Acculturation, discrimination, and adaptation among second generation immigrant youth in Montreal and Paris

Research with immigrant youth has shown that they have a variety of orientations to their acculturation process. These different paths (“acculturation strategies”) have been described in terms of assimilation, integration, marginalisation and separation (AIMS). This research has also shown that there are variable adaptations or outcomes to acculturation. Of greatest importance is the finding that these variations in adaptation are usually related to the acculturation strategies that youth use. Generally, those who involve themselves in both their heritage culture and that of the national society (by way of integration) have the most positive psychological well-being, and are most adjusted in school and in the community; in contrast, those who are minimally involved with either culture (the marginalisation course), are least well-adapted; and those who are primarily oriented towards one or the other culture (assimilation or separation) generally fall in between these two adaptation poles. The present study examines the generality of this pattern by comparing samples from two societies that have very different policies and practices with respect immigration and acculturation: Canada and France. We measured acculturation attitudes, identity and behaviours along the two basic dimensions of cultural maintenance and social contact, and then cross-tabulated them, creating the four acculturation orientations. In both societies the usual pattern is replicated: youth who prefer integration have higher self-esteem scores than those who are marginalised; youth preferring assimilation and separation fall in between. This pattern was stronger in Canada than in France, a finding that is interpreted in terms of the differential social context faced by youth in the two societies, particularly the differing national policies and youths’ experience of discrimination.