This study examines the impact of sibling acculturative differences on immigrant family dynamics. An analysis of 32 interviews with grown children of Korean and Vietnamese immigrants with siblings on different acculturative trajectories finds that traditional siblings are more likely to be elder children whose higher status and obligations as first-born children bind them more closely to their ethnicity than younger children. Elder siblings’ role as disciplinarians to younger siblings bolstered their family power and enhanced their solidarity with parents but created tension with younger, more assimilated siblings. Although assimilated siblings regard their traditional siblings as “generational traitors” for aligning with parents, traditional siblings viewed assimilated siblings, who challenge traditional ethnic practices and parental rules, as so-called “black sheep.” Several benefits of sibling acculturative variance in immigrant families are also discussed.
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