The Adaptive Value of Ethnic, National and Multicultural Orientations for Immigrants and Nationals in the U.S.

The Adaptive Value of Ethnic, National and Multicultural Orientations for Immigrants and Nationals in the U.S.

Acknowledgements US National Institute of Food and Agriculture 1002129 grant Dr. Ferguson Institutional funds Dr. Nguyen Research assistants

Cultural Context of the United States US is a multicultural nation of immigrants; settler society immigration is an asset (Berry et al., 2006) Unique setting for acculturation of recent immigrants (1 st /2 nd gen) US-born nationals with distant immigration histories (3 rd gen/later) (Ferguson & Birman, 2016) Everyone is involved and everyone is doing it (Berry, 2006, p.14)

Adaptation of U.S. Immigrants & Nationals Theoretical & Conceptual Frameworks Acculturation Theory Multicultural Orientation Cultural Variability

Adaptation of U.S. Immigrants & Nationals Acculturation Theory Ethnic and national orientations are positively associated with psychological and sociocultural adaptation of immigrants, both independently and in combination (i.e., integration/biculturalism) (Berry, 1997; Ferguson & Birman, 2016; Nguyen & Benet-Martínez, 2013). National and ethnic orientations, and biculturalism promote positive psychological outcomes even for majority group members (Hartmann, Gerteis, & Croll, 2009)

Hypothesis 1 & 2 1. Ethnic and National Orientation will be independently and positively associated with adaptation. 2. There will be an Ethnic X National interaction a. High levels of both variables will be positively associated with adaptation. b. For both immigrants and nationals

Adaptation of U.S. Immigrants & Nationals Multicultural Orientation Multicultural orientation to life: Appreciation of cultural diversity, cognitive adaptability, and participation in cross-cultural interaction (Berry & Ward, 2016; Ponterotto & Fietzer, 2014) New dimension of acculturation: Degree of endorsing multicultural orientation. Multicultural orientation, and Ethnic X Multicultural orientation predicted academic adaptation in Switzerland (Haenni-Hoti, Heinzmann, Müller, & Buholzer, 2015: MIRIPS Study)

Hypothesis 3 & 4 3. Multicultural Orientation will be positively associated with adaptation. 4. There will be an Ethnic Orientation X Multicultural Orientation interaction such that higher levels of both variables will be positively associated with adaptation.

Adaptation of U.S. Immigrants & Nationals Cultural Variability Cultural Variability: Tendency to flexibly adjust the daily prominence of a single cultural identity on behaviors and social interactions (playing up/down cultural identity). e.g., I play up my Turkish cultural identity with elders Cultural Variability predicted interpersonal adaptation with family and peers, both for immigrants and nationals (Ferguson, Nguyen, & Iturbide, 2016).

Hypothesis 5 5. Cultural Variability will moderate (strengthen) the positive effect of Ethnic Orientation on adaptation both for immigrants and nationals

Method: Participants & Procedure 242 undergraduate students (M age = 19.95 yrs, SD = 1.40) from three Midwestern U.S universities completed eight daily online surveys (M completed = 6.3) Demographic characteristics % of sample Immigrant (foreign-born or 1+ foreign-born parent) 43.0 Nationals (self and parent US-born) 57.0 Ethnicity European American/White 35.5 Asian 28.9 Black 12.4 Hispanic/Latino 6.6 Mixed/Other 16.6 Female 71.0

Method: Predictors 1. Acculturation Orientations (Day 1): Multidimensional Acculturation Scale (Haenni-Hoti et al., 2015 adapted from Berry & Sabatier, 2011 and Nguyen & von Eye, 2002) Ethnic ( [Ethnic] should get married to [Ethnic] ) National ( Immigrants should get married to Americans ) Multicultural ( Everyone living in the United States should get to know many different cultures in this country ) 2. Cultural Variability (across 8 days): Cultural Identity Influence Measure (CIDIM)- Family & Peers (Ferguson, Nguyen & Iturbide, 2016)

Method: Outcomes 3. Psychological Adaptation (Day 1) Self Esteem: Rosenberg Self-esteem measure (Rosenberg, 1979) Psychological Problems: PHQ-4 (Kroenke, Spitzer, Williams & Lowe, 2009) 4. Interpersonal Adaptation (average across 8 days) How positive was your interaction with Family Peers 5. Covariates Immigrant status SES parental education # of cultural identities

Method: Statistical Model 1 Acculturation Orientations predicting Adaptation Hierarchical Regression Analyses - separate model for each outcome 1 # of Cultural Identities 2 Immigrant Status Ethnic Orientation National Orientation Multicultural Orientation 3 Immigrant Status X Ethnic Orientation Immigrant Status X National Orientation Immigrant Status X Multicultural Orientation Ethnic Orientation X National Orientation National Orientation X Multicultural Orientation Ethnic Orientation X Multicultural Orientation 4 Ethnic X National X Multicultural Orientations

Results Positive main effects of Ethnic & National Orientations (Hypothesis 1: YES) Self- Esteem Psychological Problems Interaction Quality Family Interaction Quality Friends 1 # of Cultural Identities -.155*.062 -.045 -.066 2 Immigrant Status -.154* -.052 -.045.197** Ethnic Orientation.173** -.016.078.094 National Orientation.165* -.135*.023.002 Multicultural Orientation.049 -.113.137.154* 3 Immigrant Status X Ethnic.094.180** IMM -.055.061 Immigrant Status X National -.096.166.184 -.016 Immigrant Status X Multicultural.155 -.054 -.169 -.011 Ethnic X National.000 -.050 -.071.050 National X Multicultural Ethnic X Multicultural -.104.049 -.029.043 4 Ethnic X National X Multicultural Displayed numbers are standardized β values; ** p <.001 *p <.05

Results Interaction between Ethnic X National Orientations (Hypothesis 2a: NO) Self- Esteem Psychological Problems Interaction Quality Family Interaction Quality Friends 1 # of Cultural Identities -.155*.062 -.045 -.066 2 Immigrant Status -.154* -.052 -.045.197** Ethnic Orientation.173** -.016.078.094 National Orientation.165* -.135*.023.002 Multicultural Orientation.049 -.113.137.154* 3 Immigrant Status X Ethnic.094.180** IMM -.055.061 Immigrant Status X National -.096.166.184 -.016 Immigrant Status X Multicultural.155 -.054 -.169 -.011 Ethnic X National.000 -.050 -.071.050 National X Multicultural Ethnic X Multicultural -.104.049 -.029.043 4 Ethnic X National X Multicultural Displayed numbers are standardized β values; **p <.001; *p <.05

Results Cultural orientation positive for immigrants and nationals (Hypothesis 2b: MOSTLY) Self- Esteem Psychological Problems Interaction Quality Family Interaction Quality Friends 1 # of Cultural Identities -.155*.062 -.045 -.066 2 Immigrant Status -.154* -.052 -.045.197** Ethnic Orientation.173** -.016.078.094 National Orientation.165* -.135*.023.002 Multicultural Orientation.049 -.113.137.154* 3 Immigrant Status X Ethnic.094.180** IMM -.055.061 Immigrant Status X National -.096.166.184 -.016 Immigrant Status X Multicultural.155 -.054 -.169 -.011 Ethnic X National.000 -.050 -.071.050 National X Multicultural Ethnic X Multicultural -.104.049 -.029.043 4 Ethnic X National X Multicultural Displayed numbers are standardized β values; **p <.001; *p <.05

Psychological Problems Results Adaptive value of Ethnic Orientation only for immigrants (Hypothesis 2b: MOSTLY) Immigrant Status Nationals Immigrants ns β = -.180, p <.05 Immigrants with higher ethnic orientation have lower levels of psychological problems. Ethnic Orientation

Results Positive Effect of Multicultural Orientation (Hypothesis 3: YES) Self- Esteem Psychological Problems Interaction Quality Family Interaction Quality Friends 1 # of Cultural Identities -.155*.062 -.045 -.066 2 Immigrant Status -.154* -.052 -.045.197** Ethnic Orientation.173** -.016.078.094 National Orientation.165* -.135*.023.002 Multicultural Orientation.049 -.113.137.154* 3 Immigrant Status X Ethnic.094.180** IMM -.055.061 Immigrant Status X National -.096.166.184 -.016 Immigrant Status X Multicultural.155 -.054 -.169 -.011 Ethnic X National.000 -.050 -.071.050 National X Multicultural Ethnic X Multicultural -.104.049 -.029.043 4 Ethnic X National X Multicultural Displayed numbers are standardized β values; **p <.001; *p <.05

Results Ethnic X Multicultural Orientation (Hypothesis 4: NO) Self- Esteem Psychological Problems Interaction Quality Family Interaction Quality Friends 1 # of Cultural Identities -.155*.062 -.045 -.066 2 Immigrant Status -.154* -.052 -.045.197** Ethnic Orientation.173** -.016.078.094 National Orientation.165* -.135*.023.002 Multicultural Orientation.049 -.113.137.154* 3 Immigrant Status X Ethnic.094.180** IMM -.055.061 Immigrant Status X National -.096.166.184 -.016 Immigrant Status X Multicultural.155 -.054 -.169 -.011 Ethnic X National.000 -.050 -.071.050 National X Multicultural Ethnic X Multicultural -.104.049 -.029.043 4 Ethnic X National X Multicultural Displayed numbers are standardized β values; **p <.001; *p <.05

Summary: Model 1 National orientation predicted psychological adaptation for immigrants and nationals. Ethnic orientation predicted only immigrants psychological adaptation Multicultural orientation predicted better interpersonal adaptation with friends for immigrants and nationals.

Method: Statistical Model 2 Cultural Variability (CV) as moderator Hierarchical Regression Analyses - separate model for each outcome 1 SES # of Cultural Identities 2 Immigrant Status Ethnic Orientation Cultural Variability in Family Domain (CV family) Cultural Variability in Peer Domain (CV peer) 3 Immigrant Status X Ethnic Orientation CV family X Ethnic Orientation CV peer X Ethnic Orientation 4 Immigrant Status X CV family X Ethnic Orientation Immigrant Status X CV peer X Ethnic Orientation

Results Cultural Variability (CV) Moderates Ethnic Orientation Effect (Hypothesis 5: YES FOR IMMIGRANTS) Self- Esteem Psychological Problems Interaction Quality Family Interaction Quality Friends 1 (Covariates) 2 Immigrant Status -.191** -.009 -.041 -.130 CV family.046.010.177*.068 CV peer.093 -.044 -.024 -.064 Ethnic Orientation.211** -.096.112.081 3 CV family X Ethnic Orientation.066 -.025.029.009 CV peer X Ethnic Orientation.070.085 -.123 -.004 Immigrant Status X Ethnic 4 Immigrant Status X CV family X Ethnic Immigrant Status X CV peer X Ethnic Orientation.044.013.031 -.169* IMM Displayed numbers are standardized β values; **p <.001; *p <.05

Interaction Quality with Friends Results Cultural Variability (CV) Moderates Ethnic Orientation Effect for Immigrants only (Hypothesis 5: YES FOR IMMIGRANTS) Cultural Variability Low CV Average CV High CV Trend: For immigrants with average CV around peers, ethnic orientation predicted higher quality peer interactions. However, for immigrants with high CV around peers, ethnic orientation predicted lower quality peer interactions. Ethnic Orientation

Summary: Model 2 Cultural Variability in family domain predicted higher interaction quality with family members Cultural Variability around peers did strengthen the positive effect of ethnic orientation on peer interaction quality. However, this was only true for immigrants with average level of cultural variability

Discussion Positive adaptation in a multicultural society demands acculturation for all: National and multicultural orientations are adaptive both for immigrants and nationals, whereas ethnic orientation is also adaptive for immigrants (Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006; Chen, Benet-Martínez, & Harris Bond, 2008) Multicultural orientation seems more beneficial for collective good than individual adaptation and fosters intercultural adaptation with peers (Berry & Sam, 2016).

Discussion Finding a balance: Having average level of cultural variability helps immigrants to use their ethnic orientation effectively with friends

Discussion Finding a balance: Having average level of cultural variability helps immigrants to use their ethnic orientation effectively with friends Fine-tuning the influence of ethnic culture is desirable with peers (Spencer et al., 2003)

Discussion Finding a balance: Having average level of cultural variability helps immigrants to use their ethnic orientation effectively with friends Fine-tuning the influence of ethnic culture is desirable with peers; however large modulations may represent false identities (Spencer et al., 2003)

Discussion Finding a balance: Having average level of cultural variability helps immigrants to use their ethnic orientation effectively with friends Fine-tuning the influence of ethnic culture is desirable with peers; however large modulations may represent false identities (Spencer et al., 2003) Positive effects of long-term continuity and commitment to ethnic culture may benefit from the right amount of day-to-day variability

Limitations Self-reports regarding Cultural Variability: Participants may not be fully aware of the level of their flexibility Sample size small for 3 way interactions? College students, higher education Multicultural Orientation and Cultural Variability may be stronger predictors of adaptation in large city

Future Directions Does Cultural Variability moderate differently in different age groups? How does Cultural Variability operate among bi/multicultural individuals?

The Adaptive Value of Ethnic, National and Multicultural Orientations for Immigrants and Nationals in the U.S. Thank you! Cagla Giray, giray2@illinois.edu Gail M. Ferguson, gmfergus@illinois.edu Jacqueline Nguyen, nguyen39@uwm.edu Maria I. Iturbide, maria.iturbide@humboldt.edu