How immigrants manage biculturalism
Researchers in the EU-backed project BICULTURALISM (Biculturalism: Social correlates and individual differences) studied first- and second-generation immigrants to advance knowledge in the field. The study sought to answer questions related to how they manage their cultures cognitively and emotionally, what their social networks are like, and how all this affects their integration and adjustment. First, the team conducted a social network study in Barcelona of 222 immigrants (from Ecuador, Morocco, Pakistan and Romania). This provided detailed information about their habitual social networks (composition, density and clustering). They looked at key social and individual factors involved in the development and management of biculturalism/multiculturalism. An additional focus was on how the immigrants’ personal social networks and cultural self-identification(s) jointly predicted psychological and socio-cultural adjustment. Following this, BICULTURALISM examined variations in how bicultural individuals deal with the daily challenges of negotiating between multiple and often conflicting cultural identities and value systems — a construction known as ‘Bicultural identity integration’ (BII). The mixed-methods research design comprised a qualitative study of 100 self-identified bicultural individuals and a large psychometric study. This second, quantitative component relied on the validation of the ‘Bicultural identity integration scale’ (BIIS-2) with an ethnically diverse sample of 1 000 biculturals. Results from this project phase are presented in a study submitted to the journal ‘Psychological Assessment’. Training and dissemination activities included organising a small-group conference in 2014 entitled ‘Culture and Psychology: Insights from the European Context’ and publishing the ‘Oxford handbook of multi-cultural identity: Basic and applied psychological perspectives’. A proposal for a special issue to showcase work done at the conference has been submitted to the ‘Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology’. Project findings can help improve interethnic relations through improved policy targeting social cohesion and integration. Additionally, future research can build on the knowledge generated regarding individuals’ abilities to negotiate and integrate multiple cultural belongings.
Keywords
Immigrants, biculturalism, identities, BICULTURALISM, cultural belongings, social networks
