Home is Where the Heart is: Implications of Dyadic Acculturation for Migrant Couples’ Personal and Relational Well-Being

Abstract

Acculturation—the process through which people adopt the sociocultural values of their heritage and settlement cultures—is a complex experience, particularly within family structures. Although the consequences of acculturation gaps between parents and children have been studied extensively, the consequences for migrant couples are often overlooked. We propose that acculturation gaps in migrant couples are likely detrimental for personal and relational well-being. To test this, a study of 118 migrant couples with the same heritage culture and now living in the United Kingdom was conducted. Acculturation gaps in our studies were conceptualized as both within person and within couple, and their impact on personal well-being and relationship quality was tested using Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). Results suggest that although within-couple acculturation gaps negatively impacted personal well-being, they were not necessarily harmful to relationship quality. Interestingly, within-person acculturation gaps had dyadic consequences, with one person specifically contributing to their partner’s personal well-being.

Keywords

migrant couples acculturation gaps well-being relationship quality

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