Mapping Connections in Newcomers’ Acculturation Attitudes: What Drives Their Adjustment to Canadian Society?

Abstract

Acculturation attitudes refer to the attitudes newcomers hold as they enter a new cultural context, specifically how they relate to both their heritage culture and the culture of the society they now call home (i.e., their receiving culture). Previous psychology research shows that maintaining one’s heritage culture while also engaging with the receiving culture (i.e., integration) is consistently linked with better psychological and social well-being. Yet, these findings often overlook the nuance and diversity of newcomer identities and experiences, such as their socioeconomic status, social supports, and quality of interaction with the receiving society (e.g., discrimination). I will present my honours thesis, which addresses this gap by using network analysis to test a grid of relationships to best explain how these demographic, contextual, and social factors may be simultaneously related to acculturation attitudes. Canadian undergraduate students and adults from the community who identified as newcomers (N = 831; Mage = 22.71; SDage = 7.87; 64% female) answered online questionnaires. Network modelling showed that identifying as both a Canadian and from their heritage culture, having strong social connections in both cultures, and being proficient in both English and one’s heritage language were linked to integration. Psychological health and income were not strongly linked to acculturation attitudes, suggesting that other factors may be more central to feeling connected to both heritage culture and Canadian society. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of individual, social, and linguistic factors in shaping newcomers’ cultural adaptation in Canada.