Acculturation and subjective well-being: the case of Turkish ethnic youth in Germany

Abstract

Using a sample of youth with a Turkish background living in Germany, the study aimed to identify their cultural identifications and acculturation attitudes, and test the effects of cultural identifications together with background variables on cognitive and affective aspects of subjective well-being. Measures of identification with the Turkish and German cultures, Turkish identity, German identity, dual identity, life satisfaction, and positive and negative affect were used. The most favored acculturation strategy was integration followed by separation. Whereas heritage-culture identification and mainstream-culture identification were found to be independent of each other, both contributed to the well-being of immigrants, with the former predicting affective and the latter predicting cognitive well-being. Turkish identity, German identity, as well as dual identity as both Turkish and German contributed to the well-being of the youth. Besides, dual identification had a unique contribution to well-being outcomes above and beyond other acculturation variables.