Acculturation Attitudes among Young Immigrants as a Function of Perceived Parental Attitudes toward Cultural Change

Abstract

This study investigated the acculturation attitudes among young Third World immigrants in a predominantly culturally homogeneous society, Norway. How these attitudes were influenced by perceived parental attitudes toward cultural change was examined also. Questionnaire responses from young adolescents 10 through 17 years of age (N = 568) indicated that integration and separation were the two most preferred forms of acculturation, and that these were related to the length of time the individual had been exposed to the acculturation experience. The preference given to integration and separation suggested that these adolescents placed a great deal of importance on the maintenance of their cultural heritage when it came to their acculturation. Boys more than girls were found to favor assimilation. Perceived parental attitudes were found to account for about 20% of the variation of the adolescents' mode of acculturation, with perceived parental attitude toward living like a Norwegian as the most important single predictor.