Acculturation Gap

The following pages discuss four research studies that empirically investigate the links

between acculturation gap and negative effects on child outcomes. Acculturation gap refers to

the extent to which the individual acculturation levels differ between parents and adolescents.

The study of acculturation gap is important for developing an understanding of how

acculturation gap impacts psychological, emotional, and academic outcomes in adolescents. This

paper will discuss descriptions of the measurements used, how acculturation gap is

conceptualized, conclusions about its positive or negative affects, and the most significant

features of the methodologies used in each of the research papers. Lastly, the paper will examine

conclusions about methodological weaknesses and suggestions for future research.

Bámaca-Colbert and Gayles (2010)

What were they trying to find out? Bamaca-Colbert and Gayles (2010) were

investigating which procedure among four different analytic measures best explained the

interaction between cultural orientation dissonance, family functioning, and adolescent

adjustment in sample of mother-daughter pairs of Mexican descent.

Who did they study? Their sample included daughters in the 7th and 10th grades and their

mothers. There were 159 early-adolescent girls, 160 late-adolescent girls, and 319 mothers who

participated in the study.

How did they do the study? Bamaca-Colbert and Gayles (2010) used the Bidimentional

Acculturation Scale for Hispanics to determine mothers’ and daughters’ language-related cultural

orientation. They used The Cultural Values Scale to measure mothers’ and daughter’s cultural

orientation with respect to values. The frequency of conflict was assessed with a modified

version of the Parent-Adolescent Conflict Scale. Daughters’ perceptions of their mothers’

supportive parenting was assessed with the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. Daughters’

depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression

Scale. Daughters’ anxiety states were assessed with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for

Children-Trait Version. They used for analytic procedures (two variable-centered approaches

and two person-centered approaches) for examining the interplay between culture orientation

dissonance, family functioning, and adolescent adjustment regarding acculturation, enculturation,

and familism. The measures used were difference scores, interactions, matched/mismatched

groups, and latent profile analysis (LPA). The two person-centered approaches,

matched/mismatched groups and LPA, yielded low matched, mismatched, and high matched

levels corresponding to acculturation, enculturation, and familism and five profile groups

(Cultural Orientation Dissonance Dyads (P1), Low Acculturated Daughter Dyads (P2), Familism

Matched Dyads (P3), Low Enculturated Dyads (P4), and Cultural Orientation Matched Dyads

(p5)) respectively.

What did they find? The difference score analysis showed that higher levels of parent-

child conflict were related to higher levels of depressive symptoms, higher levels of maternal

supportive parenting were related to lower levels of depressive symptoms, and that higher levels

of conflict in daughters’ reports related to higher levels of anxiety. The Interactive Analytic

Procedure showed that higher levels of conflict were related to higher levels of depressive

symptoms, higher levels of maternal supportive parenting were related to lower levels of

depressive symptoms, and it exhibited a grade x familism interaction. Only 7th graders showed

that mother-daughter familism was related to depression. It also revealed that for daughters with

average familism, a one-unit increase in mothers; familism level was related to a larger effect of

daughter familism on depressive symptoms. Effects of daughter familism on depressive

symptoms were the greatest when mothers had high familism levels. Higher levels of conflict

and enculturation were linked to higher anxiety levels in this analytic procedure. The

matched/mismatched analytic procedure showed significant effects for maternal supportive

parenting and for the mothers’ report of conflict. A significant enculturation group x mothers’

report of conflict interaction was also revealed. The procedure indicated that links between

conflict and depressive symptoms were strongest for the mismatched enculturated group,

moderate in the matched high Enculturated group, and non-existent in the matched low

Enculturated group. There was a significant enculturation group x conflict interaction, and the

links between conflict and anxiety were only visible in the high matched enculturated group. The

LPA procedures’ significant results revealed that P1 had higher mean levels of depressive

symptoms than all the other groups, P2 had higher mean levels of depressive symptoms than did

P3, and that there was a significant cultural orientation by grade interaction. It also showed that

P1 had a higher mean level of depressive symptoms than those in all the other groups for the 7th

graders, daughters in P2 had higher mean depressive symptoms that those in P3 and P5, and 10th

graders in P1 had higher mean depressive symptoms than those in P3. Significant findings in this

procedure were a significant cultural orientation effect, P1 and P2 has higher mean levels of

anxiety than P3 and P5, and P4 had a higher mean level of anxiety than did P5.

What can they conclude from the study? The researchers concluded that results did

indeed change depending on the procedure used and that LPA was the best analytic procedure

used for explaining the interactions between cultural orientation, family functioning, and

clarifying how adolescent adjustment changed as a function of mother-daughter cultural

orientation dissonance and family functioning.

Costigan and Dokis (2006)

What were they trying to find out? Costigan and Dokis (2006) were investigating the

magnitude of parent-child acculturation differences among immigrant Chinese families in both

acculturation and enculturation domains in British Columbia (BC), Canada. They were also

wanted to add to the literature of past studies on acculturation gap by evaluating three aspects of

adjustment and using multidimentional and orthogonal assessment of accultuation.

Who did they study? They had 89 father, 91 mother, and 91 child participants. The

children ranged in ages from 9 to 15.

How did they do the study? The researchers identified public and private domains for

acculturation. They took independent self-reports of accultuation from mothers, fathers, and

children. They used the interaction analysis method between parents’ and children’s

acculturation reports in regression analyses. Canadian and Chinese behavioral practices (public

domains) of acculturation were assessed with a modified version of the Acculturation Rating

Scale for Mexican Americans-II. Private domains of acculturations were assessed with measures

of ethnic cultural values and host culture values of importance. Chinese values were assessed

with the Asian Value Scale. Canadian values were assessed by examining the parents’ views of

the appropriate amount of adolescent independence. Parent-child intensity of conflict was

measured with the Issues Checklist. Children’s depressive symptoms were measured with the

Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Children’s achievement motication was

measured with the Value of Academic Success Scale.

What did they find? They found that higher conflict intensity was related with higher

feelings of depression and lower achievement motivation and higher feelings of depression was

related to lower achievement motivation. The following discussion contains significant findings

from their research. As children’s chinese language use increased intensity of conflict would

decrease but only when moms also had high Chinese language use. As children’s chinese

language use increased, feelings of depression decreased but only when moms also had high

chinese language use. As chilren’s chinese language use increased, depression would increase

but only when moms had low chinese language use. As children’s chinese language use

increased, achievement motivation increased but only when moms also had high chinese

language use. As children’s chinese media use increased, intensity of conflict would decrease but

only when moms also had high chinese media use. As children’s chinese media use increased,

achievement motivation would increase but only when dads also had high Chinese media use. As

children’s chinese values increased, intensity of conflict decreased but only when dads also had

high chinese values. As children’s chinese values increased, feelings of depression decreased but

only when dads had high chinese values as well. As children’s canadian media use increased,

achievement motivation increased but only when moms also had high canadian media use.

What can they conclude? They concluded that parents’ level of engagement in the

Chinese culture was predictive of adjustment levels, whereas parents’ level of engagement in

Cadian culture was not. They also concluded that egative outcomes can occur but not intense

enough to have detrimental affects on the children.

Kim and Park (2011)

What were they trying to find? Kim and Park (2011) are trying to find a significant

relationship between acculturation gap and distress. They wanted to see if mother-adolescent

acculturation discrepancies would be associated with adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing

symptoms and if parent-child communication would moderate the gap-distress relationship.

Who did they study? The researchers had 77 Korean-American mother-adolescent pairs

from the Midwest. The children were between 11 and 15 years of age.

How did they do the study? The researchers employed the difference score approach

and the interaction term approach to look at how acculturation gap leads to depressive internal

and external symptoms. Adolescent and mother self-reports were used to examine levels of

acculturation and enculturation. Parent-adolescent communication and internalizing and

externalizing symptoms were measured with the adolescent self-reports. Levels of acculturation

and enculturation in mothers and adolescents were measured with the Asian American

Multidimensional Acculturation Scale. Parent-Adolescent communication was assessed with the

Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale. It measured the youths’ perceptions of the

communication quality with their mother and father. The Youth-Self Report assessed

adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

What did they find? The researchers discovered that when parent enculturation was

high, youth externalizing symptoms would increase but only when youth enculturation was also

high. They also found that as enculturation gap increased, youth internalizing symptoms would

also increase but only when father-adolescent communication was low. They were also able to

see that adolescents’ perception of communication with their fathers significantly moderated the

relationship between the enculturation gap and internalizing symptoms.

What can they conclude from the study? The researchers concluded that poor father-

adolescent communication had negative impacts for youths’ internalizing symptoms and that

under different conditions of father-child communication, different effects were seen. They also

concluded that depending on the selection of methodologies and theoretical frameworks, the

acculturation gap could affect the sensitivity of an association between acculturation gap and

child distress. They also were able to see that even with no gap, it was not as protective as

expected.

Kim, Chen, Li, Huang, and Moon (2009)

What were they trying to find out? Kim, Chen, Li, Huang, and Moon’s goal was to

look at the discrepancy between parent and child acculturation and at the discrepancy between

parent and child heritage orientation and their affect on child outcomes in Chinese Immigrant

Families. They also wanted to establish the impact that acculturation discrepancy has parenting

practices (parental support) and how the level of support, in turn, affects adolescent depressive

symptoms.

Who did they study? The researchers had a sample of 388 father-child pairs with foreign

born-father and 399 mother-adolescent pairs with foreign-born mothers.

How did they do the study? They used a bidimentional view of acculturation. They

assessed parent-child relationships as a function of affect and behavioral and communicative

parenting by monitoring and inductive reasoning. They measured acculturation using a broader

behavioral acculturation measure. They assessed acculturation with the Vancouver Index of

Acculturation. They assessed parenting through measures adapted from the Iowa Youth and

Families Project. They assessed adolescent depressive symptoms with the Center for

Epidemiologic Studies of Depression Scale. They assessed their experience of discrimination

with a scale developed by Kessler and colleagues. Fathers and mothers answered questions about

family income and highest level of education attained. The acculturation scores for mothers,

fathers, and children were assessed separately. Acculturation levels in both Chinese and

American orientations were designated as low, medium or high

What did they find? They found that if father’s and their children are discrepant in their

American orientation, fathers are less likely to use monitoring and inductive reasoning, and

children would be more likely to experience depressive symptoms. They also found that

supportive parenting mediates between acculturation gap and depressive symptoms only in

father-child relationships.

What can they conclude from the study? They concluded that generational dissonance

is not limited to economic prospects, but may also relate to adolescent adjustment problems in

other areas, especially depressive symptoms. They concluded that paternal parenting mediates

the relationship between father-child acculturation divergence and adolescent depressive

symptoms even when factors such as socioeconomic status, their sense of discrimination,

parents’ length of time in the United States, and when adolescent age and sex were controlled.

Using hierarchical regression analyses of the interaction terms, 3 dependent variables were

predicted (intensity of conflict, feelings of depression, and achievement motivation).

How is acculturation gap conceptualized as well as operationalized in each study?

In Bamaca-Colbert and Gayles (2010)’s paper, there were four different analytical

approaches to how the researchers conceptualized acculturation gap. Two approaches were

variable centered. The other two were person centered. The variable centered approaches

consisted of a difference score and an interaction measurement. The person-centered approaches

were accomplished using match/mismatch groupings (arbitrary grouping) and acculturation

profiles (latent profiles). Difference scores were calculated for three cultural orientation variables

(mother and daughter acculturation, mother and daughter enculturation, and mother and daughter

familism). The operationalization of the difference score for each variable was accomplished by

subtracting the mothers’ acculturation score from the daughters’ acculturation score, subtracting

the daughters’ enculturation score from the mothers’ enculturation score, and by subtracting the

daughters’ familism score from the mothers’ familism score. The operationalization for the

interaction approach was accomplished by centering all the cultural orientation and family

variables at the mean and then creating interaction terms for three cultural orientation variables:

mother x daughter acculturation, mother x daughter enculturation, and mother x daughter

familism. Interactions were also created for mother by daughter orientation by family factor, and

mother by daughter orientation by grade. Match/mismatch groups were created for acculturation,

enculturation, and familism levels. Mothers’ and daughters’ values were cross-tabulated

separately for each of the variables, and three categorical grouping variables were created

corresponding to acculturation, enculturation, and familism. Each of the variables had three

levels: low matched, mismatched, and high matched. The low matched pairs contained mothers

and daughters in the lower 33% of a distribution curve for acculturation, enculturation, and

familism. The mismatched pairs contained mothers and daughters in opposite percentiles for

each of the variables (e.g., daughters in the bottom 33% and mothers in the top 33% and vice

versa). The high matched pairs contained mothers and daughters who were both in the top 66%

of the distribution curve. Nine groups were created using this approach. The second person-

centered approach was the latent profile/class analysis model. Individuals or mother-daughter

pairs were classified into groups. In the first step, cultural orientation profiles were empirically

derived for mothers and daughters independently using their cultural orientation levels and their

responses on family conflict and maternal supportive parenting. In the second step, the

researchers made groups where mothers and daughters were similar or different in their

classifications of cultural orientation. The latent profile analysis yielded a five-profile solution.

The profiles were created with respect to acculturation, enculturation, and familism level. The

researchers provided labels for each of the five profiles. Profiles 1-5 were labeled Cultural

Orientation Dissonance Dyads, Low Acculturated Daughters Dyads, Familism Matched Dyads,

Low Enculturated Dyads, and Cultural Orientation Matched Dyads respectfully.

In Costigan and Dokis (2006)’s paper, they used the interaction approach to

conceptualize acculturation gap. The researchers divided the sample into terciles to describe the

extent of acculturation dissonance and cross-tabulated parent and children’s reports on each

acculturation variable (e.g., Chinese language use, Canadian language use, Canadian media use,

etc.). They took the mothers’ acculturation scores for each of the acculturation variables and

multiplied them by their child’s acculturation scores for each variable to come up with the

interaction terms. They did the same with the acculturation scores for the fathers in the study.

They looked for significant interactions and graphed them. They wanted to determine if a high

acculturation score on one of the acculturation variables by parents and a low score on that same

acculturation variable by children led to an acculturation gap and vice versa. They took parent

and children’s multiplicative scores and graphed them to see if the slopes were either positive or

negative. They looked at children’s acculturation level in predicting intensity of conflict, feelings

of depression, and achievement motivation at high and low levels parents’ acculturation. Six

hierarchical regression analyses were done for each dependent variable, one for each of the

acculturation variables.

In Kim and Park (2011)’s paper, the researchers used the difference score approach and

the interaction term method to conceptualize acculturation gap. The difference scores for

acculturation gap were calculated by subtracting mothers’ acculturation scores from the youths’

acculturation scores. The difference scores for enculturation gap were calculated by subtracting

youths’ enculturation scores form the mothers’ enculturation scores. The acculturation and

enculturation scores were derived from the Asian American Multidimensional Acculturation

Scale. The interaction term method was operationalized by mean-centering the mothers’ and

youths’ acculturation and enculturation scores and then multiplying the mothers’

acculturation/enculturation score by the youths’ acculturation/enculturation score to produce an

interaction term. Hierarchical multiple regression was then used to test for main effects of

mothers’ and youths’ acculturation and enculturation levels and the interaction of those

variables.

In Kim, Chen, Li, Huang, and Moon (2009)’s paper, the researchers used an acculturation

classification to conceptualize acculturation gap. They divided the sample in terms of low,

medium, and high acculturation. The bottom 33% was labeled low in acculturation. The next

33% was labeled medium in acculturation, and the highest third was labeled high in terms of

their acculturation score. If both the daughter and mother were low, medium, or high in terms of

their acculturation levels, they were assigned a score of 1. A score of 1 meant that a small gap in

acculturation was present. If the child was medium and the mother was low, a child medium and

the mother high, or if the child was high and the mother was medium in terms of their

acculturation scores, they were assigned a score of 2 meaning that there was a medium level of

acculturation gap present. If the mother was high and the child was low, or if the mother was

low and the child was high, they would be assigned a score of 3. A score of 3 meant that a large

acculturation gap was present. Four acculturation discrepancy scores were derived from

adolescents’ responses on the American orientation subscale measure when cross-classified with

parents’ responses (father-adolescent and mother-adolescent American orientation discrepancy

and father-adolescent and mother-adolescent Chinese orientation discrepancy).

Which of the four approaches to conceptualizing/operationalizing acculturation gap do you

find most convincing?

The latent profile analysis approach was the most sensitive instrument in assessing the

interactions among cultural orientation, family factors, and youth adjustment. It was a more

rigorous approach than the other person-centered approach because the groups were empirically

derived versus arbitrarily derived. It also displayed the heterogeneity among the group being

studied the best, and it was able to better capture unusual patterns such as mothers being more

acculturated than their children.

Across the three papers (Bámaca-Colbert & Gayles, 2010; Costigan & Dokis, 2006; Kim,

Chen, Li, Huang, & Moon, 2009), what can you conclude about whether acculturation gap

has a positive or negative effect on child development in minority/immigrant families?

After analyzing the findings in the paper by Bamaca-Colbert and Gales (2010), their

study demonstrated that acculturation gap led to negative adolescent adjustment. The researchers

found that cultural discrepancies coupled with high conflict and low maternal supportive

parenting was the most detrimental to the adjustment of the sample of adolescents they studied.

They identified various other forms of acculturation dissonance. All of which led to negative

developmental outcomes such as depressive symptoms and anxiety.

In Costigan and Dokis (2006)’s paper, their study showed that enculturation

discrepancies were the most harmful for child development in terms of conflict intensity,

depressive feelings, and achievement motivation when parents were highly oriented toward their

ethnic culture. Differences in endorsement of the host culture between parents and children did

not significantly affect adolescent development except for 1 out of 18 interaction terms in the

Canadian dimension.

In Kim, Chen, Li, Huang, and Moon (2009)’s paper, acculturation gap demonstrated to

have negative effects on child development in the minority families of their study. The

researchers’ study found that American orientation discrepancies between fathers and

adolescents were associated with unsupportive parenting practices, which, in turn, was associated

with more depressive symptoms in adolescents.

Does Kim and Park (2011) complicate the findings made in the other three papers about

the relationship between acculturation gap and child outcomes in minority/immigrant

families? Why or why not?

Kim and Park (2011) found that parents and their children who were highly match in

terms of their enculturation led to higher levels of externalizing problems. The literature on

acculturation has hypothesized that not as many problem behaviors would be present when a

match occurs. Kim and Park found higher levels of delinquency despite this common prediction.

What are the most salient features of the study methodology or approach that you believe

is useful to maintain/discard if you were to design a future study on this topic?

Bamaca-Colbert and Gayles (2010)’s study had many methodological positives and

negatives. The researchers only studied mothers and daughters. Other studies have found the

overwhelming importance of the father’s role in child development. A positive aspect in the

methodology of the study was that they examined early adolescent and late adolescent groups.

The study of both groups allowed them to compare the degree and variability of the outcomes

between the two groups. In general, affects were stronger for early adolescents.

Costigan and Dokis (2006)’s study used a snowball sampling technique. Participants

helped find someone else like them, and as a result, the sample may have lost its randomness. It

could also be a benefit because the families may have similar traits.

Kim and Park (2011)’s study took place in the Midwest, where less ethnic minorities are

found. Their study was unique, and their findings were different from everyone else’s. The

differences may have been due to the geographical region. Their recruitment methodology may

have been a limitation in their study. The researchers relied on Korean churches to gather their

sample. They may have been artificially selecting people that were highly enculturated because

of their Korean church attendance.

Another limitation was that they didn’t sample fathers directly. They used the children to sample

and report on their fathers. This could have artificially inflated the negative perceptions that

children had about their fathers if they were disgruntled.

Kim, Chen, Li, Huang, and Moon (2009)’s implementation of a cross-sectional study

design may have been a limitation. This method may have distorted the ability to test for

alternative directions of influence in the constructs. A positive aspect of their methodology was

that the researchers assessed the associations between parental quality as defined by affective,

behavioral, and communicative parenting and discrepancies in American and Chinese

orientations between parents and children.

Future Research Direction and Summary of Two Peer Reviewed Papers

Future research should directly incorporate more fathers into studies. Fathers

appear to have a significant role in the relationship between acculturation gap and father-child

relationship quality on child development. A study by Schofield, Parke, Kim, and Coltrane

(2008) found that acculturation gaps were related to increased parent-child conflicts only for

father-child acculturation gaps. They also found that father-child acculturation gaps were related

to more father-child conflict only in families with low father-child relationship quality. Another

study by Weaver and Kim (2008), demonstrated that fathers’ supportive parenting was lower

when adolescents were more oriented toward the host culture and fathers were more oriented

toward their heritage culture.

References

Bámaca-Colbert, M. Y., & Gayles, J. G. (2010). Variable-centered and person-centered approaches to studying Mexican-origin mother–daughter cultural orientation dissonance. Journal of Youth And Adolescence, 39(11), 1274-1292. doi:10.1007/s10964-009-9447-3

Costigan, C. L., & Dokis, D. P. (2006). Relations between parent-child acculturation differences and adjustment within immigrant Chinese families. Child Development, 77, 1252-1267.

Kim, M., & Park, I. K. (2011). Testing the moderating effect of parent–adolescent communication on the acculturation gap–distress relation in Korean American families. Journal of Youth And Adolescence, 40(12), 1661-1673. doi:10.1007/s10964-011-9648-4

Kim, S. Y., Chen, Q., Li, J., Huang, X., & Moon, U. J. (2009). Parent-child acculturation, parenting, and adolescent depressive symptoms in Chinese immigrant families. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 426-437.

Schofield, T. J., Young, K., Parke, R. D., & Coltrane, S. (2008). Bridging the Acculturation Gap: Parent—Child Relationship Quality as a Moderator in Mexican American Families. Developmental Psychology, 44(4), 1190-1194. doi:10.1037/a0012529

Weaver, S., & Kim, S. (2008). A Person-centered Approach to Studying theLinkages among Parent–Child Differences in Cultural Orientation, SupportiveParenting, and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms in Chinese American Families. Journal Of Youth & Adolescence, 37(1), 36-49.doi:10.1007/s10964-007-9221-3