Korean immigrants are motivated to accept new cultural perspectives and/or transform their own cultural values into those of their new country. During this acculturation process, they encounter cultural differences, make adaptations, and thus may experience positive changes in social relationships, coping resources, personal strength, and cultural knowledge. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the dimensions of acculturation and personal growth. The results indicated that two dimensions of acculturation (e.g., self-control and collectivism), age, and length of stay were predictors of personal growth that involves social relationships, personal resources, life philosophy, and coping skills. This study suggests that high scores on two acculturation dimensions indicated lower acculturation, which predicts personal growth.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdlerP. S. (1975) The transitional experience: An alternative view of culture shock. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 15, 13–23.
2.
BarrattM. F.HubaM. E. (1994) Factors related to international undergraduate student adjustment in an American community. College Student Journal, 28, 422–436.
3.
BengtsonV. L.KuypersJ. A. (1971) Generational difference and the developmental stake. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 2(4), 249–260.
4.
BerryJ. W. (1997) Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 5–68.
5.
BerryJ. W.TrimbleJ. E.OlmedoE. L. (1986) Assessment of acculturation. In LonnerW. J.BerryJ. W. (Eds.), Field methods in cross-cultural psychology. London, UK: Sage. Pp. 291–324.
6.
CaplanN.ChoyM. H.WhitmoreJ. K. (1992) Indochinese refugee families and academic achievement. Scientific American, 266, 36–42.
7.
CasertaM.LundD.UtzR.de VriesB. (2009) Stress-related growth among the recently bereaved. Aging & Mental Health, 13(3), 463–476.
8.
ChunS. H.LeeY. K.KimB. G.HeoJ. M. (2012) The contribution of leisure participation and leisure satisfaction to stress-related growth. Leisure Science, 34, 436–449.
CohenL.HettlerT.PaneN. (1998) Assessment of posttraumatic growth. In TedeschiR.ParkC.CalhounL. (Eds.), Posttraumatic growth: Positive changes in the aftermath of crisis. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Pp. 23–42.
11.
DiwanS.JonnalagaddaS. S.BalaswamyS. (2004) Resources predicting positive and negative affect during the experience of stress: A study of older Asian Indian immigrants in the United States. The Gerontologist, 44(5), 605–614.
12.
DixonJ. C.RosenbaumM. S. (2004) Nice to know you? Testing contact, cultural, and group threat theories of anti-Black and anti-Hispanic stereotypes. Social Science Quarterly, 85(2), 257–280.
13.
FranziniL.Fernandez-EsquerM. E. (2004) Socioeconomic, cultural, and personal influences on health outcomes in low income Mexican-origin individuals in Texas. Social Science & Medicine, 59(8), 1629–1646.
14.
GibsonM. A. (2001) Immigrant adaptation and patterns of acculturation. Human Development, 44, 19–23.
15.
GoldenJ. G. (1987) Acculturation, biculturalism, and marginality: Study of Korean-American high school students. Dissertation Abstracts International, 48, 1135A. University Microfilms No. DA8716257.
16.
HairJ. F.AndersonR.BlackW. C. (1995) Multivariate data analysis with readingsEnglewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
17.
HelgesonV. S.ReynoldsK. A.TomichP. L. (2006) A meta-analytic review of benefit finding and growth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 797–816.
18.
HoD. Y. (1994) Cognitive socialization in Confucian heritage cultures. In GreenfieldP. M.CockingR. R. (Eds.), Cross-cultural roots of minority child development. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Pp. 285–313.
19.
HsuE.DaviesC. A.HansenD. J. (2004) Understanding mental health needs of Southeast Asian refugees: Historical, cultural, and contextual challenges. Clinical Psychology Review, 24(2), 193–213.
20.
HwangW. C.TingJ. Y. (2008) Disaggregating the effects of acculturation and acculturative stress on the mental health of Asian Americans. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 14(2), 147–154.
21.
HwangW. C.WoodJ. J.FujimotoK. (2010) Acculturative family distancing and depression in Chinese American families. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(5), 655–667.
22.
KashimaE. S.LohE. (2006) International students' acculturation: Effects of international, conational, and local ties and need for closure. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 30, 471–485.
23.
KimB. S. K. (1999) Asian American client adherence to Asian cultural values, counselor ethnicity, counselor expression of cultural values, and career counseling process and outcome. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Univer. of California, Santa Barbara, CA.
24.
KimB. S. K.AbreuJ. M. (2001) Acculturation measurement: Theory, current instruments, and future directions. In PonterottoJ. G.CasasJ. M.SuzukiL. A.AlexanderC. M. (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Pp. 394–424.
25.
KimJ. (2012) Exploring the experience of intergroup contact and the value of recreation activities in facilitating positive intergroup interactions of immigrants. Leisure Sciences, 34(1), 72–87.
26.
KimJ.HeoJ.LeeI. (2014) Predicting personal growth and happiness by using serious leisure model. Social Indicators Research. DOI: 10.1007/s11205-014-0680-0
27.
KimJ.KimH. (2013) The experience of acculturative stress-related growth from immigrants' perspectives. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 8, DOI: /10.3402/qwh.v8i0.21355
28.
KimJ.SuhW.HeoJ. (2012) Do Korean immigrant adolescents experience stress-related growth during stressful intergroup contact and acculturation?Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 54(1), 3–27.
29.
KimbroR. T. (2009) Acculturation in context: Gender, age at migration, neighborhood ethnicity, and health behaviors. Social Science Quarterly, 90(5), 1145–1166.
30.
LaiD. W. (2004) Impact of culture on depressive symptoms of elderly Chinese immigrants. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49(12), 820–827.
31.
LeeA. (1989) A socio-cultural framework for the assessment of Chinese children with special needs. Topics in Language Disorders, 9, 38–44.
32.
LeeE. S.RongX. L. (1988) The educational and economic achievement of Asian Americans. Elementary School Journal, 88, 545–560.
33.
LeeJ. C.CynnV. E. (1991) Issues in counseling 1.5 generation Korean Americans. In LeeC. C.RichardsonB. L. (Eds.), Multi-cultural issues in counseling: New approaches to diversity. Alexandria, VA: American Association for Counseling and Development. Pp. 127–140.
34.
LeeK. H.YoonD. P. (2011) Factors influencing the general well-being of low-income Korean immigrant elders. Social Work, 56(3), 269–279.
35.
LeeM-S. (2004) Acculturative experiences of Korean-Americans: Exploring self-concept, learning style, and the identification of giftedness at the microlevel and the macrolevel contexts (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Univer. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT). Dissertation Abstracts International, 65(6-A), 2088.
36.
LeeM-S. (2007) The awareness of cultural orientations in culturally responsive education for Korean American students. Journal of Praxis in Multicultural Education, 2(1), 42–60.
37.
LeungA. N. M.WongS. S. F.WongI. W. Y.McBride-ChangC. (2010) Filial piety and psychosocial adjustment in Hong Kong Chinese early adolescents. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 30(5), 651–667.
38.
LinleyP.JosephS. (2004) Positive change following trauma and adversity: A review. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17, 11–21.
39.
LynottP. P.RobertsR. E. (1997) The developmental stake hypothesis and changing perceptions of intergenerational relations, 1971–1985. The Gerontologist, 37(3), 394–405.
40.
MakW. W. S.ChenS. X.WongE.ZaneN. S. (2005) A psychosocial model of stress–distress relationship among Chinese Americans. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24, 422–444.
41.
MakerC. J.SchieverS. W. (1989) Critical issues in gifted education: Defensible programs for cultural and ethnic minorities. Vol. II. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
42.
MarkusH. R.KitayamaS. (1991) Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.
43.
MizokawaD. T.RyckmanD. B. (1988) Attributions of academic success and failure to effort or ability: A comparison of six Asian American ethnic groups. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA, April 5–9.
44.
MontuoriA.FahimU. (2004) Cross-cultural encounter as an opportunity for personal growth. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 44(2), 243–265.
45.
MooresL.PopadiukN. (2011) Positive aspects of international student transitions: A qualitative inquiry. Journal of College Student Development, 52(3), 291–306.
46.
MuiA. C.KangS. Y. (2006) Acculturation stress and depression among Asian immigrant elders. Social Work, 51(3), 243–255.
47.
NicassioP. M. (1983) Psychosocial correlates of alienation: Study of a sample of Indochinese refugees. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 14, 337–351.
48.
OysermanD. (1993) The lens of personhood: Viewing the self and others in a multicultural society. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(5), 993–1009.
49.
PangK. Y. C. (1990) Hwabyung: The construction of a Korean popular illness among Korean elderly immigrant women in the United States. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 14(4), 495–512.
50.
PangK. Y. (1995) A cross-cultural understanding of depression among elderly Korean immigrants: Prevalence, symptoms and diagnosis. Clinical Gerontologist, 15(4), 3–20.
51.
ParkC. C. (1998) Educational and occupational aspirations of Korean youth in Los Angeles. In EndoR.ParkC. C.TsuchidaJ. N. (Eds.), Current issues in Asian and Pacific American education. West Covina, CA: Pacific Asia Press. Pp. 65–76.
52.
ParkC. L.CohenL. H.MurchR. L. (1996) Assessment and prediction of stress-related growth. Journal of Personality, 64, 71–105.
53.
PettigrewT. F.TroppL. R. (2006) A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 751–783.
54.
PettigrewT. F.TroppL. R. (2008) How does intergroup contact reduce prejudice? Meta-analytic tests of three mediators. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38, 922–934.
55.
RudminF. W. (2009) Constructs, measurements and models of acculturation and acculturative stress. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 33, 106–123.
56.
RyanM. E.TwibellR. S. (2000) Concerns, values, stress, coping, health and educational outcomes of college students who studied abroad. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 24, 409–435.
57.
SueD. W. (1989) Ethnic identity: The impact of two cultures on the psychological development of Asians in America. In AtkinsonD. R.MortenG.SueD. W. (Eds.), Counseling American minorities: A cross-cultural perspective. (3rd ed.) Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown. Pp. 103–115.
58.
SueS.OkazakiS. (1990) Asian American educational achievements: A phenomenon in search of an explanation. American Psychologist, 45, 913–920.
59.
TabachnickB. G.FidellL. S. (2006) Using multivariate statistics. (5th ed.) Needham Heights, MA: Pearson Education.
60.
TedeschiR. G.CalhounL. G. (1996) The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 455–471.
61.
Ting-ToomeyS. (1999) Communicating across cultures. New York: Guilford Press.
62.
TranT. V. (1990) Language acculturation among older Vietnamese refugee adults. Gerontologist, 30(1), 94–99.
63.
TriandisH. C. (1995) Individualism & collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
64.
UchidaY.NorasakkunkitV.KitayamaS. (2004) Cultural constructions of happiness: Theory and emprical evidence. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5(3), 223–239.
65.
WeismanA.FeldmanG.GrumanC.RosenbergR.ChamorroR.BelozerskyI. (2005) Improving mental health services for Latino and Asian immigrant elders. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36(6), 642–648.
66.
WilliamsB.BrownT.OnsmanA. (2012) Exploratory factor analysis: A five-step guide for novices. Australasian Journal of Paramedicine, 8(3), 1–12.
67.
WuE. K.MakW. W. (2012) Acculturation process and distress mediating roles of sociocultural adaptation and acculturative stress. The Counseling Psychologist, 40(1), 66–92.
68.
YagiD. T.OhM. Y. (1995) Counseling Asian American students. In LeeC. C. (Ed.), Counseling for diversity: A guide for school counselors and related professionals. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Pp. 61–83.
69.
YehK. H.BedfordO. (2003) A test of the Dual Filial Piety model. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 6(3), 215–228.
70.
YingY. W. (1996) Immigration satisfaction of Chinese Americans: An empirical examination. Journal of Community Psychology, 24, 3–16.
71.
YingY. W. (2005) Variation in acculturative stressors over time: A study of Taiwanese students in the United States. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29, 59–71.
72.
YingY. W.HanM. (2006) The contribution of personality, acculturative stressors, and social affiliation to adjustment: A longitudinal study of Taiwanese students in the United States. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 30, 623–635.
73.
YuM. (1997) Mental health services to immigrants and refugees. In WatkinsT. R.CallicutJ. W. (Eds.), Mental health policy and practice today. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Pp. 164–181.
