Creating Healthy Acculturation Pathways: Integrating Theory and Research to Inform Counselors' Work with Immigrant Children

Abstract

This article has two purposes. First, it integrates the underlying principles of developmental systems theory (Ford & Lerner, 1992; Lerner, 2002, 2004) with the most recent research on immigrant youth. Second, based on an analysis of both theory and research, it offers implications for school counseling professionals' work with immigrant youth that take into account contextual factors, sources of risk and resilience, and the impact of multiple levels of development over the course of the lifespan.