“AmeriKenyan”: Lived Acculturation and Ethnic Identification of Kenyan Natives During Their Youth

Abstract

This qualitative study investigated the immigration, acculturation process, and ethnic identity experiences of six Kenyan emerging adults who immigrated to the United States during their adolescent years. Themes emerged from the data to describe their (a) immigration experience, (b) acculturation process into an individualistic culture with more of a Western worldview, (c) ethnic and racial identity, and (d) emotional response and coping. Subthemes and additional factors illustrated their experience as it relates to social life, academics, cultural context, family values, and more. Implications for multicultural psychology research and practice are addressed.

Keywords

acculturation emerging adulthood ethnic identity Kenyan mental health

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adams

J. T.

(1931). The epic of America. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company.

American Psychological Association (APA) Presidential Task Force on Immigration . (2012). Crossroads: The psychology of immigration in the new century. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/topics/immigration/report.aspx.

Arnett

J. J.

(2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469-480. DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469.

Avenevoli

Swendsen

J. P.

Burstein

Merikangas

K. R.

(2015). Major depression in the national comorbidity survey-adolescent supplement: prevalence, correlates, and treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(1), 37-44. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2014.10.010.

Beck

C. T.

(1992). The lived experience of postpartum depression: A phenomenological study. Nursing Research, 41(3), 166-170. DOI: 10.1097/00006199-199205000-00008.

Berry

J. W.

(1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology, 46(1), 5-34. DOI: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.1997.tb01087.x.

Berry

J. W.

(2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(6), 697-712. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.07.013.

Berry

J. W.

Kalin

(1995). Multicultural and ethnic attitudes in Canada: An overview of the 1991 National Survey. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue Canadienne des Sciences du Comportement, 27(3), 301-320. DOI: 10.1037/0008-400X.27.3.301.

Berry

J. W.

Kim

Minde

Mok

(1987). Comparative studies of acculturative stress. International Migration Review, 21(3), 491-511.

10.

Berry

J. W.

Phinney

J. S.

Sam

D. L.

Vedder

(2006). Immigrant youth: Acculturation, identity, and adaptation. Applied Psychology, 55(3), 303-332. DOI: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2006.00256.x.

11.

Bhatia

Ram

(2001). Rethinking ‘acculturation’ in relation to diasporic cultures and postcolonial identities. Human Development, 44(1), 1-18. DOI: 10.1159/000057036.

12.

Bochner

Hesketh

(1994). Power distance, individualism/collectivism, and job-related attitudes in a culturally diverse work group. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 25(2), 233-257. DOI: 10.1177/0022022194252005.

13.

Brown

L. S.

(2009). Cultural competence: A new way of thinking about integration in therapy. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 19(4), 340-353. DOI: 10.1037/a0017967.

14.

Cervantes

R. C.

Castro

R. G.

(1985). Stress, coping, and Mexican American mental health: A systematic review. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 7, 1-73. DOI: 10.1177/07399863850071001.

15.

Colaizzi

P. F.

(1978). Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. In Valle

R. S.

King

(Eds.), Existential-phenomenological alternatives for psychology (pp. 48–71). Oxford University Press.

16.

Crenshaw

(1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299. DOI:10.2307/1229039.

17.

Creswell

J. W.

(1998). Quality inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Sage.

18.

Creswell

J. W.

Miller

D. L.

(2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory Into Practice, 39(3), 124-130. DOI: 10.1207/s15430421tip3903_2.

19.

Creswell

J. W.

Poth

C. N.

(2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage.

20.

Deaux

Bikmen

Gilkes

Ventuneac

Joseph

Payne

Y. A.

Steele

C. M.

(2007). Becoming American: Stereotype threat effects in Afro-Caribbean immigrant groups. Social Psychology Quarterly, 70(4), 384-404. DOI: 10.1177/019027250707000408.

21.

Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln

Y. S.

(Eds.). (2011). The Sage handbook of qualitative research. Sage.

22.

Faircloth

B. S.

Hamm

J. V.

(2005). Sense of belonging among high school students representing 4 ethnic groups. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(4), 293-309. DOI: 10.1007/s10560-013-0305-5.

23.

Fazel

Wheeler

Danesh

(2005). Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: A systematic review. Lancet, 365(9467), 1309-1314. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)61027-6.

24.

Ferguson

G. M.

Bornstein

M. H.

Pottinger

A. M.

(2012). Tridimensional acculturation and adaptation among Jamaican adolescent–mother dyads in the United States. Child Development, 83(5), 1486-1493. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01787.x.

25.

Ferguson

G. M.

Iturbide

M. I.

Gordon

B. P.

(2014). Tridimensional (3D) acculturation: Ethnic identity and psychological functioning of tricultural Jamaican immigrants. International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, 3(4), 238. DOI: 10.1037/ipp0000019.

26.

Fulmer

C. A.

Gelfand

M. J.

Kruglanski

A. W.

Kim-Prieto

Diener

Pierro

Higgins

E. T.

(2011). On “feeling right” in cultural contexts: How person-culture match affects self-esteem and subjective well-being. Psychological Science, 21, 1563-1569. DOI: 10.1177/0956797610384742.

27.

Hall

G. C. N.

Lopez

I. R.

Bansal

(2001). Academic acculturation: Race, gender, and class issues. In Pope-Davis

D. B.

Coleman

H. L.

(Eds.), The intersection of race, class, and gender in multicultural counseling (pp. 171-188). Sage.

28.

Hanassab

(2006). Diversity, international students, and perceived discrimination: Implications for educators and counselors. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(2), 157-172. DOI: 10.1177/1028315305283051.

29.

Helms

J. E.

Cook

D. A.

(1999). Using race and culture in counseling and psychotherapy: Theory and process. Allyn & Bacon.

30.

Hofstede

(1980). Culture and organizations. International Studies of Management & Organization, 10(4), 15-41.

31.

Hovey

J. D.

King

C. A.

(1996). Acculturative stress, depression, and suicidal ideation among immigrant and second-generation Latino adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(9), 1183-1192. DOI: 10.1097/00004583-199609000-00016.

32.

Hsu

Davies

C. A.

Hansen

D. J.

(2004). Understanding mental health needs of Southeast Asian refugees: Historical, cultural, and contextual challenges. Clinical Psychology Review, 24(2), 193-213. DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2003.10.003.

33.

Hunter

C. D.

Case

A. D.

Joseph

Mekawi

Bokhari

(2017). The roles of shared racial fate and a sense of belonging with African Americans in Black immigrants’ race-related Stress and depression. Journal of Black Psychology, 43(2), 135-158. DOI: 10.1177/0095798415627114.

34.

Jackson

J. V.

Cothran

M. E.

(2003). Black versus black: the relationships among African, African American, and African Caribbean persons. Journal of Black Studies, 33(5), 576-604. DOI: 10.1177/0021934703033005003.

35.

Presidential Library and Museum . (n.d.). John F. Kennedy and the student airlift. https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/john-f-kennedy-and-the-student-airlift.

36.

Kao

. (1999). Psychological well-being and educational achievement among immigrant youth. In Hernandez

D. J.

(Ed.), Children of immigrants: Health, adjustment, and public assistance(pp. 410-477). National Academic Press.

37.

Kim

M. T.

Han

H. R.

Shin

H. S.

Kim

K. B.

Lee

H. B.

(2005). Factors associated with depression experience of immigrant populations: A study of Korean immigrants. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 19(5), 217-225. DOI: 10.1016/j.apnu.2005.07.004.

38.

Kim

Hogge

Salvisberg

(2014). Effects of self-esteem and ethnic identity: Acculturative stress and psychological well-being among Mexican immigrants. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 36(2), 144-163. DOI: 10.1177/0739986314527733.

39.

Koinange

J. W.

(2001). Psychology strides forward in Kenya. Psychology International, 12, 1-3.

40.

Kroll

Yusuf

A. I.

Fujiwara

(2011). Psychoses, PTSD, and depression in Somali refugees in Minnesota. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 46(6), 481-493. DOI: 10.1007/s00127-010-0216-0.

41.

Lee

R. M.

Falbo

Doh

H. S.

Park

S. Y.

(2001). The Korean diasporic experience: Measuring ethnic identity in the United States and China. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 7(3), 207-216. DOI: 10.1037/1099-9809.7.3.207.

42.

Lee

R. M.

Yun

A. B.

Yoo

H. C.

Nelson

K. P.

(2010). Comparing the ethnic identity and well-being of adopted Korean Americans with immigrant/U.S.-born Korean Americans and Korean international students. Adoption Quarterly, 13(1), 2-17. DOI: 10.1080/10926751003704408.

43.

LeVasseur

J. J.

(2003). The problem of bracketing in phenomenology. Qualitative Health Research, 13(3), 408-420. DOI: 10.1177/1049732302250337.

44.

Lopez

K. A.

Willis

D. G.

(2004). Descriptive versus interpretive phenomenology: Their contributions to nursing knowledge. Qualitative Health Research, 14(5), 726-735. DOI: 10.1177/1049732304263638.

45.

Brooks‐Gunn

(2018). Diverse experience of immigrant children: How do separation and reunification shape their development?. Child Development, 91(1), e146-e163. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13171.

46.

Schoeneman

T. J.

(1997). Individualism versus collectivism: A comparison of Kenyan and American self-concepts. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 19(2), 261-273. DOI: 10.1207/s15324834basp19027.

47.

McClain

Beasley

S. T.

Jones

Awosogba

Jackson

Cokley

(2016). An examination of the impact of racial and ethnic identity, impostor feelings, and minority status stress on the mental health of Black college students. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 44(2), 101-117. DOI: 10.1002/jmcd.12040.

48.

Mena

F. J.

Padilla

A. M.

Maldonado

(1987). Acculturative stress and specific coping strategies among immigrant and later generation college students. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 9(2), 207-225. DOI: 10.1177/07399863870092006.

49.

Migration Policy Institute (2017). Migration information source. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/migration-information-source.

50.

Morse

J. M.

(1994). Designing funded qualitative research. In Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln

Y. S.

(Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 220-235). Sage.

51.

Moustakas

(1994). Phenomenological research methods. Sage.

52.

Musso

Inguglia

Lo Coco

(2016a). Relationships between ethnic identity, ethnic attitudes, and acculturative stress in Tunisian individuals in early and middle adolescence. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 37(9), 1309-1340. DOI: 10.1177/0272431616659557.

53.

Musso

Inguglia

Lo Coco

Albiero

Berry

J. W.

(2016b). Mediating and moderating processes in the relationship between multicultural ideology and attitudes towards immigrants in emerging adults. International Journal of Psychology, 52, 72-77. DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12290.

54.

Nadal

K. L.

Griffin

K. E.

Wong

Hamit

Rasmus

(2014). The impact of racial microaggressions on mental health: Counseling implications for clients of color. Journal of Counseling & Development, 92(1), 57-66. https://doi.org/10.110.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00130.x.

55.

National Museums of Kenya (n.d.). The language of Kenya: The Nilotic, Bantu and Cushitic language groups. Google Arts & Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-language-of-kenya-the-nilotic-bantu-and-cushitic-language-groups/2AJCwOhG6x7aIQ.

56.

Nesdale

Mak

A. S.

(2003). Ethnic identification, self-esteem and immigrant psychological health. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27(1), 23-40. DOI: 10.1016/S0147-1767(02)00062-7.

57.

Nguyen

A. M. D.

Benet-Martínez

(2013). Biculturalism and adjustment: A meta-analysis. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(1), 122-159. DOI: 10.1177/0022022111435097.

58.

Nguyen

D. J.

Kim

J. J.

Weiss

Ngo

Lau

A. S.

(2018). Prospective relations between parent–adolescent acculturation conflict and mental health symptoms among Vietnamese American adolescents. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 24(2), 151–161. https://doi-org.proxy.mul.missouri.edu/10.1037/cdp0000157.

59.

Odera

(2010). Kenyan immigrants in the United States: Acculturation, coping strategies, and mental health. LFB Scholarly Publishing, LLC.

60.

Okazaki

David

E. J. R.

Abelmann

(2008). Colonialism and psychology of culture. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 90-106.

61.

Parham

T. A.

Helms

J. E.

(1981). The influence of Black students' racial identity attitudes on preferences for counselor's race. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28(3), 250-257. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0167.28.3.250.

62.

Phinney

J. S.

(1990). Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: Review of research. Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), 499–514. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.108.3.499.

63.

Phinney

J. S.

(1992). The multigroup ethnic identity measure: A new scale for use with diverse groups. Journal of adolescent research, 7(2), 156-176.

64.

Phinney

J. S.

(1996). Understanding ethnic diversity: The role of ethnic identity. American Behavioral Scientist, 40(2), 143-152.

65.

Resnick

M. D.

Bearman

P. S.

Blum

R. Wm.

Bauman

K. E.

Harris

K. M.

Jones

Tabor

Beuhring

Sieving

R. E.

Shew

Ireland

, Bearinger

L. H.

Udry

J. R.

(1997). Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. JAMA , 278(10), 823-832. DOI: 10.1001/jama.1997.03550100049038.

66.

Rivas-Drake

Seaton

E. K.

Markstrom

Quintana

Syed

Lee

R. M.

Schwartz

S. J.

Umaña-Taylor

A. J.

French

Yip

Ethnic and Racial Identity in the 21st Century Study Group . (2014). Ethnic and racial identity in adolescence: Implications for psychosocial, academic, and health outcomes. Child Development, 85(1), 40-57. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12200.

67.

Santa-Maria

M. L.

Cornille

(2007). Traumatic stress, family separations, and attachment among Latin American immigrants. Traumatology, 13(2), 26-31. DOI: 10.1177/1534765607302278.

68.

Schwartz

S. J.

Unger

J. B.

Zamboanga

B. L.

Szapocznik

(2010). Rethinking the concept of acculturation: implications for theory and research. American Psychologist, 65(4), 237. DOI: 10.1037/a0019330.

69.

Seaton

E. K.

Caldwell

C. H.

Sellers

R. M.

Jackson

J. S.

(2008). The prevalence of perceived discrimination among African American and Caribbean Black youth. Developmental Psychology, 44(5), 1288-1297. DOI: 10.1037/a0012747.

70.

Sellers

R. M.

Smith

M. A.

Shelton

J. N.

Rowley

S. A.

Chavous

T. M.

(1998). Multidimensional model of racial identity: A reconceptualization of African American racial identity. Personality and social psychology review, 2(1), 18-39. DOI: 10.1207/s15327957pspr0201_2.

71.

Shachtman

(2009). Airlift to America: How Barack Obama, Sr., John F. Kennedy, Tom Mboya, and 800 East African students changed their world and ours. St. Martin's Press.

72.

Shearman

S. M.

Dumlao

(2008). A cross-cultural comparison of family communication patterns and conflict between young adults and parents. Journal of Family Communication, 8(3), 186-211. DOI: 10.1080/15267430802182456.

73.

Sirin

S. R.

Ryce

Gupta

Rogers-Sirin

(2013). The role of acculturative stress on mental health symptoms for immigrant adolescents: A longitudinal investigation. Developmental psychology, 49(4), 736. DOI: 10.1037/a0028398.

74.

Smith

(1992). The Harambee Movement in Kenya: Self-help, development and education among the Kamba of Kitui District by Martin J. D. Hill London and Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, The Athlone Press, 1991. pp. viii + 329. Journal of Modern African Studies, 30(4), 701-703. DOI: 10.1017/S0022278X00011198.

75.

Smith

T. B.

Silva

(2011). Ethnic identity and personal well-being of people of color: A meta-analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(1), 42-60. DOI: 10.1037/a0021528.

76.

Sobania

N. W.

(2003). Culture and customs of Kenya. Greenwood Press.

77.

Sodowsky

G. R.

Plake

B. S.

(1992). A study of acculturation differences among international people and suggestions for sensitivity to within‐group differences. Journal of Counseling & Development, 71(1), 53-59. DOI: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.1992.tb02171.x.

78.

Sousa

(2014). Validation in qualitative research: General aspects and specificities of the descriptive phenomenological method. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 11(2), 211-227. DOI: 10.1080/14780887.2013.853855.

79.

Suinn

R. M.

(2010). Reviewing acculturation and Asian Americans: How acculturation affects health, adjustment, school achievement, and counseling. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 1, 5–17. DOI: 10.1037/a0018798.

80.

Taušová

Bender

Dimitrova

van de Vijver

(2019). The role of perceived cultural distance, personal growth initiative, language proficiencies, and tridimensional acculturation orientations for psychological adjustment among international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 69, 11-23. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2018.11.004.

81.

Tian

McClain

Moore

M. M.

Lloyd

(2019). An examination of ethnic identity, self-compassion, and acculturative stress in Asian international students. Journal of International Students, 9(2), 635-660.

82.

Tormala

T. T.

Deaux

(2006). Black immigrants to the United States: Confronting and constructing ethnicity and race. In Mahalingam

(Ed.), Cultural psychology of immigrants (pp. 131–150). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

83.

Triandis

H. C.

(1995). Individualism and collectivism. Westview.

84.

Tufford

Newman

(2012). Bracketing in qualitative research. Qualitative Social Work, 11(1), 80-96. DOI: 10.1177/1473325010368316.

85.

Umaña-Taylor

A. J.

Diversi

Fine

M. A.

(2002). Ethnic identity and self-esteem of Latino adolescents: Distinctions among the Latino populations. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17(3), 303-327. DOI: 10.1177/0743558402173005.

86.

U.S. Census Bureau (2019). QuickFacts: United States. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219.

87.

Utsey

S. O.

Abrams

J. A.

Opare-Henaku

Bolden

M. A.

Williams

III. (2014). Assessing the psychological consequences of internalized colonialism on the psychological well-being of young adults in Ghana. Journal of Black Psychology, 41(3), 195–220. DOI: 10.1177/0095798414537935.

88.

Verkuyten

Fleischmann

(2017). Ethnic identity among immigrant and minority youth. In Rutland

Nesdale

Spears Brown

(Eds.), The wiley handbook of group processes in children and adolescents, (pp. 23-46). John Wiley & Sons. DOI: 10.1002/9781118773123.ch2.

89.

Wamwara-Mbugua

L. W.

Cornwell

T. B.

(2010). A dialogical examination of Kenyan immigrants’ acculturation in the United States. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 8(1), 32-49. DOI: 10.1080/15562940903379118.

90.

Wamwara-Mbugua

L. W.

Cornwell

T. B.

Boller

(2008). Triple acculturation: The role of African Americans in the consumer acculturation of Kenyan immigrants. Journal of Business Research, 61(2), 83-90. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.04.011.

91.

Waters

M. C.

(1999). Black identities: West Indian immigrant dreams and American realities. In Grunsky

D. B.

(Ed.), Social stratification: Class, race, and gender in sociological perspective (pp. 608-610). Westview Press.

92.

Wertz

F. J.

(2005). Phenomenological research methods for counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(2), 167-177. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.167.

93.

Williams

C. L.

Berry

J. W.

(1991). Primary prevention of acculturative stress among refugees: application of psychological theory and practice. American Psychologist, 46(6), 632-641. DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.46.6.632.

94.

Yoon

Langrehr

Ong

L. Z.

(2011). Content analysis of acculturation research in counseling and counseling psychology: A 22-year review. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(1), 83-96. DOI: 10.1037/a0021128.