Immigrant Adolescents Behaving as Culture Brokers: A Study of Families From the Former Soviet Union

Abstract

In immigrant families, culture brokering (CB) occurs when children mediate the new culture for their family. The authors examined CB in Russian immigrant adolescent-mother dyads (N = 226) to determine the types and amounts of CB that Russian adolescents performed, why adolescents assumed the CB role, and how the role affected adolescent and familial functioning. The present results indicated that most adolescents reported CB for their families (89%). Children of families that more recently arrived in the U.S., with mothers who were less American-language acculturated, culture brokered more. Higher levels of CB related to (a) higher adolescent stress and reports of problems at home and with friends and (b) lower feelings of school membership. Parent-reported problems at home did not relate to CB. The authors discussed implications for future research on the role of the child as culture broker.