East meets West: Ethnic identity, acculturation, and conflict in Asian Indian families.

TLDR

The study examined how family dynamics influence adolescents’ acculturation, ethnic identity achievement, and psychological functioning. One hundred eighty American‑born Asian Indian adolescents and one of their immigrant parents completed questionnaires on acculturation, ethnic identity, family conflict, anxiety, and self‑esteem. Results revealed that parent–adolescent agreement on ethnic identity was linked to higher self‑identification, that parents with separated or marginalized acculturation styles experienced greater family conflict, and that adolescents with no acculturation gap reported higher self‑esteem, lower anxiety, and reduced conflict, indicating that parents’ acculturation orientation directly shapes adolescents’ ethnic identity and psychological well‑being.

Abstract

This study examined the influence of the family on adolescents' acculturation, ethnic identity achievement, and psychological functioning. One hundred eighty American-born Asian Indian adolescents and one of their immigrant parents completed questionnaires assessing their acculturation, ethnic identity, and family conflict. Adolescents also completed anxiety and self-esteem measures. The results showed that parents' and adolescents' ratings of their self-identification and ethnic identity were positively associated. Parents who had a separated or marginalized style of acculturation reported higher family conflict than those who had an integrated or assimilated acculturation style. Adolescents reported higher self-esteem, less anxiety, and less family conflict when there was no acculturation gap between them and their parents. The findings suggest that how parents relate to their natal, as well as to the host, culture has direct effects on adolescents' ethnic identity achievement and their psychological functioning.