Can selective acculturation foster integration?: A systematic literature review

Abstract

This paper presents the first systematic literature review of selective acculturation, an influential theoretical perspective in migration research. Selective acculturation posits that immigrant children can achieve socioeconomic mobility by balancing heritage cultural retention with selective adaptation to the majority culture. The review draws on three decades of research to evaluate empirical findings and methodological rigor, offering a comprehensive reappraisal of selective acculturation’s impact and conditional generalizability beyond North America. The review finds that selective acculturation is conducive to socioeconomic mobility, particularly in local contexts with positive societal reception and well-established ethnic communities. This finding highlights cultural heritage preservation as a pathway to upward mobility, contributing to long-standing migration debates on the relationship between acculturation and structural integration. The review proposes directions for future research and practical recommendations for migration-receiving countries and advances our understanding of how everyday contexts can facilitate or constrain flexibility in identity formation.