The impact of ethnic reference group, situational characteristics, generational status, and gender on ethnic identification in relation to adaptation was studied in Indo-Guyanese immigrants living in Ottawa, Canada. Ninety-eight first-(n= 48) and second-generation (n= 50) participants completed a questionnaire in reference to their East-Indian ancestral group, their ingroup and the national Canadian group. Results show that identification was the product of a complex interaction among reference group, situation, generation and gender. The pattern of adaptation to each reference group was influenced by generational status, and greater identification with the Canadian group relative to the Guyanese group was related to positive relations with the Canadian group. The results are discussed within the context of current theories of acculturation and intergroup relations.
Abouguendia, M. , & Noels, K. A. (2001). General and acculturation-related daily hassles and psychological adaptation in first- and second-generation South Asian immigrants to Canada . International Journal of Psychology, 36, 163–173 .
2.
Argyle, M. , Furnham, A. , & Graham, J. A. (1981). Social situations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press .
3.
Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation . Applied Psychology, 46, 5–68 .
4.
Berry, J. W. , & Sam, D. (1997). Acculturation and adaptation. In J. W. Berry , M. H. Segall , & C. Kagitc,ibasi (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology(Vol. 3, pp. 291–326). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon .
5.
Brown, P. , & Fraser, C. (1979). Speech as a marker of situation. In K. R. Scherer & H. Giles , (Eds.), Social markers in speech(pp. 33–62). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press .
6.
Camilleri, C. , & Malewska-Peyre, H. (1997) Socialization and identity strategies. In J. W. Berry , P. R., Dasen , & T. S. Saraswathi (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology, Vol. 2: Basic processes and human development(2nd ed., pp. 41–67). Boston: Allyn and Bacon .
7.
Castro, V. S. (2003). Acculturation and psychological adaptation. Westport, CT: Greenwood .
8.
ClÈment, R. , & Noels, K. A. (1992). Towards a situated approach to ethnolinguistic identity: The effects of status on individuals and groups . Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 11, 203–232 .
9.
ClÈment, R. , Noels, K. A. , & Deneault, B. (2001). Inter-ethnic contact, identity and psychological adaptation: The mediating and moderating roles of communication . Journal of Social Issues, 57, 559–577 .
10.
Collier, M. J. , & Thomas, M. (1988). Cultural identity: An interpretive perspective. In Y. Y. Kim & W. B. Gudykunst (Eds.), Theories in intercultural communication(pp. 99–120). Newbury Park, CA: Sage .
11.
Cùtè, P. , & ClÈment, R. (1994). Language attitudes: An interactive situated approach . Language & Communication, 14, 237–251 .
12.
Dhruvarajan, V. (1993). Ethnic cultural retention and transmission among first generation Hindu Asian Indians in a Canadian prairie city . Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 24, 63–79 .
13.
Dion, K. K. , & Dion, K. L. (2001). Gender and cultural adaptation in immigrant families . Journal of Social Issues, 57, 511–521 .
14.
Dion, K. L. (1979). Intergroup conflict and intragroup cohesiveness. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations(pp. 211–224). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole .
15.
Dion, K. L. , Dion, K. K. , & Pak, A. W. (1992). Personality-based hardiness as a buffer for discrimination-related stress in members of Toronto's Chinese community . Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 24, 517–536 .
16.
Dion, K. L. , & Earn, B. M. (1975). The phenomenology of being a target of prejudice . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 944–950 .
17.
Downes, W. (1998). Language and society(2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press .
18.
Edwards, J. (1985). Language, society and identity. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell .
19.
Evans, H. , & Davies, R. (1997). Overview of issues in childhood socialization in the Caribbean. In J. L. Roopnarine & J. Brown (Eds.), Caribbean families: Diversity among ethnic groups, Advances in applied developmental psychology(Vol. 14, pp. 1–24). Greenwich, CT: Ablex .
20.
Ferguson, C. A. (1959). Diglossia . Word, 15, 125–140 .
21.
Fishman, J. (1972a). The sociology of language. In P. Giglioli (Ed.), Language and social context (pp. 45–60). Baltimore, MD: Penguin .
22.
Fishman, J. (1972b). Domains and the relationship between micro- and macro-sociolinguistics. In J. Gumperz & D. Hymes (Eds.), Directions in sociolinguistic: The ethnography of communication (pp. 435–453). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston .
23.
Forgas, J. P. (1982). Reactions to life dilemmas: Risk taking, success and responsibility attribution . Australian Journal of Psychology, 34, 25–35 .
24.
Frederiksen, N. (1972). Toward a taxonomy of situations . American Psychologist, 27, 114–123 .
25.
Garcia, J. L. , Kosberg, J. I. , Mangum, W. P. , Henderson, J. N. , & Henderson, C. C. (1999). Caregiving for and by Hispanic elders: Perceptions of four generations of women . Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 26, 169–187 .
26.
Giles, H. , Mulac, A. , Bradac, J. J. , & Johnson, P. (1987). Speech accommodation theory: The next decade and beyond. In M. McLaughlin (Ed.), Communication yearbook 10(pp. 13–48). Newbury Park, CA: Sage .
27.
Heller, M. (1984). Language and ethnic identity in a Toronto French-language school . Canadian Ethnic Studies, 16, 1–14 .
28.
Heller, M. (1986). The role of language in the formation of ethnic identity. In J. S. Phinney & M. J. Rotheram (Eds.), Children's ethnic socialization: pluralism and development(pp. 180–198). Newbury Park, CA: Sage .
29.
Heller, M. (1987). Language and identity. In U. Ammon , N. Dittmar , & K. J. Mattheier (Eds.), Sociolinguistics(pp. 780–784). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter .
30.
Hymes, D. (1962). The ethnography of speaking. In J. Fishman (Ed.), Readings in the sociology of language. The Hague: Mouton .
31.
Hymes, D. (1972). Models of the interaction of language and social life. In J. Gumperz & D. Hymes (Eds.), Directions in sociolinguistic: The ethnography of communication(pp. 35–71). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston .
32.
Isajiw, W. W. (1990). Ethnic-identity retention. In R. Breton , W. W. Isajiw , W. E. Kalbach & J. G. Reitz (Eds.), Ethnic identity and equality: Varieties of experiences in a Canadian city(pp. 34–91). Toronto: University of Toronto Press .
33.
Kanner, A. D. , Coyne, J. C. , Schaefer, C. , & Lazarus, R. S. (1981). Comparison of two modes of stress measurement: Daily hassles and uplifts versus major life events . Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 187–212 .
34.
Lalonde, R. N. , & Cameron, J. E. (1994). Behavioral responses to discrimination: A focus on action. In M. P. Zanna & J. M. Olson (Eds.), The psychology of prejudice(pp. 257–287). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum .
35.
Lay, C. , & Nguyen, T. (1998). The roles of acculturation-related and acculturation non-specific hassles: Vietnamese-Canadian students and psychological distress . Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 30, 172–181 .
36.
Lay, C. , & Verkuyten, M. (1999). Ethnic identity and its relation to personal self-esteem: A comparison of Canadian-born and foreign-born Chinese adolescents . Journal of Social Psychology, 139, 288–299 .
37.
Liebkind, K. (1989). Conceptual approaches to ethnic identity. In K. Liebkind (Ed.), New identities in Europe(pp. 25–40) Aldershot, UK: Gower .
38.
Liebkind, K. (2001). Acculturation. In R. Brown & S. Gaertner (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Intergroup processes(pp. 386–406). Oxford, UK: Blackwell .
39.
Magnussen, D. (1971). An analysis of situational dimensions . Perceptual and Motor Skills, 31, 851–867 .
40.
Noels, K. A. , ClÈment, R. , & Gaudet, S. (2004). Language and the situated nature of ethnic identity. In S.-K. Ng , C.-Y. Chiu , & C. Candlin (Eds.), Language matters: Communication, Identity, and Culture(pp. 245–266). Hong Kong: City University Press .
41.
Oakes, P. (2001). The root of all evil in intergroup relations? Unearthing the categorization process. In R. Brown & S. Gaertner (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Intergroup processes (pp. 3–21). Oxford, UK: Blackwell .
42.
Organista, P. B. , Organista, K. C. , & Kurasaki, K. (2003). The relationship between acculturation and ethnic minority health. In K. M. Chun , P. B. Organista , & G. MarÌn (Eds.), Acculturation: Advances in theory, measurement, and applied research (pp. 139–161). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association .
43.
Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory . Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 65–85 .
44.
Phinney, J. S. (2003). Ethnic identity and acculturation. In K. M. Chun , P. B. Organista , & G. MarÌn (Eds.), Acculturation: Advances in theory, measurement, and applied research(pp. 63–81). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association .
45.
Phinney, J. S. , Horenczyk, G. , Liebkind, K. , & Vedder, P. (2001). Ethnic identity, immigration, and well-being: An interactional perspective . Journal of Social Issues, 57, 493–510 .
46.
Redfield, R. , Linton, R. , & Herskovits, M. J. (1936). Memorandum on the study of acculturation . American Anthropologist, 38, 149–152 .
47.
Roopnarine, J. L. , Riegraf, N. B , Wolfsenberger, J. , Hossain, Z , & Mathur, S. (1997). Family socialization in an East Indian village in Guyana: A focus on fathers. In J. L. Roopnarine & J. Brown (Eds.), Caribbean families: Diversity among ethnic groups; Advances in applied developmental psychology (Vol. 14, pp. 57–83). Greenwich, CT: Ablex .
48.
Rumbaut, R. (1991). The agony of exile: A study of the migration and adaptation of Indochinese refugee adults and children. In F. L. Ahearn & J. Garrison (Eds.), Refugee children. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press .
49.
Sharpe, J. (1997). Mental health issues and family socialization in the Caribbean. In J. L. Roopnarine & J. Brown (Eds.), Caribbean families: Diversity among ethnic groups, Advances in applied developmental psychology(Vol. 14, pp. 259–273). Greenwich, CT: Ablex .
50.
Tajfel, H. (1982). Social identity and intergroup relations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press .
51.
Tajfel, H. , & Turner, J. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations(pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole .
52.
Tang, T. N. , & Dion, K. L. (1999). Gender and acculturation in relation to traditionalism: Perceptions of self and parents among Chinese students . Sex Roles, 41, 17–29 .
53.
Turner, J. C. , Hogg, M. A. , Oakes, P. J. , Reicher, S. D. , & Wetherell, M. S. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Oxford, UK: Blackwell .
54.
Turner, J. C. , & Reynolds, K. J. (2001). The social identity perspective in intergroup relations: Theories, themes, and controversies. In R. Brown & S. Gaertner (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Intergroup processes(pp. 133–152). Oxford, UK: Blackwell .
55.
Ward, C. , & Arzu, R. (1999). Acculturation and adaptation revisited . Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 30, 422–442 .
56.
Waters, M. C. (1996). Ethnic and racial identities of second-generation black immigrants in New York City. In A. Portes (Ed.), The new second generation (pp. 171–232). New York: Russell Sage .
57.
Weinberger, M. , Hiner, S. L. , & Tierney, W. M. (1987). In support of hassles as a measure of stress in predicting health outcomes . Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 10, 19–31 .
58.
Weinreich, P. , Luk, C. L. , & Bond, M. H. (1996). Ethnic stereotyping and identification in a multicultural context: ‘Acculturation’, self-esteem and identity diffusion in Hong Kong Chinese university students . Psychology and Developing Societies, 8, 107–169 .
59.
Yeh, C. J. , & Hwang, M. Y. (2000). Interdependence in ethnic identity and self: Implications for theory and practice . Journal of Counseling and Development, 78, 420–429 .
