parents will also compromise on the control they have on their children. In many societies, parents have a responsibility to protect, nurture their children and make decisions for their families’ wellbeing. In a new culture, the caregivers may be considered rather brutal in their practices as parents by those who are not conversant with the culture to which they originate. The US child protection Acts make the parents unable to discipline their offspring as they desire ( Rasmussen et al., 2018 ). This conclusions based on their culture of destination may make parents feel ineffective. Consequently, they transfer their parental control to the educational system, which they are unfamiliar with, the community groups such as churches; and their children’s peers.
Impact of compromises on Child Rearing Practices and Ideologies
The parents have to compromise on which language is to be used which impacts on the way instructions are issued to the children. The immigrant parents force their children to use English, especially in the outside setting ( Kim, Schwartz, Perreira, & Juang, 2018 ). Learning a language different from the one that the children are familiar with may be so confusing to them and have effects on their language competence ( Rasmussen et al., 2018 ). Those parents who encourage their children to know both their indigenous languages and English especially may face opposition from their children who by now would prefer English since it is the language they use with their peers.
The compromise to accept some of the ways of life of the US people calls for parents to be more liberal and tolerant. The parents may only approve some of the beliefs and practices of the foreign country. But their children who need acceptance to their peers may acculturate quickly than their parents (El Hussein et al., 2014). Because the children are caught up in between two cultures, they may choose to deviate from the old traditions that their parents installed in them. This act may lead to conflicts between the children and parents whose intentions are to retain their culture of origin.
The compromise over parental control may lead to tense parenting. Due to the presence of the child protection act in the US, the immigrants’ parental practices of discipline to the children may be ineffective. The children get conversant with the fact that they are governed by policies and thus tend to be rebellious to their parent rules ( Juang & Meschke, 2017 ). They follow their peers and stick only to what they learn in their new environment and see their caregivers as less adequate to solve their issues. The children make their own decisions and lend a deaf ear to their parents’ advice (Kim et al., 2018). The whole situation makes the parent-children relationships messy since tensions and conflicts arise when children get more rebellious.
Effect of Culture and Acculturation of Children’s Ethnic Identity
The first generation of immigrants are the ones that will have a full sense of their heritage and ethnicity since they will have experienced aspects of both their native country and the US. However, when it comes to children, the grounded theories argue that they will be more exposed to the ways of the US as compared to the native cultures (El Hussein et al., 2014). In this regard, the children will have more aspects of the cultures of the neighborhoods where they will be living within America. Subsequent generations will end up distancing themselves from the native country unless they visit there frequently.
The process of adaptation and acculturation will interfere with the children’s ethnic identity as they will align themselves with the most familiar cultures that they find in the USA. In most cases, the immigrant children will conform to identifies with which they share the same physical appearance and aspects of language (Rasmussen et al., 2018). In this regard, the immigrants from Africa, and the Caribbean are likely to blend well with the African-American culture. In the same way, those from Sweden, Finland, and other European countries are likely to conform to the white customs. Therefore, the native identity will be a far-fetched idea in the lives of the children, but it will still have significance in the parents.
Conclusion
The environment plays a significant role in the away from an immigrant will perceive the new environment around him or her. The adaptation process is crucial in determining the kind of cultures in which they will choose. For instance, immigrants that get a safe and smooth landing within the USA are likely to be assimilated. Those that go through the normal adaptation stages may end up being integrated into the US cultures. However, individuals who have a hard time adopting may be marginalized or segregated from the new culture. The children of these immigrants will likely be entirely assimilated to the US cultures as entities that will shape their world-views will be connected to the American culture. Such include schools, religious centers, community groups, and friends. Therefore, the parent’s ethnicity and culture control over the children will be significantly reduced.
References
El Hussein, M., Hirst, S., Salyers, V., & Osuji, J. (2014). Using Grounded Theory as a method of inquiry: Advantages and disadvantages. The Qualitative Report, 19 (27), 1-15.
Juang, L. P., & Meschke, L. L. (2017). Hmong American young adults’ reflections on their immigrant parents. Journal of Family Issues , 38 (9), 1313-1335.
Kim, S. Y., Schwartz, S. J., Perreira, K. M., & Juang, L. P. (2018). Culture's influence on stressors, parental socialization, and developmental processes in the mental health of children of immigrants. Annual review of clinical psychology , 14 , 343-370.
Rasmussen, A., Cissé, A., Han, Y., & Roubeni, S. (2018). Migration Factors in West African Immigrant Parents’ Perceptions of Their Children's Neighborhood Safety. American journal of community psychology , 61 (3-4), 321-331.
Spiegler, O., Güngör, D., & Leyendecker, B. (2016). Muslim immigrant parents’ social status moderates the link between religious parenting and children’s identification with the heritage and host culture. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology , 47 (9), 1159-1177.
Yu, J., Cheah, C. S., & Calvin, G. (2016). Acculturation, psychological adjustment, and parenting styles of Chinese immigrant mothers in the United States. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology , 22 (4), 504.
