2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No.

58

Introduction to Mobility,
Migration, and
Acculturation
Karina Weichold
University of Jena, Germany
E-mail: [email protected]
Within a globalized world, resettling from one country to another has become more and more
frequent (i.e., the number of immigrants is currently estimated at more than 190 Million
worldwide by the United Nations), and not only in classical immigration countries such as
the USA, Canada, Australia, and South American countries. Reasons for migration vary, and
range from escaping from extremely adverse living circumstances such as war or persecu-
tion, to hopes for improving economic situations, to curiosity. At any rate, moving from one
culture to another is a major life transition often accompanied by unique stressors (e.g.,
disruption of social ties) impacting on individuals’ developmental pathways. Within
societies of high cultural diversity, issues relating to acculturation are of great importance.
Receiving countries might support an assimilation of immigrants, accept a multi-cultural
trend, or tolerate immigrants as distinct groups with high tendencies for segregation. Devel-
opmental research in the area of acculturation has been of particular interest in explaining
how well immigrants adjust to the new context, and in identifying the factors that shape pos-
itive and negative developmental trajectories, in particular in young people. In addition, it
has been suggested that the acculturation process is more difficult for migrants of certain
backgrounds, ages, or religions. Research in this area can help to overcome negative stereo-
types that are held against certain groups of immigrants, and can inform interventionists
who are trying to improve the developmental pathways of people migrating from one cul-
tural context to another.

The special section of this ISSBD Bulletin focuses on cultures, a multidimensional approach assessing distinct
‘‘Mobility, Migration, and Acculturation,’’ introducing dimensions of acculturation (Birman & Poff), and ethno-
an interesting selection of four feature articles on research graphic research approaches (Amigó).
in this field. The first one by Graeme Hugo, an Australian This issue of the Bulletin also includes a country
geographer, introduces the topic of mobility and migra- report, introducing research on developmental psychol-
tion, reflecting on migration policies in countries of origin ogy in Lithuania. In addition, Anne Petersen, the Society’s
and destination. In the second article, John Berry sum- past president, and Wolfgang Schneider, the president of
marizes theory and research on the acculturation strate- ISSBD, sent their notes to the members. This Bulletin also
gies of immigrant youth and their relation to positive contains the Minutes of the ISSBD Executive Committee
developmental outcomes. The other two papers deal Meeting and the General Business Meeting, and two lively
first with issues of acculturation of Muslim youth in New reports of the ISSBD Biennial Meetings in Lusaka, Zambia
Zealand (Jaimee Stuart et al.), and secondly with Diaspora (including travel impressions). Finally, in the news sec-
migrants, i.e., ethnic German repatriates in Germany vs. tion, the editor of the IJBD introduces upcoming publica-
Russian Jewish migrants in Israel (Titzmann et al.). These tion highlights.
feature articles are accompanied by commentaries by I am hoping that this Bulletin with the special section
well-known experts in the field of acculturation research, focusing on ‘‘Mobility, Migration, and Acculturation’’
namely Ype Poortinga and Andrew Fuligni. Also, the attracts lots of reader interest. I am thankful to the authors
Reports from the Lab deal with the topic of acculturation who contributed to this issue with great papers, and also to
research, thereby introducing international research Peter F. Titzmann whom I consulted in advance to get a
teams who apply innovative measurement approaches deeper insight into this field of research. Finally, I am
to the field, i.e., identity mapping for studying hyphe- happy to announce that the ISSBD Bulletin has a new co-
nated selves (Sirin et al.), computer assisted techniques editor. Deepali Sharma from India will support the editorial
to gather data (Lawrence et al.), independent measure- team from the next issue onwards. I am very much looking

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ment of acculturation to both sending and receiving forward to this collaboration.

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Circularity, Reciprocity, and Return:

An Important Dimension of
Contemporary Transnationalism
Graeme Hugo
The University of Adelaide, Australia
E-mail: [email protected]

The year 2010 is an important watershed in global demo-

graphic and economic change. From this year on the num-
bers of people in the working age groups (15-64 years)
living in high income nations will begin to decline and there
will be a net decline of 25 million by 2025 (World Bank,
2006). Over the same period there will be a net increase of
1 billion working age people in low income countries.
While we must be careful to avoid demographic determin-
ism it is clear that there will be a resultant increase in pop- Figure 1. A Model of the Asia-Australian Migration System
ulation movement from low income to high income
countries. comprehensive system of collecting data on both migration
The Global Commission on International Migration stocks and flows (Hugo, 2004). This has been facilitated by
(2005, p. 31) report concludes that ‘the old paradigm of per- it being an island nation so that clandestine entry to the
manent migrant settlement is progressively giving way to country is negligible. Australia’s proximity to Asia, which
temporary and circular migration’ and that there is a has 57 percent of the world’s population, has meant that its
need ‘to grasp the developmental opportunities that this immigration has been increasingly from Asia since the
important shift in migration patterns provides for countries removal of the last vestiges of the White Australia immigra-
of origin’. This call has subsequently been taken up by tion regulations in the 1970s. Accordingly, the number of
policy makers (DFID, 2007; European Commission, 2007). the Asia-born increased from 116,481 in 1971 to 1,205,440
Academics, however, have varied from support to outright in 2006 – from 0.9 percent to 6.5 percent. However, it is
opposition to the argument that non-permanent migration apparent that the migration relationship between Australia
can deliver win-win-win development dividends and Asia is a complex one in which the permanent displa-
(Vertovec, 2006; Castles, 2006a, b; Martin, Abella, & cement of Asians to Australia is only one element. As
Kuptsch, 2006; Ruhs, 2006; Newland, Agunias, & Terrazas, Figure 1 shows, the relationship is best depicted as one in
2008). Despite this flurry of activity, the body of empirical which circularity, reciprocity and return are key elements.
evidence and theory available to guide migration policy Most countries around the world collect migration flow
makers remains meagre, especially compared with that information only on persons who enter the country and not
available concerning permanent settlement. Indeed, in most on those who leave. Hence global migration knowledge is
countries data on non-permanent migration and emigration strongly biased toward immigrants and little is known
is lacking or incomplete, so it is not possible to establish its about emigrants. Australia is one of the few nations to col-
scale and composition, let alone their drivers and impact. lect comprehensive information on all persons who leave
Hence much writing on non-permanent and return migra- the country. Accordingly, it is possible to establish the
tion is based upon small-scale case studies or studies of extent to which there are reciprocal flows of those from
unrepresentative groups of such migrants. This paper uses Asian countries to Australia. In the Australian system
some data from Australia, where measurement of non- migrant flows are divided into three types:
permanent movement and emigration are possible, to defi-
nitely demonstrate the significance of such migration  permanent movement – persons migrating to Australia as
between high income and low income countries. It is shown settlers, and Australian residents departing permanently;
that circularity, reciprocity and return are structural and  long term movement – temporary visa holders arriving,
abiding elements, and contemporary south-north migration and residents departing temporarily with the intention
is best viewed as a complex interacting system rather than a to stay in Australia, or abroad, for twelve months or
more or less uni-dimensional permanent relocation. This, it more, and the departure of temporary visa holders and
is argued, provides the basis for international migration to the return of residents who had stayed in Australia or
have positive effects on both origin and destination abroad for twelve months or more; and
although achievement of such goals requires more ‘devel-  short term movement – travelers whose intended, or actual,
opment friendly’ approaches to migration by both origin stay in Australia or abroad, is less than twelve months.
and destination countries.
Focusing on permanent migration, Table 1 shows that
over the 1993-2007 period, although there were 560,111
A Complex Migration System Asia-born persons who immigrated to Australia, there were
Australia is a quintessential immigration nation with half of 180,325 people who migrated permanently from Australia
its population being overseas-born with permanent resi- to Asian countries so that net migration gain was only
dent status, Australia-born with an overseas-born parent, 389,786. The counterflow to Asia was made up of 97,552

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or a temporary resident. As a result it has developed a Asia-born persons moving back into the region and 72,773

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

Table 1. Permanent Migration between Asian Countries and Australia, Table 3. Average Number of Times Settlers Born in Asian Countries
1993-2007 Left Australia, 1998-2006

Asia-born migrating to Australia 560,111 Birthplace Average Number of Visits

Asia-born moving from Australia to Asia 97,552
Australia-born moving from Australia to Asia 72,773 China 6.1
Net migration 389,786 India 5.5
Singapore 10.2
Indonesia 10.3
Thailand 6.2
Table 2. Average Number of Visits by Individual Asia-Born Persons to Vietnam 4.8
Australia by Current Residence, 1998-2006 Hong Kong SAR 5.0
Current Country of Residence Average
Philippines 9.4
Sri Lanka 6.2
China 4.8
India 4.7
Singapore 6.5
Indonesia 6.4
Thailand 5.3
Vietnam 4.4
Hong Kong SAR 5.6

Australia-born people. Hence, while the gradient of perma-

nent migration is toward Australia, there is a substantial
flow in the opposite direction of which a significant element
is return migration. There are substantial variations
between countries in the balance of flows to and from Aus-
tralia. In the East Asia region countries the counterflow is 55
percent as large as the main flow to Australia, while for the
South Asian countries it was only 3.1 percent. For Southeast
Asia the proportion was 29.9 percent.
It is not only in permanent migration that there is evi-
dence of circularity, reciprocity and return. The numbers
of Asia-born short term arrivals increased from 1,728,351 Figure 2. Australia: Persons Born in the Asia-Pacific by Country of
in 1993-94 to 2,711,547 in 2008-09 while the numbers of long Birth, 2006
term arrivals increased from 47,627 to 256,941. However, a Source: ABS 2006 Census
spatial data set made available by the Australian Depart-
ment of Immigration and Citizenship (Evans, 2008) allows
other motives, usually economically related. Moreover,
us to identify the number of trips made by particular
the proportion is higher in countries like Singapore
individuals living in Asian countries making short term
(35 percent), South Korea (32 percent) and China (29 percent).
visits to Australia.
These data show conclusively the complexity and circu-
Table 2 shows that the average number of trips
larity in the migration between Australia and Asia. It points
made by individuals is substantial. Hence, there is an
to the need to reconceptualise the prevalent south-north
important element of repetitive circular movement of
migration discourse to see the migration relationship
Asians to Australia. Moreover, it is interesting to note that
between low income and high income countries as an inter-
49.1 percent of all of these journeys were to ‘visit friends
active system comprising a number of components of
and relatives’ indicating the way in which permanent
movement. This new way of thinking opens up consider-
migration influences short term movement. Some 11.8 per-
able potential for policy intervention to enhance the posi-
cent gave ‘business’ as their main reason for visiting and
tive impact of migration on development in low income
2.3 percent cited employment.
origin countries. Figure 2 shows the distribution of coun-
The complex interrelationship between permanent
tries of birth of Asian immigrants resident in Australia in
and non-permanent migration is also evident in the number
2006 and reflects the potential for such interventions.
of trips which permanent immigrants who settle in
Australia make to their home country.
Table 3 shows the average number of visits made out Implications for Migration and
of Australia by persons from Asia who have settled in
Australia. This indicates that these settlers make frequent
Development
visits out of Australia. Most of these are return visits to their In the discussion of potential positive effects of migration
home country. Clearly migration sets off a number of inter- on development at the origin, the key dimension is the
actions between the destination and origin country and extent to which migration leads to a flow of ideas, money,
this has the potential to have positive economic impacts investment, goods and people from the destination to the
at both ends of the migration process. While the return vis- origin of movers. In this context the demonstration that the

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its often involve visiting relatives and friends, a fifth have south-north migration relationship is a complex system

3
 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

rather than a one-way linear one is of particular relevance. country. Also, business and trade linkages can lead to
The potential positive impacts of development work largely movement of people, often skilled, from the destination
through the following components: country back to the origins.

 Remittances – The flow of money and goods sent by single There has been considerable discussion in the literature
or groups of private individuals is clearly related to the on the relative contribution to development in the origin
strength of linkage maintained by migrants with their country between permanent settlement and circular migra-
origin. For example, circular migrants who leave their tion. It has been argued that the development contribution
families behind in the country of origin generally retain is greater among circular migrants because of the greater
work, housing and investments in the origin, etc. commitment they maintain to their origins, the fact that
 Foreign Direct Investment – The extent to which migrants they will return to the origin, etc. This has been one of the
facilitate investment from the destination to the origin justifications in Europe for focusing on circular migration
involving either their own resources or those of private rather than permanent settlement (Vertovec, 2006). How-
or public organizations in which they have decision- ever, what the Australian case study has shown is that it
making roles. Clearly, such investors are likely to be is not appropriate to dichotomize permanent and tempo-
those people who maintain strong linkages with their ori- rary migration as the former involving no return to the
gin countries. home country and the latter involving return. In fact the
 Facilitating Trade – There is a well documented associa- destination is quite blurred because:
tion between migration and trade. There is evidence that
migrants create a demand in the destination for goods (1) There is often a change in status from the original visa
and services from their origin country. They also can under which a migrant entered the destination in the
serve as beachheads for expats from their origin. first place. Here the focus is usually on temporary
Moreover, migrants are often entrepreneurial so they migrants becoming permanent. For example, in
recognize and take advantage of trade opportunities. Australia in 2008-09, 29.6 percent of the permanent
Again, mobility between origin and destination is clearly additions made to the population through migration
a factor in trade. were people who changed from a temporary resi-
 Social Remittances – This relates to the flows of new ways dence to permanent residence visa. However,
of doing things, new behaviors, knowledge transfer, although it is less acknowledged, there is a substantial
expertise, views, etc. from the destination to the origin. level of remigration among settlers, although most
While much of this can be done virtually through regular countries do not collect data to indicate it. In a globa-
communication and electronic interaction it is apparent lizing world such high mobility has become more
that regular visiting is a key factor in this phenomenon. important and it involves not just return migration
 Return Migration – Obviously if migrants return from the but also migration to a third country. In Australia, a
destination to the origin they bring with them not only country which collects emigration data, around a
the skills and resources they had before they migrated quarter of permanent settlers eventually leave the
but also those skills, resources, experience and networks country permanently.
accumulated at the destination. Return migration litera- (2) The Australian case shows that permanent migrants in
ture stresses migration upon retirement, when the impact the destination have high levels of temporary migra-
on the origin may be limited because the migrants are tion back to the origin nation. Hence their potential
often no longer economically active. However, where to have an impact on their origin countries through
return migration data for south-north migrants are avail- remittances, foreign direct investment (FDI), trade and
able, it is clear much of it involves migrants still in the social remittances in association with their mobility is
working age groups. substantial.
(3) The permanent diaspora from a particular origin coun-
It is apparent then that all of these developmentally try can influence a destination country to send develop-
related impacts of migration are strongly related to mobility ment assistance, build business and government
between the destination and the origin. There is also the linkages and produce a flow of second generation, mar-
potential for other actions by the destination resulting from riage and other migrants back to the origin.
south-north migration including the following:
The linkage between migration and development is
 Development Assistance – While there is little evidence hence much more complex than a simple circular/large:
available, there is some indication that high income permanent/small dichotomy and discussion of it should
countries may target sending those countries sending be more nuanced.
migrants to them as recipients of development assistance
(DFID, 2007). It has been indicated, for example, that
investment by the receiving country in the education and
Implications for Policy
training system in the origin country can be an effective The discussion here indicates that positive developmental
and equitable response to brain drain concerns. impacts in origin countries can flow from a range of differ-
 Reverse Migration – There is evidence that the linkages ent mobility types. It is not simply a matter of a single type
established by migration can lead to migration of of migration which delivers development dividends. From
natives from the destination back to the sending coun- a development perspective a mix of permanent and tempo-
try. Marriage migration is significant in this as are sec- rary migration types in the destination has the potential to

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ond generations moving back to their parents’ origin have positive developmental impacts in the origin. Of

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

particular significance is the fact that policy intervention Conclusion

can be employed to facilitate positive developmental
impacts and ameliorate and reduce negative effects. In this South-north migration has increased substantially in scale
context it is important to stress that such policy interven- and significance in the last two decades and widening
tions can be at both the origins and destinations, although demographic and economic differentials make it certain
the focus usually is placed on the origins. Some indicative that it will continue to increase in importance. The present
types of policy interventions are as follows: paper has sought to draw attention to two neglected dimen-
sions of south-north migration. Firstly it has demonstrated
that the usual depiction of south-north migration as a uni-
directional permanent relocation from low income to high
Origin Country Policy Intervention
income countries is inappropriate. Unfortunately the lim-
 Strategies to engage the diaspora both virtually and itation of standard migration data collection systems to
through return visits of various lengths. more-or-less permanent moves at destinations has served
 Creation of expatriate organizations in destinations. to reinforce this incorrect depiction of south-north migra-
 Dual citizenship. tion. Where comprehensive data are available, as in the case
 Return migration programs. of Australia considered here, it shows that south-north
 Programs to assist return migrants (both circular and per- migration is much more appropriately seen as a complex
manent) to adjust to life and work in the home country. interacting system of movement between south and north
 Programs to facilitate remittances. countries. The second point which is made here relates to
 Programs to facilitate FDI from diaspora. the implications of south-north migration for development
 Creation of specific networks such as research and busi- in origin, lower income, countries. It is argued here that
ness networks involving people in the diaspora and their whereas in the literature circular migration is seen to have
equivalents in the home country. maximal impact on development in the origin country, and
 Granting political representation to the diaspora and permanent migration is considered to have minimal
voting rights. impact, in fact, the potential positive outcomes for origin
 Granting financial incentives to diaspora saving in the countries can be associated with all of the complex elements
origin country – interest-free bank accounts, etc. in the migration system linking south and north countries.
 Facilitating return visits, tourism and business travel There are important policy implications since it is possible
between origin and destination – cheap airfares, special to facilitate and encourage positive effects and minimize
visa entry, frequent travel options, etc. negative effects through appropriate policy intervention
at both origin and destination.
It is argued here that it is important to reconceptualize
Destination Country Interventions the discourse on both south-north migration and migration
impact on development in origin countries to take account
There is much less evidence and literature on the types of of the greater complexity of mobility taking place. Effective
policy interventions which destination countries can make development and operationalization of ‘development
in order to facilitate development in origin countries. Such friendly’ migration policies in both origin and destination
‘development friendly’ opportunities to immigration pol- countries is dependent upon this reconceptualization.
icy are in their infancy and there is little evidence of them
since in destinations the overwhelming driver of immigra-
tion policy is national self-interest. However, there is References
increasing discussion that countries can initiate ‘develop-
ment friendly’ immigration policies without sacrificing Castles, S. (2006a). Back to the Future? Can Europe Meet Its
national best interests. The types of policies which have Labour Needs Through Temporary Migration? Interna-
been considered include: tional Migration Institute Working Paper No. 1, Oxford.
Castles, S. (2006b). Guestworkers in Europe: A Resurrec-
 Adopting an ethical approach to the recruitment of tion? International Migration Review, 40(4): 741-766.
skilled migrants, especially in the health area. Department for International Development (DFID) (2007,
 Channelling resources into the education/training March). Moving Out of Poverty – Making Migration Work
programs of origin countries. Better for Poor People, Department for International
 Facilitating the flow of remittances to origin countries, Development, London.
e.g. through minimizing transaction costs. European Commission (2007). Circular Migration and Mobi-
 Facilitating travel between origin and destination countries lity Partnerships Between European Union and Third
– visa policy, cheap airfares, etc. Countries. Memorandum 07/197, 16 May 2007, Brussels.
 Facilitating diaspora communities keeping strong linkages Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM)
with their origin countries. (2005). Migration in an Interconnected World: New Direc-
 Dual citizenship. tions for Action, Global Commission on International
 Assuring portability of entitlements, pensions, etc. to Migration, Geneva.
origin countries. Hugo, G. J. (2004). Australia’s Most Recent Immigrants 2001,
 Directing foreign development assistance to origin Australian Census Analytic Program, Catalogue Num-
countries. ber 2053.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.
 Facilitating trade with origin countries. Martin, P., Abella, M., & Kuptsch, C. (2006). Managing Labor
 Making it easy for migrants to work in both destination Migration in the Twenty-First Century, New Haven: Yale

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and origin countries. University Press.

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Millbank A. (2006). A Seasonal Guest-Worker Program for immigrant youth. In this article, I present a conceptual
Australia? Research Brief No. 16, 2005-2006. Parliament framework that allows us to distinguish the various ways
of Australia: Canberra. in which people tend to acculturate. I then review my
Newland, K., Agunias, D. R., & Terrazas, A. (2008, Septem- long-standing claim that individuals who are living inter-
ber). Learning by Doing: Experiences of Circular Migra- culturally who engage in and become competent in the two
tion, Insight. Migration Policy Institute: Washington, DC. cultures usually adapt better than those who are primarily
Ruhs, M. (2006). The Potential of Temporary Migration Pro- oriented to one or the other culture, and much better than
grammes in Future International Migration Policy, Inter- those who engage in neither culture. Finally, I review
national Labour Review, 145, 1-2. some findings from two research studies with immigrant
Vertovec, S. (2006). Is Circular Migration the Way Forward in youth. These are an international study of immigrant
Global Policy? Around the Globe, 3(2), pp. 38-44. Monash youth acculturation and adaptation carried out in 13 soci-
Institute for the Study of Global Movements: Melbourne. eties of settlement (Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006),
World Bank (2006). Global Economic Prospects 2006: Economic and one that examines immigrant youth in Montreal and
Implications of Remittances and Migration. World Bank, Paris (Berry & Sabatier, 2010; Sabatier & Berry, 2008). In
Washington, DC. both of these studies, a similar pattern of relationships
between the how and how well questions is found. Some
general implications for policy and practice are drawn
from these empirical findings.
Migrating Youth: Is There a Best
Acculturation Strategy? How do People Seek to Acculturate?
John W. Berry
Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada One way to examine the various ways in which individuals
E-mail: [email protected] and groups seek to acculturate is to consider the accultura-
tion strategies framework developed by Berry over the years
Acculturation has become a core issue in managing human (1974, 1980, 2003). Four ways of engaging in intercultural
relations in culturally diverse societies (Berry, 2005; Sam & relations have been derived from two basic issues facing all
Berry, 2006). Three questions are often posed by accultura- peoples in culturally plural societies. These issues are based
tion researchers: How do individuals seek to acculturate fol- on the distinction between orientations towards one’s own
lowing their migration; how well do they adapt to their new group, and those towards other groups (Berry, 1980). This
circumstances; and are there any significant relationships distinction is rendered as a relative preference for (i) main-
between how they acculturate, and how well they adapt? taining one’s heritage culture and identity and (ii) a relative
If there are variations in how people acculturate, in how preference for having contact with and participating in the
well they adapt, and in the relationship between these two larger society along with other ethnocultural groups.
aspects, there may be important policy and program impli- These two issues can be responded to using attitudinal
cations for a ‘best practice’ following migration. dimensions, ranging from generally positive or negative
Research on these three issues has been conducted for orientations to the two issues delineated above. Their inter-
decades with adults, and for the past fifteen years with section defines four strategies, portrayed in Figure 1. On the
left are the orientations from the point of view of

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Figure 1. Varieties of Acculturation Strategies in Ethnocultural Groups and in the Larger Society

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

ethnocultural peoples (both individuals and groups); on the Adaptation by acculturation profiles
right are the views held by the larger society. 0,3
Among ethnocultural groups (on the left of Figure 1), 0,2 Psychological
when they do not wish to maintain their cultural identity Sociocultural
and seek daily interaction with other cultures, the Assimila- 0,1
tion strategy is defined. In contrast, when individuals place
0
a value on holding onto their original culture, and at the
same time wish to avoid interaction with others, then the –0,1
Separation alternative is defined. When there is an interest
–0,2
in maintaining one’s original culture while in daily interac-
tions with other groups, Integration is the chosen option. –0,3
In this case, one maintains some degree of cultural
–0,4
integrity, while at the same time seeking, as a member of Integration Ethnic National Diffuse
an ethnocultural group, to participate as an integral part
of the larger social network. Finally, when there is little Acculturation profiles
possibility of or interest in cultural maintenance (often for Figure 2. Psychological and Sociocultural Adaptation of Immigrant
reasons of exclusion or discrimination) then Marginaliza- Youth by Acculturation Profile (from Berry, et al., 2006)
tion is defined.
These two basic issues were initially approached from
the point of view of the non-dominant ethnocultural
groups. However, a powerful role is played by the domi- The International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural
nant group in influencing the way in which ethnocultural Youth (ICSEY; Berry et al., 2006) sampled over 5,000 immi-
groups relate (Berry, 1974). The addition of the views of the grant youth settled in 13 countries. Using a number of inter-
larger society produces the right side of Figure 1. From the cultural variables, we found that there are four ways of
point of view of the larger society, Assimilation when acculturating. These intercultural variables included: accul-
sought by the dominant group is termed the Melting Pot. turation attitudes (preferences for integration, assimilation,
When Separation is forced by the dominant group it is separation and marginalization); and cultural identities,
called Segregation. Marginalization, when imposed by language knowledge and use, and social relationships with
the dominant group, is termed Exclusion. Finally, when peers (the latter all assessed with respect to both their heri-
diversity maintenance and equitable participation are tage group and the national society). The most preferred
widely-accepted features of the society as a whole, Integra- way was integration, defined as being oriented to both their
tion is called Multiculturalism. heritage cultures and their new society (36% of the sample
exhibited this pattern). In this group, there was a positive
attitude toward integration, positive identities with both
Previous Research with Adults cultural groups, knowledge and use of both languages, and
friendships with members of both cultures. Assimilation
In earlier publications (e.g., Berry, 1997, 2005) I argued that
was least preferred (19%); youth in this group exhibited a
those who employ the integration strategy (by engaging in,
pattern on these variables of being oriented mainly to the
and becoming competent in the two cultures) usually adapt
new national society. Separation was in second place (23%)
better than those who are primarily oriented to one or the
with a pattern of being oriented mainly to their heritage cul-
other culture (by using either the assimilation or separation
ture. Marginalization was in third place (22%); these youth
strategy), and much better than those who engage in neither
were uncertain how to acculturate, had negative identities
culture (the marginalisation strategy). This generalisation
with both cultural groups, had poor national language facil-
has been confirmed in a recent meta-analysis of findings
ity, and had few friends in either group.
across numerous studies (Benet-Martı́nez, 2010). This
Adaptation was assessed by two variables: psychological
meta-analysis sampled 83 studies with 23,197 participants.
well-being (self esteem, life satisfaction and lack of psycholo-
The analysis confirmed the integration-adaptation relation-
gical problems, such as being sad or worrying frequently);
ship, but the strength of the relationship depended on the
and sociocultural adaptation (school adjustment, and lack of
measurement method used; the range was from .21 to .54
behavior problems in the community, such as vandalism and
to .70 across three methods.
petty theft). Of some interest is the relationship between the
two forms of adaptation. In a structural equation model, the
best fit was obtained when sociocultural adaptation pre-
Studies of Immigrant Youth ceded psychological adaptation, rather than the other way
In the past few years, immigrant youth have been an around. That is, dong well in school and the community
important topic of research and policy consideration leads to better psychological well-being. Finally, it is impor-
(Motti-Stefanidi, Berry, Chryssochoou, Phinney & Sam, tant to note that there were no overall differences in either
2010). Much of this research has been modeled on earlier form of adaptation between national and immigrant youth.
research with adult immigrants, but with the important However, there were important differences in both
addition of a developmental dimension (Sam & Berry, forms of adaptation, depending on how immigrant youth
2010). Reviews (e.g., Berry, 1997, 2005) of this adult research were acculturating (see Figure 2). There were substantial
made the claim that those who seek and accomplish the relationships between how youth acculturate and how well
integration way of acculturating usually have better adap- they adapt: those with an integration profile had the best

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tation (both psychological and sociocultural). psychological and sociocultural adaptation outcomes,

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

while those with a diffuse profile had the worst; in between, poorer adaptation; and those seeking assimilation and
those with an ethnic profile had moderately good psycholo- separation fall in between.
gical adaptation but poorer sociocultural adaptation, while
those with a national profile had moderately poor psycho-
logical adaptation, and slightly negative sociocultural Conclusion
adaptation. This pattern of results was largely replicated There are two main conclusions to be drawn from these
using a structural equation model. studies of immigrant youth. First, it appears that immigrant
Of particular importance for our discussion is the rela- youth prefer integration to any other way of acculturating.
tionship between how youth acculturate and how well The assumption is commonly made that immigrant youth
they adapt, and another variable: perceived discrimination. turn their backs on their heritage cultures; but this is not the
This is important because such discrimination is the best case. Indeed, assimilation is often the least preferred strat-
indicator of the degree to which immigrant youth are per- egy. Second, immigrant youth adapt better, both psycholo-
mitted to participate equitably in the life of the larger soci- gically and socioculturally (including at school) when they
ety. Those in the integration cluster reported experiencing are able to achieve a balance in their relationships and in
the least discrimination, and those in the diffuse cluster their developed competencies in both their heritage cul-
reported the most; in between, national cluster youth tures and the new society in which they are now living.
reported moderately low discrimination, and ethnic clus- In contrast, marginalized youth are in a very difficult posi-
ter youth reported moderately high discrimination. And tion, experiencing substantial discrimination, and attaining
in the structural equation model, the single most powerful poor psychological and social outcomes. Public policies that
variable predicting poor psychological and sociocultural encourage and support balanced relationships and com-
adaptation was the degree of discrimination perceived petencies in intercultural situations are thus superior to
by immigrant youth. Thus, the degree to which immigrant other arrangements that may be proposed by politicians
youth experience discrimination corresponds with their or practiced by public institutions. Public schools play a
preferred acculturation strategy, and has a direct impact key role in achieving this balance, since there are often
on their adaptation. no other integrating public institutions. The multicultural
movement within schools (and now being advanced in
other public institutions, such as media, health care, and
Immigrant Youth in Montreal and Paris justice) appears to be the most appropriate way to engage
in intercultural relations in our culturally plural societies
A comparative examination of immigrant youth accultura- and neighbourhoods.
tion and adaptation was carried out by Colette Sabatier and
John Berry (Berry & Sabatier, 2010; Sabatier & Berry, 2008).
The rationale for this comparison was that while both cities
References
have immigrants from similar parts of the world, they have Benet-Martı́nez, V. (2010). Multiculturalism: Cultural, social,
very different immigration, acculturation and settlement and personality processes. In K. Deaux & M. Snyder
policies and practices (Noels & Berry, 2006; Sabatier & (Eds.), Handbook of personality and social psychology. Oxford
Boutry, 2006). In Canada, the policy of multiculturalism University Press.
encourages the maintenance and expression of one’s cul- Berry, J. W. (1974). Psychological aspects of cultural plural-
tural heritage; in France, the model is more assimilationist, ism. Topics in Culture Learning, 2, 17–22.
wherein the public expression of ethnicity is not supported Berry, J. W. (1980). Acculturation as varieties of adaptation.
by public policy. In P. M. Padilla (Ed.), Acculturation: Theory, models and
Many of the research questions used in Paris were the some findings (pp. 9–25). Boulder, CO: Westview.
same as those posed in the ICSEY study, and many of the Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation and adapta-
Paris findings replicated the ICSEY results. Acculturation tion. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46(1), 5–68.
preferences were for integration in both samples, but Berry, J. W. (2003). Conceptual approaches to acculturation.
there was some variation across immigrant groups, with In K. Chun, P. Balls-Organista, & G. Marin (Eds.), Accul-
some groups having higher than average preferences for turation: Advances in theory, measurement and application
assimilation or separation. Once again, the relationship (pp. 17–37). Washington: APA Books.
between acculturation strategy and adaptation was in Berry, J.W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two
evidence: those seeking integration had better psycholo- cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29,
gical and sociocultural adaptation. And further, discrim- 697-712.
ination played an important role in both the strategies Berry, J.W. Phinney, J. S., Sam, D. L., & Vedder, P. (Eds.)
and adaptation. One important difference is that those (2006). Immigrant youth in cultural transition: Accultura-
seeking integration in Paris reported the highest experi- tion, identity and adaptation across national contexts. Mah-
ence of discrimination (along with those seeking separa- wah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
tion), while those seeking integration in Montreal Berry, J.W., & Sabatier, C. (2010). Acculturation, discrimina-
reported the lowest (in keeping with previous findings). tion, and adaptation among second generation immi-
This relationship was interpreted by noting that grant youth in Montreal and Paris. International Journal
expressing one’s ethnicity in Paris draws discrimination. of Intercultural Relations, 34, 191–207.
Nevertheless, the usual finding on the relationship Motti-Stefanidi, F., Berry, J. W., Chryssochoou, Z., Phinney,
between acculturation strategy and adaptation holds in J., & Sam, D. (2010, in press). Positive Immigrant Youth
both Paris and Montreal: those seeking integration have Adaptation in Context: Developmental, Acculturation,

•
better adaptation; those who are marginalized have and Social Psychological Perspectives. In A. Masten &

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

D. Hernandez (Eds). Productive youth development. personal identity can lead to a range of negative outcomes,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. including lowered self-assurance, self-acceptance, and self-
Noels, K. A., & Berry, J. W. (2006). Acculturation in Canada. certainty and a weaker sense of mastery (Marcia, Water-
In D. L. Sam & J. W. Berry (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook man, Matteson, Archer, & Orlofsky, 1993; Adams et al.,
of acculturation psychology (pp. 274–293). Cambridge, UK: 1992).
Cambridge University Press. Developing a coherent sense of self can become proble-
Sabatier, C., & Berry, J. W. (2008). The role of family accul- matic when the individual is undergoing acculturative
turation, parental style and perceived discrimination in changes (Phinney, 1992). Migrant adolescents must negoti-
the adaptation of second generation immigrant youth ate and consolidate the values and behaviors prescribed by
in France and Canada. European Journal of Developmental their ethnic group with those prescribed by the host culture
Psychology, 5, 159–185. (Farver, Narang, & Bhadha, 2002). This is especially chal-
Sam, D. L. & Berry, J. W. (2006) (Eds). Cambridge handbook of lenging when the values and beliefs of the ethnic culture
acculturation psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge Univer- differ significantly from those of the host society.
sity Press. Adolescence can, therefore, be seen as a period in which
Sam, D. L., & Berry, J. W. (2010, in press). Acculturation: the issues raised by immigration, specifically those con-
When individuals and groups of different cultural back- cerning identity, are particularly salient (Berry et al.,
grounds meet. Perspectives on Psychological Science. 2006). It has been suggested that this is because ethnic, reli-
gious and national identities often call for differing value
and behavioral prescriptions (Birman, 1998). For example,
recent research by Hedegaard (2005) concerning non-
Current Issues in the Development Western families who have migrated to Western nations
indicates that immigrant children grow up in contrasting
and Acculturation of Muslim Youth cultures. At home, they are expected to maintain tradi-
in New Zealand tional values and beliefs, whereas at school they are
expected to fit in with their peers. While some young peo-
Jaimee Stuart
ple may experience these orientations as complementary,
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
it is often the case that they result in conflicting demands,
E-mail: [email protected]
creating a pressure to balance competing ‘allegiances’ and
and establish a distinct self-identity, as well as a congruent cul-
tural identity (Hedegaard, 2005; Stuart, 2008). The struggle
Colleen Ward
to balance the demands of religious, ethnic and national
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
cultures may be even more salient for young migrants
E-mail: [email protected]
than for mature migrants due to normative development
and processes. For young people, identities are not yet stable;
they are open to exploration and interpretation, meaning
Zeenah Adam
that adolescents may also be more prone to experiencing
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
conflict over their identities (Berry et al., 2006; Oppedal,
E-mail: [email protected]
2006). One of the first steps in building a complete picture
of adolescent acculturation, therefore, is to understand
The term acculturation has been used to refer to the process how young people go about negotiating multiple cultural
of change that occurs in contexts of continued intercultural identities and the impact that the context in which they
contact, both at the group level and in the psychology of the reside has on this process.
individual (Berry, 1997). At the group level, changes may
occur in the social structure of the group or in the group’s
economic and value base, whereas at the individual level,
changes take place in identity, values and behavior (Sam,
The New Zealand Context
2006). Recent research has suggested that due to the differ- New Zealand is traditionally a bicultural society, rooted in
ences in life stage and development, young people may face an indigenous Maori and British colonial base, although
more complex issues of adjustment than their adult coun- multiculturalism is the emerging ideology with diversity
terparts (Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006; Oppedal, being promoted symbolically (through social discourse)
2006; Phinney, 1990; Smetana, Campione-Barr, & Metzger, and literally (via inclusive policy frameworks). At present
2006). Research indicates that the physical, cognitive and almost one in four persons in New Zealand’s 4.3 million
socio-emotional changes undergone by adolescents as they population is overseas-born. Ethnic, cultural, linguistic and
transition into adulthood influence the manner in which religious diversity is a reality now, and with a growing
they manage cultural change (Farver, Xu, Bakhtawar, & Maori population and 40-50,000 new immigrants from
Lieber, 2007; Oppedal, 2006; Sam & Oppedal, 2002). These approximately 150 countries entering New Zealand each
findings are unsurprising given that achieving a positive year, this diversity will continue to increase.
and coherent self-identity has long been viewed as a critical Islam is the most rapidly growing religious affiliation in
part of adolescent psychological development within New Zealand with the population increasing six-fold
developmental theory. A positive sense of self is related between 1991 and 2006. Muslims now constitute about 1%
to higher self-esteem, lower anxiety and better social and of the population. The majority (77%) of New Zealand Mus-
academic achievement (Adams, Gullota, & Montemajor, lims are overseas-born with the largest proportions identi-

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1992). In contrast, a weak sense of self or an undeveloped fying as Indian (29%) and as members of Middle Eastern

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

groups (21%) such as Arab, Iranian and Iraqi (Ministry of cultural discourse and that such a context can act to perpe-
Social Development, 2008). Although Muslims are a flour- tuate misconceptions and stereotypes, impacting nega-
ishing group, compared to other immigrant communities, tively on sociocultural and psychological adjustment.
there is relatively little empirical research about their Recent international research has shown that while
experiences in New Zealand (Sang & Ward, 2006). migrant youth may be deemed ‘at risk,’ they still perform
As national-level political and social contexts affect comparatively well in relation to their host national peers
immigrant experiences, it is important to examine aspects on many adjustment indices, including a lower incidence
of New Zealand society that may facilitate or impede immi- of depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems and better
grant adaptation. A national survey by Ward and Masgoret school achievement (Berry et al., 2006; Ward, 2007; Ward &
(2008) found that overall New Zealanders strongly endorse Lin, 2005). Furthermore, even though there is a widespread
a multicultural ideology. Approximately 89% of survey opinion that Muslim young people are specifically at risk
respondents agreed that it is a good thing for a society to due to the current international socio-political climate, it
be made up of different races, religions and cultures, a has been found that young Muslim minorities, in compari-
higher proportion of agreement than found in Australia son to other religious and non-religious groups, have better
and 15 European Union countries. Perceptions of threat psychological adjustment and sociocultural adaptation
were low to moderate (e.g., only 26% agreeing that immi- (Berry et al., 2006) and have fewer mental health problems
gration increases the level of crime and 21% maintaining (Oppedal & Røysamb, 2007).
that allowing immigrant cultures to thrive means the New In order to make a comparison between young Muslims
Zealand culture is weakened). However, in the same study and host nationals in New Zealand, Ward and Stuart
it was shown that some immigrants were perceived more (2009b) conducted a study that extended the International
favorably than others. Those from Great Britain were per- Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Youth (ICSEY) survey
ceived more positively than those from South Africa, who, (Berry et. al., 2006). The research was adapted in order to
in turn, were seen more positively than those from China, examine how Muslim youth (ages 13-19) preserve tradi-
India and Samoa, and all of these were viewed more favor- tional values and practices while participating in the wider
ably than those from Somalia. New Zealand society, how they negotiate issues pertaining
A follow-up survey by Ward and Stuart (2009a), which to identity and how well they adapt socially and psycholo-
focused on the assessment of New Zealanders’ attitudes gically to life in New Zealand. One hundred and eighty
towards Muslim immigrants, found that settlers from Muslim youths (81% overseas-born, largely from Asia,
major source countries (United States, United Kingdom, Africa and the Middle East) completed the survey. Results
Australia, Korea, Philippines, India, China, South Africa, from this study showed that Muslim youth reported greater
Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji) were viewed more positively than life satisfaction, fewer behavioral problems and fewer
those from predominantly Muslim countries (Malaysia, symptoms of psychological distress than both Maori (indi-
Indonesia, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Somalia). genous) and New Zealand European/Pakeha youth. This
In the same study it was shown that approximately half study further showed that strong Islamic identity and
of the respondents agreed that Muslims have customs engagement in Muslim practices are associated with greater
that are not acceptable in New Zealand, that Muslim life satisfaction, better school adjustment, less antisocial
immigrants increase the risk of terrorism, and that Muslim behaviour and fewer symptoms of psychological distress
values are not compatible with New Zealand values. in Muslim youth. It was also found that Muslim identity as
These findings suggest that although New Zealand is gen- well as ethnic and national identities were strong and that
erally a tolerant society, Muslim immigrants may be at most (85%) youth achieved integration; however, Muslim
greater risk for prejudice and discrimination than other identity was stronger than ethnic and national identities and
immigrants and ethnic minorities. was a more robust predictor of positive adaptive outcomes.
The results of this research and of the ICSEY study more
broadly suggest that migrant youth do not generally have
more adaptation problems than their host national peers, but
Muslim Youth Adaptation that difficulties may arise in response to conflicting demands
Research indicates that migrant adolescents may be prone across family and societal contexts. Deficit approaches that
to experience the negative social and psychological out- assume immigrant youth are prone to adjustment problems
comes associated with acculturation under circumstances fail to take into account protective elements in the accultura-
in which there are high levels of cultural distance between tion process. Consequently, evolving research should inte-
national and ethnic minority groups, widespread discrimi- grate developmental and acculturation theories in order to
nation, and socioeconomic differentials and where youth build a comprehensive understanding of both risk and pro-
are visibly different (Berry, 1997). These risk factors are par- tective factors in the adaptation process. Following this pro-
ticularly pertinent for young Muslim migrants in Western position, it is suggested that a positive psychological view
cultures, where they are embedded in a cultural and polit- should be taken into account when examining adjustment
ical situation in which they are defined as a minority based outcomes, focusing on the strengths that enable individuals
on both their ethnicity and their religion. They endure, to and communities to thrive during acculturation.
varying degrees, the stress of living in a world that
discriminates against them for their religious affiliation, but
at the same time denies the cultural heterogeneity within
Muslim Youth: Identity and Resilience
their community. Zaal, Salah and Fine (2007) suggest that
young Muslims in America find themselves in a commu- The concept of resilience, successful adjustment and

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nity that is negatively embedded within the political and identity negotiation for Muslim youth in New Zealand

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Although risks were present for these young people,

their pathways to adjustment were rooted within a suppor-
tive context that both promoted positive outcomes and
diminished risks. The following quote illustrates how
resilience could be constructed within this context.

I come from a country where the majority is Muslim. Being

Muslim was not a big issue, so I didn’t actually have to know
my religion that much, I didn’t have to defend myself. So
I took it for granted, but coming to a foreign country
I actually had to know more about my religion, I actually took
the initiative to read up more and actually equip myself, just so
that if people ask me questions I can actually answer them and
be proud of my religion. This got me closer to my religion.

The results from this study suggest that there are pro-
tective elements for this group which are embedded in
the process of change that is a result of the need to adapt
to a new cultural setting. Specifically, it is argued that
resilience emerges from the process of managing multiple
cultural demands.
Following on from this research, two workshops were
conducted which investigated the barriers and facilitators
to success for young Muslims in New Zealand in four areas:
family, friends, community and New Zealand society. Par-
ticipants also created Identity Maps (for further examples of
these see Zaal et al., 2007; Sirin & Fine, 2007; and Sirin &
Fine, 2008), an exercise that elicits pictorial representations
of multiple social identities. One of the major themes that
arose during these workshops was the importance of
Figure 1. Identity Map A
‘achieving a balance.’ This balance alludes to the many,
and often contradictory demands, young Muslims in
New Zealand manage in their lives. For instance, the
were examined across a series of studies. Firstly, interviews demands of family (e.g., living up to expectations), peer
and focus groups were carried out to address the question pressure (e.g., fitting in with New Zealanders) and the eth-
‘What are the indicators and determinants of participation nic community (e.g., the relative importance of one’s ethnic
and success for Muslim youth?’ (Stuart, 2009). The themes culture versus one’s religion).
emerging from the interviews and focus groups were clus- The concept of ‘balance’ was carried over into the iden-
tered together under four major categories: 1) Context/ tity maps developed by the participants. In order to inter-
elements of the receiving society; 2) Risk: (a) discri- pret identity maps, Sirin and Fine (2008, p. 136)
mination and (b) acculturation; 3) Coping with risk; and 4) developed a coding strategy map for three distinct identi-
Protectors or buffers: (a) individual characteristics, ties: integrated identity (Muslim identity and national
(b) networks, including family, friends and community; [American] identity fully blended in a nonconflicting way),
and (c) religion. It was found that young Muslims in New parallel identity (both identities depicted as separate), and
Zealand did indeed face a variety of threats to their devel- conflicting identity (representations of tension, hostility or
opment, particularly with regard to integrating into New irreconcilability of identities). Figures 1, 2 and 3 illustrate
Zealand society; three different ways in which young Muslims in New Zeal-
and are attempting to ‘achieve a balance’, or what might be
Mainly there’s like a culture barrier. You can’t communi- described as integrated identities. These illustrations are
cate well because of your language . . . and the lifestyle, like representative of the over-arching theme of the
how people talk and act, is completely different. It’s really participants’ identity maps; they all contain elements that
hard, but we sort of eventually fit into that sort of society, blend Islam and New Zealand society, but they also all
include a richness of the young person’s life, which com-
that sort of culture. Western culture.
bines family, friends, education and community.
Another major issue they faced was prejudice and mis-
conceptions about Islam more generally; Implications
Our research indicates that despite facing discrimination
(Islam) is a straightforward thing and it’s not a political and acculturation pressures, Muslim youth are success-
thing. It’s not like we all have hidden agendas or there is fully adapting to life in New Zealand and fare well in
a conspiracy, to blow things up. To us it’s something that comparison with their national peers. Their success is
you apply every day, it’s what we believe and how we live. facilitated by a strong Muslim identity and engagement in

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Whereas people think we are a terrorist organization. Muslim practices, drawing on family, community and

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

balanced with participation in the wider society. These

findings suggest that receiving nations should be more
tolerant of religious diversity, supportive of immigrant
Muslim communities and sufficiently accommodating
to ensure the freedom of religious expression in
contemporary multicultural societies.

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the Victoria University
of Wellington, BRCSS and the Foundation for Research
Science and Technology for funding this research.

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Birman, D. (1998). Biculturalism and perceived competence
Figure 2. Identity Map B of Latino immigrant adolescents. American Journal of
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Sam, D. L. (2006). Acculturation: Conceptual background

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Commission. cultural backgrounds live together and thus inter-ethnic
Stuart, J., Ward, C., Jose, P. E., & Narayanan, P. (2010). friendships are perceived as benchmark in efforts to
Working with and for communities: A collaborative improve inter-group relations, as they can reduce discrim-
study of harmony and conflict in well-functioning, ination and prejudice (Aboud, Mendelson, & Purdy,
acculturating families. International Journal of Intercul- 2003).
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Ward, C., & Masgoret, A.-M. (2008). Attitudes toward and inside their ethnic community can be assumed to be
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248. (Bochner, McLeod, & Lin, 1977; Horenczyk & Tatar,
Ward, C., & Stuart, J. (2009a, November). Youth Voices, youth 1998). Whereas same-ethnic peers were found to be help-
choices: Being Muslim in New Zealand. Presentation to ful in the affirmation of cultural origin and may be better
the New Zealand Office of Ethnic Affairs, Wellington, in providing emotional support during the transition from
New Zealand. http://cacr.victoria.ac.nz/__data/assets/ one culture to another, peers from the receiving culture
powerpoint_doc/0004/3748/Ward-Stuart-2010-Muslim- may be more instrumental and helpful for understanding
in-NZ-presentation.ppt the receiving culture’s values and behavioural norms
Ward, C. & Stuart, J. (2009b, December). The many faces of (Bochner et al., 1977) and may reinforce socio-cultural
identity: Ethnic and religious identities as buffers of discrim- adaptation.
ination and predictors of psychological well-being in Muslim According to Bochner et al.’s (1977) functional model of
youth in New Zealand. Paper presented at the Eighth friendships, new immigrants need access to information to
Biennial Conference of the Asian Association of Social successfully adapt to the new society, which is best pro-
Psychology, New Delhi, India. vided by natives. The aim of the current study was to long-
Zaal, M., Salah, T., & Fine, M. (2007). The weight of itudinally investigate whether adolescents who have higher
the hyphen: Freedom, fusion and responsibility embo- levels of inter-ethnic contact (i.e., have more native friends
died by young Muslim-American women during a time in their friendship network) also show fewer socio-cultural
of surveillance. Applied Developmental Science, 11(3), adaptation difficulties.

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164 – 177.

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Diaspora Migration to Germany and Israel Immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel and Ger-
many on Delinquency and Deviant Behavior’’, funded by
Our research question was investigated in a sample of the German-Israeli Project Cooperation (DIP C.4.1.). In the
Diaspora migrants, i.e., ethnic German repatriates in initial year 2003, about 1,400 participants in each immigrant
Germany and Russian Jewish migrants in Israel. These two group (ethnic German immigrants in Germany and Russian
are the two most well-known Diaspora migrant groups, Jewish adolescent immigrants in Israel) participated in the
although Diaspora migration exists in many other coun- study and were invited to participate again in two more
tries, such as Finland or Greece. Common for both groups annual waves. The questions were given in German/
studied is that they share ethnic, cultural, or religious roots Hebrew and Russian. The comparability of the language
with the country of settlement, but had lived in countries of versions was ensured by various pretests and in coopera-
the former Soviet Union for generations and could only tion with a reputed German field organization. Both groups
emigrate after the fall of the Iron Curtain. These adolescents were comparable in age: ethnic Germans were about 16.1
enter the new country with hardly any language years, Russian Jewish adolescents about 15.6 years old. In
competences (ethnic Germans were, for example, forbidden both countries the data collection took place in urban areas
to speak German in public). Thus, despite common ances- (for more information see Titzmann et al., in press). For the
try, both immigrant groups studied here were found to face current study, a subsample was drawn which included
adjustment problems similar to other immigrant groups, only adolescents from the former Soviet Union (ethnic Ger-
such as discrimination or language problems (Titzmann, man immigrants also came from Poland or Romania, but
Silbereisen, Mesch, & Schmitt-Rodermund, in press). were found to differ in their adjustment; Schmitt-
We included both groups in this study in order to examine Rodermund & Silbereisen, 2004). Furthermore, our sample
whether the functional model of friendships holds for selection was based on length of residence (less than 8 years
Diaspora immigrants to Germany and Israel alike. Earlier in the new country), and participation in at least two out of
studies revealed that Diaspora migrant adolescents, as other the three assessments. These criteria resulted in a sample of
immigrant groups, prefer intra-ethnic over inter-ethnic 358 ethnic German adolescents in Germany and 877 Rus-
contacts (Titzmann, Silbereisen, & Mesch, 2010). The common- sian Jewish adolescents in Israel.
alities between these two groups are striking (Shuval, 1998): For measuring the share of native friends in the friend-
Examples are the Diaspora-migrant background in the former ship network, we asked each participant how many of their
Soviet Union, the equal political support of this kind of migra- friends were ethnic German/Russian Jewish and how
tion (Shuval, 1998), and the similar adaptation processes found many were natives. We then calculated for each adolescent
among adolescents of these groups (Titzmann et al., 2010). the share of native friends among all friends, which varied
between 0 and 100 percent.
Perceived socio-cultural hassles were assessed using 7
Hypotheses items, for example ‘I was together with natives and did not
Based on the functional friendship model mentioned earlier know how to behave’. Adolescents rated how often they
(Bochner et al., 1977), we predicted that a higher share of experienced each situation during the last 12 months on a five
native friends in the network would increase socio- point Likert scale ranging from 1 (‘never’) to 5 (‘more than
cultural knowledge and thus would reduce the frequency 10 times’). This scale showed sufficient reliability with an
with which daily hassles related to difficulties in socio- alpha consistency varying between .70 and .77 depending
cultural adaptation are experienced. Such hassles include, on the wave of measurement. Measurement equivalence
for instance, that immigrants are unsure whether the way across groups and waves was tested using structural equa-
they behave in a certain situation is appropriate or not. tion models with equality constraints. The change in model
Three hypotheses were tested. First, initial levels of the fit between the unconstrained and the constrained models
share of native friends relate negatively to initial levels of (measurement weights set to be equal across groups and time
socio-cultural hassles. Second, changes in the share of native points) was smaller than CFI < .01, which indicates similar
friends relate negatively to changes in socio-cultural hassles, measurement weight across time points and groups, accord-
e.g., an increase in the share of native friends should be asso- ing to Cheung and Rensvold (2002). All analyses were per-
ciated with a decrease in socio-cultural hassles. Third, formed using AMOS (Arbuckle, 2006). In order to validate
because of the similarities between the migrant groups and our measure, we tested whether socio-cultural hassles corre-
the receiving contexts discussed earlier, and because the lated with depressive symptoms (Achenbach, 1991). This
assumptions made by Bochner et al.’s (1977) functional association can be expected to be significant, because socio-
friendship model are general and not group-specific, we cultural hassles are stressors that should impair the subjective
assumed the processes of adaptation to be similar, even if the well-being of adolescents (Petersen, Sarigiani, & Kennedy,
groups may differ in mean levels on some variables studied. 1991). Results supported this assumption revealing signifi-
Thus, we expected the associations between the share of cant associations ranging from r ¼ .26 (p < .01) to r ¼ .35
native friends among all friends and socio-cultural hassles (p < .01) depending on immigrant group and time point.
to be equal in both countries for the intercepts and the slopes.

Associations of Inter-ethnic Friendships and

Assessing Immigrants’ Friendships and Socio-cultural Adaptation
Socio-cultural Adaptation
In order to test our hypothesis that a higher share of native
Data for this study are part of the longitudinal project ‘‘The friends is related to fewer socio-cultural adaptation hassles

•
Impact of Social and Cultural Adaptation of Juvenile among Diaspora migrants, we used latent growth curve

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

Correlation:
G: r = −.16***
IS: r = −.12***
Level Native F Level SocH
G: 24.2a G:2.2a
IS: 19.5b IS: 2.4b

Correlation:
Correlation: G: r = −.65***
G: r = −.65*** IS: r = −.72***
IS: r = −.76***

Slope Native Fc Slope SocHc

G: 4 .1*** G: −0.1**
IS: 2 .1* IS: −0.2***
Correlation:
G: r = −.11*
IS: r = −.07*

Figure 1. Longitudinal associations of the share of native friends in the friendship network and social adaptation hassles (Native F ¼ Share
of native friends among friends; SocH ¼ Social adaptation hassles; G ¼ Germany; IS ¼ Israel); * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001; a,b
different superscripts within each latent variable indicate differences between the Israeli and the German sample; c significance levels
indicate a significant rate of change over time; model fit of the default model: Chi-square ¼ 84.3, p < .001; CFI ¼ .97; RMSEA ¼ .04.

modelling (Ferrer & McArdle, 2003). The modelling strat- The levels of the share of native friends and perceived
egy included two interrelated growth curves. The first was socio-cultural hassles correlated significantly (Germany:
set up to estimate intercept (initial level at first assessment) r ¼ .16, p < .01; Israel: r ¼ .12, p < .001) and thus, our first
and slope (rate of change over the three measurement hypothesis was supported by the data. Adolescents who
points) in the share of native friends for each person. The reported a higher share of native adolescent friends at first
second estimated intercept and slope for socio-cultural assessment also reported fewer socio-cultural hassles at this
hassles for each person. The slopes in both models were time point. For the assumed associations in rates of change
assessed unconditionally (without the assumption of according to Hypothesis 2, the associations also reached
linearity), as we had no assumption for linear increases or significance in each country (Germany: r ¼ .11, p < .05;
decreases over a rather long period of two years. In both Israel: r ¼ .07, p < .05). Therefore Hypothesis 2 was also
models, the respective manifest variables (share of native supported by the data.
friends and socio-cultural hassles) across time points repre- For testing the third hypothesis (a similar strength of
sented the basis for this estimation and both models were association between both samples), we constrained the asso-
controlled for age and length of residence. In order to assess ciations in levels and slopes to be equal across both samples
our predictions from Hypothesis 1 and Hypothesis 2 we and tested for changes in model fit via chi square. As
estimated the co-variation of intercepts and slopes of both expected, neither the associations for the level (Chi-square
variables. Differences between Germany and Israel were ¼ 1.21, p ¼ .27) nor for the slope (Chi-square ¼ 0.19, p ¼
examined by including equality constraints on the para- .66) differed significantly between both immigrant groups.
meters of interest to test Hypothesis 3.
As shown in Figure 1, the growth curve models
indicated lower initial shares of native friends and higher
initial levels of socio-cultural hassles among immigrants
Conclusions
in Israel as compared to those in Germany. With regard This study aimed at testing whether friendships with
to the slopes, we found in both samples significant natives would be associated with better socio-cultural
increases over the three years of the study for the share adjustment and thus fewer perceived socio-cultural hassles
of native friends and decreases in socio-cultural hassles. as suggested by the functional model of friendships
There was substantial variation in slopes and intercepts (Bochner et al., 1977). The data provide evidence for this
for both variables. However, whereas both groups dif- assumption. In both immigrant groups and for the intercept
fered in the initial levels of both variables, the rates of as well as the slope the expected negative associations were
change were similar. As is usual for growth curves, slope found. Furthermore, the strength of association did not
and intercept of each variable studied correlated nega- vary across the two immigrant groups studied. Thus, the
tively in both samples, which can be explained by the fact functional model of friendships, at least with regard to
that those who start high or low are more likely to the expected benefits from having native friends, can be

•
decrease or increase respectively. applied in various contexts also with Diaspora migrants

15
 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

and may not only be restricted to exchange students who Author Note
participated in Bochner et al.’s (1977) original study.
We thank all adolescents who participated repeatedly in this
The correlation coefficients between the two constructs
study, all our student assistants, and our collaborators from
studied here were, however, only moderate. On the one
Germany: Eva Schmitt-Rodermund; and from the University
hand this may be the result of the statistical analysis, as, for
of Haifa, Israel: Zvi Eisikovits, Gideon Fischman, Gustavo
instance, growth curve models tend to underestimate slope
Mesch, and Hagit Turjeman.
associations (Hertzog, Lindenberger, Ghisletta, & Oertzen,
2006). On the other hand, one needs to consider the com-
plexity of acculturation processes, in which peers are only
one of many other aspects that may enhance or slow down
References
socio-cultural adaptation (Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, Aboud, F. E., Mendelson, M. J., & Purdy, K. T. (2003). Cross-
2006). Instances may be the ethnic composition of the school race peer relations and friendship quality. International
(Silbereisen & Titzmann, 2007), which can provide better or Journal of Behavioral Development, 27(2), 165-173.
worse environments for the acquisition of culture-specific Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior
knowledge, or parents who also were shown to have an Checklist/4-18 and 1991 Profile. Burlington, VT: University
impact on the adaptation of immigrants (Schmitt- of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Rodermund & Silbereisen, 1999). Arbuckle, J. L. (2006). Amos (Version 7.0) [Computer Pro-
Our study has limitations: The reciprocity of friend- gram]. Chicago: SPSS.
ships was not assessed, the direction of effects cannot be Berry, J. W., Phinney, J. S., Sam, D. L., & Vedder, P. (Eds.).
derived from our analyses, we were not able to assess the (2006). Immigrant youth in cultural transition: Acculturation,
kind of support or information given by friends of various identity, and adaptation across national contexts. Mahwah,
ethnicity, and the results may be applied only with caution NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
to other immigrant groups. Nevertheless, our longitudinal Bochner, S., McLeod, B. M., & Lin, A. (1977). Friendship
study provided important evidence for the role native peers patterns of overseas students: A functional model. Inter-
play in the socio-cultural adaptation of immigrant adoles- national Journal of Psychology, 12(4), 277-294.
cents, as a different composition of native and immigrant Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating
peers in the friendship network was related also longitud- goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invar-
inally to differences in socio-cultural hassles. To identify the iance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2), 233-255.
functions of friends from different ethnicities may be one Ferrer, E., & McArdle, J. J. (2003). Alternative structural
further step toward a better understanding of why immi- models for multivariate longitudinal data analysis.
grants tend to have intra-ethnic over inter-ethnic friends. Structural Equation Modeling, 10(4), 493-524.
Hertzog, C., Lindenberger, U., Ghisletta, P., & Oertzen, T. v.
(2006). On the power of multivariate latent growth curve
models to detect correlated change. Psychological Meth-
Implications
ods, 11(3), 244-252.
What are the implications of this research, for instance for Horenczyk, G., & Tatar, M. (1998). Friendship expectations
designing programs that foster the adaptation of immi- among immigrant adolescents and their host peers. Jour-
grants? Certainly, in line with research reported earlier, our nal of Adolescence, 21(1), 69-82.
results suggest that the instigation of inter-ethnic friendships Kandel, D. B. (1978). Similarity in real-life adolescent
seems to be beneficial for socio-cultural adaptation and friendship pairs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychol-
should be promoted. This positive view should, however, ogy, 36, 306-312.
not be mistaken as a derogation of intra-ethnic friendships, Maharaj, S. I., & Connolly, J. A. (1994). Peer network com-
which can be assumed to serve other functions for immi- position of acculturated and ethnoculturally-affiliated
grant adolescents, such as helping in forming an identity adolescents in a multicultural setting. Journal of Adoles-
or in coping with the transition to a new country (Bochner cent Research, 9(2), 218-240.
et al., 1977). Therefore, programs need to foster positive McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., & Cook, J. M. (2001). Birds
bonds to both intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic peers. Further- of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annual
more, although friendships between natives and immigrants Review of Sociology, 27, 415-444.
should be reinforced, the timing of such contact needs to be Petersen, A., Sarigiani, P. A., & Kennedy, R. E. (1991). Ado-
considered, as early contact (shortly after arrival) may lescent depression: Why more girls? Journal of Youth and
overburden immigrants and can result in lower levels of psy- Adolescence, 20(2), 247 - 271.
chological adjustment (Silbereisen & Schmitt-Rodermund, Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2000). Does intergroup con-
2000). A final consideration is how inter-ethnic contact can tact reduce prejudice: Recent meta-analytic findings. In
be reinforced. Existing research suggests that variables S. Oskamp (Ed.), Reducing prejudice and discrimination
related to similarity between natives and immigrants, such (pp. 93-114). Mahwah, NJ US: Lawrence Erlbaum
as a similar language (Titzmann et al., 2010), and contact con- Associates Publishers.
ditions, such as an equal status between immigrants and Rodgers, J. L., Billy, J. O., & Udry, J. R. (1984). A model of
natives and support from authorities (Pettigrew & Tropp, friendship similarity in mildly deviant behaviors. Journal
2000), may be successful in instigating inter-ethnic friend- of Applied Social Psychology, 14(2), 413-425.
ships. The integration of such knowledge from various stud- Schmitt-Rodermund, E., & Silbereisen, R. K. (1999).
ies into psychological programs focussing on the integration Determinants of differential acculturation of develop-
of immigrants can be expected to yield valuable opportuni- mental timetables among adolescent immigrants in

•
ties for the successful adaptation of immigrants. Germany. International Journal of Psychology, 34(4), 219-233.

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Schmitt-Rodermund, E., & Silbereisen, R. K. (2004). ‘‘Ich expansion of international travel in the second half of the
war gezwungen, alles mit der Faust zu regeln’’ - Delin- 20th century, permanent migrants began to return to their
quenz unter jugendlichen Aussiedlern aus der Perspek- country of origin much more frequently, especially for
tive der Entwicklungspsychologie [’’I felt that I had to vacation and to reinforce cultural and family ties, and in
sort it all out with my fists’’ - Delinquency among ado- turn they were visited in the new country by their relatives.
lescent ethnic German immigrants seen from the per- The much greater scope for travel has facilitated another
spective of developmental psychology]. Soziologie der trend, namely non-permanent migration, mostly for the
Kriminalität, Sonderheft der Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie purpose of contract employment, and mostly from low-
und Sozialpsychologie, 43, 240-263. income to high income countries.
Schneider, B. H., Dixon, K., & Udvari, S. (2007). Closeness Hugo captures the consequences of these changes in
and competition in the inter-ethnic and co-ethnic friend- patterns of migration using three terms: circularity, recipro-
ships of early adolescents in Toronto and Montreal. The city and return. The increasing contacts lead to a complex
Journal of Early Adolescence, 27(1), 115-138. network of interactions. Potentially this amounts to a flow
Shuval, J. T. (1998). Migration to Israel: The mythology of of ideas, goods and people with possible benefits of
uniqueness. International Migration, 36(1), 3 - 26. permanent and temporary migration for both origin and
Silbereisen, R. K., & Schmitt-Rodermund, E. (2000). Adoles- destination countries. Hugo specifically refers to policies
cent immigrants’ well-being: the case of ethnic German that facilitate positive impacts and reduce negative effects
immigrants in Germany. International Journal of Group with a focus on economic aspects.
Tensions, 29, 79 - 100. The three remaining lead articles deal with psychologi-
Silbereisen, R. K., & Titzmann, P. F. (2007). Peers among cal and social consequences of migration. Acculturation
immigrants - Some comments on ‘Have we missed some- refers to changes in behavior patterns of groups of individ-
thing?’ In R. C. M. E. Engels, M. Kerr & H. Stattin (Eds.), uals that come into regular contact. Such changes can be
Friends, lovers and groups: Key relationships in adolescence spontaneous, but they can also be imposed, with the domi-
(pp. 155-166). New York, NY US: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. nant group(s) in a society dictating norms and rules. The
Titzmann, P. F., & Silbereisen, R. K. (2009). Friendship unequal status of groups implies that individuals belonging
homophily among ethnic German immigrants: A longi- to non-dominant groups are seen either as guests who
tudinal comparison between recent and more experi- should respect the standards of the hosts, or even as intru-
enced immigrant adolescents. Journal of Family ders who disrupt the social order and make unjustified
Psychology, 23(3), 301-310. claims to social benefits and entitlements, such as school
Titzmann, P. F., Silbereisen, R. K., & Mesch, G. (2010). education and national health insurance schemes.
Change in Friendship Homophily: A German Israeli compar- Berry summarizes his well-known framework of four
ison of Adolescent Immigrants. Manuscript submitted for acculturation strategies. In his earlier writing the emphasis
publication. was on the choices made by acculturating groups. Later on,
Titzmann, P. F., Silbereisen, R. K., Mesch, G., & Schmitt- four complementary strategies were added, representing
Rodermund, E. (in press). Migration-specific Hassles possible choices by the larger society (see also Bourhis,
Among Adolescent Immigrants From the Former Soviet Moise, Perreault, & Senecal, 1997). Of numerous studies,
Union in Germany and Israel. Journal of Cross-Cultural most have pointed to integration as the strategy leading
Psychology. to the most favorable outcomes. This implies a critique of
assimilation, the most widely espoused ideal of accultura-
tion, articulated in the USA in the notion of the ‘‘melting
COMMENTARY: Conceptualizations pot’’ where the groups making up a society are cooked
together to form culturally a homogeneous stew. Instead
and social reality Berry has advocated the ideal of multiculturalism, in which
groups are encouraged to retain their heritage identity.
Ype H. Poortinga
This work has been criticized for reducing complex rea-
Tilburg University, The Netherlands
lities to simple schemes. For example, in the Netherlands
E-mail: [email protected]
adjustment to Dutch culture was emphasized by Dutch-
Turkish respondents more in the public sphere and main-
Youngsters of many migrant and minority groups are per- tenance of Turkish culture more in the private sphere,
ceived to be characterized by problematic social indicators, pointing to domain specificity of acculturation strategies
such as high rates of school drop-out, unemployment and (Arends-Tóth & Van de Vijver, 2003). While detracting
antisocial behavior. Can research on migration and accul- from the implied homogeneity of the acculturation process
turation, as represented by the four lead articles in this Bul- in the original framework, this research makes use of the
letin, be of help in addressing and resolving such problems? earlier conceptualizations rather than rejecting these
Or is this perhaps the wrong question to ask? beforehand. More important, it adds to an understanding
The first of the four articles addresses migration, the of discrepancies in views between migrants and the Dutch
international long-term and permanent movement of peo- majority. The latter group does not differentiate between
ple. Using the case of Australia, Hugo draws attention to the private and public sphere and has a higher preference
an important change in traditional patterns of migration. for migrants to assimilate.
Becoming a migrant used to imply that you left everything In their contribution Stuart, Ward and Adam empha-
behind: your friends and acquaintances, the environment in size a developmental perspective. For their target group,
which you could move around with confidence, and Muslim youngsters in New Zealand, they counter the

•
often all or most members of your close family. With the widely held presumption that psychosocial development

17
 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

of adolescents faced with conflicting cultural demands will articles on acculturation are contributions to a growing
result in more adjustment problems. Instead they point to fund of knowledge.
protective factors within the group, which help members The second question raised in the opening paragraph
to achieve positive identity formation and resilience. These was whether the first was the right question to ask. At the
positive outcomes among immigrant youth, which also time of writing French president Sarkozy is forcing Roma
have been reported elsewhere (Dimitrova, & Chasiotis, to return to Romania; ‘‘democratic’’ Dutch political parties
2010), lead Stuart et al. to question the popular ‘‘deficit’’ are negotiating to form a government with an anti-Islam
views on minorities mentioned in the first paragraph. party that attracted 15.5% of the vote in parliamentary elec-
Stuart et al. make use of interview and focus groups, tions; the Arizona government continues to press for discri-
and of expressive (projective) methods that are more inter- minatory measures against Latin Americans, and Al Jazeera
pretative or qualitative than the survey methods used is reporting brutal Israeli action against an illegal Bedouin
mostly by Berry and his colleagues. Recently, Ward and settlement in the Negev, rather than against one of the
Kagitcibasi (2010) edited a special issue of the International numerous illegal Jewish settlements on the West Bank. The
Journal of Intercultural Relations in reply to Chirkov (2009) actions described are current manifestations of ongoing
who questioned the practical use of the bulk of accultura- processes in which dominant groups feel challenged by
tion research. Most articles in that issue used methods minorities and minorities feel misrecognized in the pursuit
allowing, and encouraging, members of a target group to of their way of life. The rising demands for cultural / ethnic
speak for themselves. Thus, the current article by Stuart / religious homogeneity in several countries suggest
et al. can be said to fit a broader trend, both methodologi- decreasing acceptance of diversity.
cally and conceptually. Methodologically, the field of For some reason psychologists focus on minorities rather
cross-cultural psychology, where most behavioral research than on the dominant forces in a society (to which they usually
on acculturation has originated, is beginning to acknowl- belong themselves), while in all of the examples just
edge the need for mixed methods, combining qualitative mentioned the adverse course of action by authorities on
and quantitative approaches. Conceptually the active invol- behalf of the dominant group makes it clear that evidence
vement of client groups is becoming a hallmark of social from the behavioral and social sciences is being ignored. In
intervention programs. Clients are to be treated not as pas- the article on demographic trends in migration Hugo argues
sive recipients, but as active agents capable of setting and for the potential contribution of migration for national
realizing their own goals (Sen, 2000; Pick & Sirkin, 2010). development. Perhaps the most outstanding example from
Titzmann, Michel, and Silbereisen examine the signifi- psychology on how intergroup relations can be improved is
cance of one specific factor in the sociocultural adaptation inspired by Allport’s (1954) contact hypothesis. Based on a
of a rather specific kind of minority, diaspora migrants. The meta-analysis of more than 500 studies, Pettigrew and Tropp
study demonstrates in two settings that having friends from (2006) showed that intergroup contact typically reduces
the dominant community is likely to have a positive effect, intergroup prejudice in a society. Unfortunately, to the best
even though such friendships are only one factor in the of my knowledge there are no countries in which these
complex web of acculturation processes. The paper is solid findings have been incorporated into the public discourse.
empirically and methodologically and shows the advan- The lead contributions in this Bulletin allude to the
tage that returning diaspora youth in both Israel and Ger- larger society, but their main focus is on minority and
many gain from friendships with natives. The question migrant groups. Acculturation research can be said to have
asked in this study is well defined and the authors used a contributed important insights about the adjustment of
longitudinal design and sophisticated analysis techniques. migrant and minority groups, but perhaps the role of
They can be said to provide one solid building block of the dominant groups in a society should be taken into account
many that are needed to gain comprehensive knowledge more explicitly. The first article shows that for members of
and insight into acculturation phenomena. the dominant society, getting to know and understand the
At the beginning of this comment two questions were migrants in their midst makes sense not only from a social
posed. The first was whether research on acculturation has but also from a long-term economic perspective.
relevance for youngsters from acculturating groups. There
is something to be said for both a positive and a negative
answer. Researchers tend to focus on the answers they
References
are able to give for questions that they happen to have Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA:
examined. From this perspective a lot has been learned Addison-Wesley.
about acculturation in recent decades. However, a concrete Arends-Tóth, J., & Van de Vijver, F. (2003). Multiculturalism
problem of an acculturating individual or group with and acculturation: Views of Dutch and Turkish-Dutch.
which a professional practitioner is confronted may well European Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 249- 266.
present itself as a more or less open problem space; first it Bourhis, R., Moise, C., Perreault, S., & Senecal, S. (1997).
has to be decided what information is needed before one Towards an interactive acculturation model: A social
can even begin searching for relevant research findings. psychological approach. International Journal of Psychol-
From this perspective research-based knowledge on accul- ogy, 32, 369-386.
turation is likely to appear scattered and piecemeal. The Chirkov, V. (2009). Critical psychology of acculturation:
best answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. There What do we study and how do we study it, when we
are few acculturation-related issues for which a complete investigate acculturation? International Journal of Intercul-
answer is readily available; but on the basis of available tural Relations, 33, 94-105.
knowledge it should be possible to narrow down the range Dimitrova, R., & Chasiotis, A. (2010). Psychosocial

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of plausible solutions. From this perspective the three lead adjustment of Albanian and Serbian immigrant and

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

Slovene and Italian Children in Italy. Manuscript in describes in his summary of work with both adults and
preparation. youth, the most common and most advantageous approach
Pettigrew, T., & Tropp, L. (2006). A meta-analytic test of is to simultaneously have orientations to both the family’s
intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social native culture and the culture of the receiving society. The
Psychology, 90, 751-783. Muslim adolescents in New Zealand studied by Stuart,
Pick, S., & Sirkin, J. (2010). Breaking the cycle of poverty: The Ward, and Adam seek a sense of ‘‘balance’’ between the
human basis for sustainable development. New York: expectations of their religion and family culture and the
Oxford University Press. demands of being a teenager in a Western, Christian-
Sen, A. (2000). Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford Uni- oriented society.
versity Press. Although preferred, this sense of balance is not easily
Ward, C., & Kagitcibasi, C. (2010). Introduction to ‘‘Accul- achieved. The contemporary tensions between fundamen-
turation theory, research and application: Working with talist Islamic movements and the Western world create
and for communities’’. International Journal of Intercultural stereotypes for the Muslim youth to overcome, making it
Relations 34, 97-100. more difficult for them to become New Zealanders even if
they want to pursue that goal. Similarly, Berry reports that
discrimination is reported by immigrant youth in a variety
of host societies and presents one of the most significant
COMMENTARY: The Benefits and challenges to their successful psychological and sociocul-
Challenges of Belonging tural development. The mixed messages presented by
many host societies to their immigrants are easily picked
Andrew J. Fuligni up by these children, who find it difficult to please every-
University of California, Los Angeles, USA one as they attempt to become good members of their fam-
E-mail: [email protected] ilies and new home countries. These challenges make it
even more remarkable that many adolescents from immi-
Traditional notions of the acculturation of immigrants grant families show portraits of psychological and beha-
emphasized the inevitability and desirability of the foreign vioral adjustment that rival or even surpass those of their
born shedding their old ways and adopting the values and native-born peers (Fuligni, 1998) .
practices of their new societies. There are multiple sources A key way to achieve the balance sought by children
of these notions. Historically, the difficulty of travel and from immigrant families is to establish some kind of con-
communication between distant countries created a clearer nection to peers who can serve as guides to the new
barrier between the old and the new. Multiple ocean cross- society. Titzmann, Michel, and Silbereisen nicely show the
ings between continents were a luxury of only the very importance of inter-ethnic friendships for the psychocul-
wealthy and the move to a new land was a definitive tural adaptation of teenagers from immigrant families.
change in life for the majority of immigrants. Practically, Those with native-born friends had fewer difficulties and
learning the tools and norms of the new society – such felt a greater comfort in negotiating situations in the new
as language or commercial practices – was necessary for society. These findings were observed in two very different
establishing a foothold in the economy. Finally, many host receiving nations, Germany and Israel. Although perhaps
nations pursued active and aggressive policies of assimila- not surprising, these results are powerful in showing
tion, creating a clear division between the old ways and the importance of cultivating social relationships across
those of the new society that immigrants were pressed to immigrant and native-born youth. The trend for these
adopt. Although these traditional notions of acculturation inter-ethnic relationships to increase over the years of
developed largely in response to adult immigration, adolescence is encouraging and suggests that despite the
they were naturally extended to their children because discrimination these teens face, time in the new country is
the youngsters would be growing up in the new society associated with increased opportunities for critical friend-
and more easily adapt to the new language, culture, and ships with native-born members of the host society.
world view. In addition to the theme of integrating the old and the
The articles presented in this special section are new, these articles highlight the critical importance of a
consistent with recent work on the children from immigrant sense of belonging for the adaptation of children from
families that challenges these traditional notions of accul- immigrant families. One of the key tasks of the adolescent
turation. Acculturation is not an ‘‘either/or’’ question. In period, developing a sense of being a valued part of a larger
fact, immigration itself may no longer be an ‘‘either/or’’ social group is arguably a particularly difficult challenge
question in the modern age of easier world-wide travel and for those in immigrant families. Not only do these teenagers
communication. Hugo’s analyses of the movements of indi- deal with the normative need to become integrated into
viduals in and out of Australia highlights the great fre- peer groups, they also face the need to become integrated
quency with which many immigrants move back and into the larger host society. The seemingly advantageous
forth across borders, whether for business or family rea- pattern of integrating an attachment to the family’s culture
sons. Even establishing a home in a new society no longer of origin with a positive orientation to the host society
suggests a permanent severance of ties with the old coun- brings to mind the pattern of findings from social develop-
try. Children are affected by this seemingly new approach ment that suggests that a close attachment to parents and
to immigration. Rather than having to decide between old family actually facilitates better peer relationships. High
and new, the children of immigrants pick and choose levels of autonomy and independence from parents, in
between aspects of their families’ native cultures and com- contrast, are not predictive of better integration with peers

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bine them with features of the new society. As Berry and actually portend difficulties with psychological and

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

behavioral adaptation. Perhaps the same is true for the motivation among adolescents from Asian and Latin Amer-
sociocultural adaptation of children from immigrant fam- ican backgrounds. For example, a stronger level of ethnic
ilies. That is, a strong connection to the family’s cultural identity and family obligation is linked to higher positive
orientation may provide these children with the psycholo- psychological well being (Fuligni & Pedersen, 2002). Ethnic
gical strength and sense of purpose that enable them to identity even allows adolescents to maintain positivity in
successfully approach the challenges of adapting to a new the face of greater anxiety due to the demands and stresses
and different society. of daily life (Kiang, Yip, Gonzales-Backen, Witkow, &
A primary focus of the research conducted by our Fuligni, 2006). Ethnic, cultural, and family identification
research group over the past several years has been on how are also linked to higher levels of academic motivation
adolescents’ identifications with their families and cultural and a greater belief in the importance and usefulness of
backgrounds shape their psychological, behavioral, and education (Fuligni & Tseng, 1999; Fuligni, et al., 2005).
educational adjustment. There have been two major Interestingly, these identities appear to help those from
findings from this body of work that bear upon the findings Asian and Latin American backgrounds to maintain the
discussed by the articles in this special section. First, like higher level of academic motivation that they need to have
other ethnic minority teenagers, minority adolescents in in order to achieve the same level of academic success as
American society identify with their families and cultural their peers from European American backgrounds. In gen-
backgrounds more strongly than do their peers from white, eral, identification with family and culture works similarly
European American backgrounds who represent the major- for both foreign-born and American-born Asian and Latin
ity group in the United States. Second, these identifications American adolescents, highlighting the important influ-
with their families and cultural backgrounds are associated ence of both immigrant and ethnic minority status for
with a sense of purpose and motivation to try to overcome those from immigrant families.
the many challenges they face to their successful adaptation Despite the desire of adolescents from immigrant fam-
in American society. ilies to retain an identification with their family and cul-
Consistent with an extensive body of research on ture and the seemingly positive effects of doing so, the
African Americans, our studies with families from Asian process is not easy for these teenagers. As the Muslim stu-
and Latin American backgrounds suggest that these teen- dents told Stuart, Adam, and Ward, maintaining a posi-
agers have a strong sense of ethnic and cultural identity tive cultural and family identification can be very
(Fuligni, Witkow, & Garcia, 2005). They report feeling a difficult in a society with very different cultural, social,
greater sense of attachment to their ethnic and cultural and religious norms. In our own research, students from
groups and report that their ethnic and cultural back- immigrant families consistently report the challenges of
ground is a central part of their larger identities. When being a visible minority in American society that holds
asked to indicate the ethnic labels that describe them best, stereotypes about Asian and Latin American families and
those from Asian and Latin American backgrounds choose cultures (Huynh & Fuligni, in press). Although a sense of
multiple labels ranging from those that refer to national obligation to the family provides the teenagers with a
origin (e.g., Chinese), to those that refer to American eth- sense of purpose and motivation, the very real need to
nic categories (e.g., Asian), to those that reflect more of help the family can be stressful and interfere with their
an integration of their cultural background and American desire to socialize with friends, attend parties, and engage
society (e.g., Chinese American, Asian American). Inter- in other activities typical of American teenagers (Fuligni,
estingly, most adolescents hold these multiple identities in press).
simultaneously, highlighting both their efforts and their Wanting the best of both worlds, adolescents from
need to be flexible across ethnic categories. Foreign-born immigrant families constantly try to negotiate the
teenagers are more likely to include national-origin labels demands of their families, cultures, and host societies.
in their repertoire than are American-born adolescents As suggested by Berry, many teenagers successfully man-
of the same ethnic background, highlighting the continued age this process of integrating two worlds and show a
importance of birthplace for the process of ethnic and remarkable level of adjustment. Yet other adolescents
cultural identity. from immigrant families are undoubtedly less successful,
Similar to cultural and ethnic identity, adolescents’ despite their desire to achieve that sense of balance. What
from immigrant families hold a strong sense of identifica- is missing from these articles and from the field as a whole
tion with their families of origin. We have focused particu- is a clearer idea of the process of integrating the old and the
larly on a specific feature of family identification that new and the complexity with which adolescents from
implies adolescents have an obligation to support, assist, immigrant families negotiate the often competing
and respect the authority of their families. Adolescents demands of family, culture, and society. As nicely demon-
from Asian and Latin American backgrounds consistently strated by these articles, contemporary immigration is a
report a stronger sense of family obligation than do their story of constant traversing of boundaries, geographically,
peers from European American backgrounds (Hardway & socially, and psychologically. We now know that adoles-
Fuligni, 2006). This sense of obligation remains strong cents from immigrant families do not simply choose one
across different generation of immigrants, and the culture or another, and that they prefer to retain aspects
foreign-born youth spend more time helping their families of their family’s culture of origin that provide them with
on a daily basis and provide more financial assistance to a sense of purpose and motivation to adapt to the norms
their parents than do those from American-born families and practices of their new societies and make them their
of the same ethnic background (Fuligni & Pedersen, 2002). own. Exactly how they engage in that process, and the
These connections to culture, ethnicity, and family con- implications for the evolution of both their native cultures

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sistently predict higher levels of well being, purpose, and and societies of origin, is perhaps the key question for the

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next generation of research on this growing and increas- motivation and achievement (pp. 159-184). Stamford, CT:
ingly important population of children. JAI Press, Inc.
Fuligni, A. J., Witkow, M., & Garcia, C. (2005). Ethnic
identity and the academic adjustment of adolescents
References from Mexican, Chinese, and European Backgrounds.
Fuligni, A. J. (1998). The adjustment of children from immi- Developmental Psychology, 41(5), 799-811.
grant families. Current Directions in Psychological Science, Hardway, C., & Fuligni, A. J. (2006). Dimensions of family
7(4), 99-103. connectedness among adolescents with Mexican,
Fuligni, A. J. (in press). Social identity, motivation, and well Chinese, and European backgrounds. Developmental
being among adolescents from Asian and Latin Ameri- Psychology, 42(6), 1246-1258.
can backgrounds Motivation and Health: Addressing Youth Huynh, V., & Fuligni, A. J. (In Press). Discrimination
Health Disparities in the 21st Century. The 2009 Nebraska hurts: The academic, psychological, and physical
Symposium on Motivation. well being of adolescents. Journal of Research on
Fuligni, A. J., & Pedersen, S. (2002). Family obligation and Adolescence.
the transition to young adulthood. Developmental Psy- Kiang, L., Yip, T., Gonzales-Backen, M., Witkow, M., &
chology, 38(5), 856-868. Fuligni, A. J. (2006). Ethnic identity and the daily
Fuligni, A. J., & Tseng, V. (1999). Family obligations and the psychological well being of adolescents with Chinese
achievement motivation of children from immigrant and and Mexican backgrounds. Child Development, 27,
American-born families. In T. Urdan (Ed.), Advances in 1338-1350.

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Reports from the Lab

Identity Mapping: Methodological (see Sirin & Fine, 2007), we have relied upon an old social
Implications for Studying psychological method – the personal ‘‘identity map.’’ While
the prompts may vary depending on the research project –
Hyphenated Selves draw the city, your selves, safe and dangerous spaces in
Selcuk R. Sirin your life, a conflict in your life, your journey to your new
Department of Applied Psychology, New York country or into the future – across projects young people
University, USA E-mail: [email protected] take the invitation to illustrate their many selves in their
and identity maps. With the Muslim American youth, we asked
Dalal Katsiaficas them simply to draw their selves (i.e., student, daughter/
Department of Applied Psychology, New York son, athlete, Muslim, American) the way they see it.
University, USA E-mail: [email protected] Variations of this projective method have psycho-analy-
tic roots with D. W. Winnicott (1989) and have been applied
and
by environmental psychologists (Lynch, 1960; Saarinen,
Vanessa V. Volpe 1973), radical geographers (Geiseking, 2007; Hart & Moore,
Department of Applied Psychology, New York 1973; Hart, 1981; Katz, 2004; Harvey, 2001; Gieseking, 2007)
University, USA E-mail: [email protected] and social psychologists, most notably Stanley Milgram
and Denise Jodelet (1976). Mapping’s sociological roots
Identity negotiation is a process in which individuals began with theorists such as Lynch (1960) who chose to
construct their identity in context across various domains study the city via the ‘‘mental image by citizens’’ (p. 2).
(Swann, 1987). This process is influenced not only by per- Lynch examined the city through participants’ five senses
sonal characteristics (e.g., religious or ethnic background) in an attempt to understand the expressed meaning the city
but social and political contexts (e.g., civil war or the events held for its citizens. While his objective was to create a com-
of 9/11 and its aftermath). For immigrant minority youth, posite map to direct urban planners and thus make a more
identity development involves negotiating the hyphen enjoyable city, he was inadvertently using the idea of map-
between various social and cultural identifications (Berry, ping as an expressive medium to explore personal attitudes
1990; LaFromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993; Suarez- and intrinsic meaning-making systems. Gieseking (2007)
Orozco, 2005). While the study of identity development notes the practical implications of the methodology; ‘‘[men-
among diverse youth has a long and intricate history in the tal mapping] offers a way to actually collapse time in mem-
social sciences, methods employed to explore such identities ory to gain access to spatial memories forgotten from the
have been typically reserved to survey items and textual nar- outsider (and above the) perspective of adulthood’’ (p. 6).
ratives extracted from interviews and focus groups. Identity Milgram and Jodelet (1976) built on this method with over
mapping, or visual representations of one’s identities, is a 200 participants in Paris. The researchers explain that the
non-textual alternative designed to expand not only the drawn maps were not accurate physical representations but
methods employed in such study, but also to carry theoreti- rather a glimpse into the participants’ conceptions of the
cal implications for understanding hyphenated selves. city they resided in.
Sirin and Fine (Fine & Sirin 2007; Sirin & Fine, 2008; Sirin, Projective drawings have also been used by psychia-
et al., 2008) sketched the concept of hyphenated selves to frame trists, psychologists, and art therapists to determine the
a ‘‘theoretical and methodological program of research to inter- inner personality mechanisms of their clients. These tech-
rogate . . . [how] youths living in bodies infused with global niques are used to understand the subconscious issues
conflict, . . . actively make meaning, speak back and incorpo- beneath the drawings (Buck, 1948; Goodenough, 1926).
rate as they resist the shifting contradictory messages that swirl Hammer (1997) asserts that the ‘‘drawing of the dynamic
through them’’ (Fine & Sirin, 2007, p. 17). Drawing from signif- and familiar concepts of House, Tree, and Person, has been
icant scholarship on multiple identities (Deaux & Perkins, found to enhance the projection of the subject’s deepest
2001), intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991), transnationality fantasies, wishes, conflicts, fears, on conscious and uncon-
(Schick, 2002) and hybridity (Bhabha, 1994), the researchers scious levels’’ (p. 1). Some of the earliest references to
spotlighted the social psychological space between contentious mapping can be traced to Winnicott’s (1989) use of the
political and cultural contexts and youth identities. Theoreti- ‘‘squiggle game’’ in his initial meetings with young clients
cally, the construct of hyphenated selves invites theorists as a way to break the ice, and gain insight to psychoanalytic
and researchers to study youth identities in motion and for- processes. He used it not as a diagnostic technique but as an
mation, with contextual, historic, and personal specificity. informal, unstructured, flexible medium by which he could
attend to the themes that surfaced alongside interviews for
Mapping as a Method to Further Understand the client.
These early methodologies have important repercus-
Hyphenated Identities sions for identity mapping with adolescents who live in
In our work with varied groups of youth in urban schools, intricate and often contested political, geographical, and

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diverse communities, and with Muslim-American teens national spaces. Our use of a ‘‘self’’ mapping technique is

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an explicit attempt at spatializing identity(ies) and a crea-

tive way of asking participants to visualize their myriad
facets of self. We were interested in the potential of identity
maps as a tool to understand the multi-dimensionality of
youth identities. Through the use of identity maps in
concert with more conventional research methods, we are
able to texturize the findings regarding adolescent identity
development.

Identity Mapping as a Tool in Our Research

We first used identity mapping in our lab as part of a multi-
method research project on Muslim youth (ages 12-18) in
the U.S. post 9/11 (see Sirin & Fine, 2007; Sirin & Fine,
2008). This study was an initial pilot of identity mapping
as a research tool and we soon discovered that such a
strategy offered insight into the ways that young people
negotiate both their Muslim and American identities. In a
follow-up study with Muslim American adolescents and
emerging adults (ages 19-28), we relied on a research design
that could capture the layered complexity of youth growing
up in politically contentious contexts to further investigate
hyphenated identities (Sirin, et al., 2008; Zaal, Salah, & Fine,
2007). In addition to gathering quantitative survey data
with standardized scales of collective self-esteem, discrim-
ination and acculturation, and alongside focus groups and
interviews, we gathered identity maps for all participants.
Specifically, participants were provided with a blank page
and drawing materials (including ink pens and colored
markers) and a brief instruction: Figure 1. Example of identity maps: Learning as social activity full
Using the materials provided with this survey, please of encouragement and movement toward the future
draw a map of your many ethnic, religious, and social iden-
tities. This should be an illustration of how you see yourself
as a Muslim-American person. You are free to design the embodied a sense of being at the hyphen of Muslim and
map as you wish. You can use drawings, colors, symbols, American identities. Sixty-one percent of participants
words . . . whatever you need to reflect your multiple selves. designed maps that displayed an ‘‘integrated’’ identity, 29%
We coded the maps relying upon a scoring protocol of the participants constructed maps that showed separation
designed previously in our pilot work (Sirin & Fine, between their ‘‘Muslim’’ and ‘‘American’’ selves, and 11%
2007). For the young adult cohort, the maps were analyzed drew maps that showed inherent conflict between their
by two independent raters on the degree to which they selves. We also found interesting differences across gender.
reflect an ‘‘integrated,’’ ‘‘parallel,’’ or ‘‘conflictual’’ matrix Young Muslim women were more likely to have integrated
of identities. These three main themes emerged from identities than their male counterparts, and young men were
our initial analysis. A map was coded by each rater as an more likely to have parallel identities. While 45% of men
‘‘integrated identity’’ if the identities (e.g., Muslim and depicted parallel identities, only 17% of women did so, and
American) were portrayed as blended in a non-conflicting 68.5% of women as opposed to 50% of men drew maps that
way. For instance, a map depicting general fluidity between represented integrated identities. Women also tended to have
Muslim and American identifications, or explicit overlap- more conflictual identities: of the 10 identity maps that were
ping between the areas of the map where each identity was coded as conflictual, eight were drawn by women.
expressed is coded as ‘‘integrated.’’ A ‘‘parallel identity’’ In a third allied study, Hertz-Lazarowitz (our colleague
code was assigned to maps where both identities were in Israel) combined interviews and identity map methods at
depicted as if separate, (e.g., with a line passing through the the University of Haifa, a social laboratory to study the lives
middle of the page or as separate circles). Finally, a ‘‘conflic- of students from different national, religious, ethnic, and
tual identity’’ code was assigned to maps that represented gender backgrounds as they shape hyphenated identities.
tension, conflict, or irreconcilability of identities. The initial Similar to our first study, participants created identity maps
inter-rater agreement level for the two coders was 87%. The and were asked to describe what they chose to depict. Iden-
final identity category was decided only after the two tity maps and written messages were then coded following
coders reached full agreement level, which was achieved the procedures specified in Sirin et al., (2008). Three types of
for all the maps in the study. map messages were defined: Integrated, if the hyphenated
The identity maps in our study of Muslim American identities (at least two) were blended in a non-conflicted
youth were foundational to learning about how youth con- way. Separated/parallel if hyphenated identities (at least two)
struct their gendered, national, ethnic and personal identi- were separated or parallel. Conflicted if hyphenated identi-

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ties. An analysis of the maps showed that participants ties (at least two) were depicted with high tension, rage and

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Figure 2. Example of identity maps: Layers of struggle and then triumph

intense conflict. The initial inter-rater agreement level was conflict. We learned from the maps and the interviews the
90%. The coders achieved a 100 % agreement level relating intimate significance of emotions; and the broad range of
to the categorizations of the maps after the initial discus- symbols included in the maps, which suggest that identity
sions. The maps and interviews together vividly portray the maps tap into the depth of youths’ identity narratives.
psychological work performed at the hyphen, where nego- The last project with which we employed mapping is a
tiations of language use, national allegiance, cultural dis- longitudinal mixed-methods project, titled New York City
tinctions, and gender roles all form intricate layers of Academic and Social Engagement Study (NYCASES). We

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identity and a quest for dialogue alongside frustration and used mapping in this study to understand how diverse

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urban youth contend with precarious economic, racial, and Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectional-
social contexts, how they engage with peers and adults in ity, identity politics, and violence against women of
school and out, and how they negotiate their identities over color. Standford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299.
time. Five hundred and seventeen urban youth attending Deaux, K., & Perkins, T. (2001). The kaleidoscopic self. In
15 New York City public high schools participated in three C. Sedikides and M. B. Brewer (Eds.), Individual self,
waves of data collection during the fall semesters of 10th to relational self, collective self: Partners, opponents, or stran-
12th grade of participants’ high school education (beginning gers? (pp. 299-313). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
in 2008). A subsample of 23 participants was selected based Fine, M., & Sirin, S. R. (2007). Theorizing Hyphenated
on their ethnic background and immigration-generation Selves: Researching Youth Development in and across
status to participate in semi-structured interviews, which Contentious Political Contexts. Social and Personality
also included a ‘‘learning map’’ in year one, and an ‘’iden- Psychology Compass, 1(1), 16-38. doi:10.1111/j.1751-
tity map’’ in year two. 9004.2007.00032.x.
The learning map task was conducted during semi- Frost, N. (2009). ‘Do you know what I mean?’: the use of a
structured interviews where participants were asked to pluralistic narrative analysis approach in the interpreta-
draw themselves trying to learn something new. We then tion of an interview. Qualitative Research, 9(1), 9-29.
used the drawing as a way to further probe about their doi:10.1177/1468794108094867.
learning styles, what/who stands in the way of their suc- Gieseking, (2007). Mental/Cognitive Mapping Revisited: The
cess, who/what encourages them, and their social context Geographical Imagination in Methodology & Pedagogy.
at school. Some drew maps where learning was a social Paper presented at the Association of American Geogra-
activity full of encouragement and movement toward the phers, San Francisco, California, USA.
future (see Figure 1); others showed layers of struggle Goodenough, F.L. (1926). The measurement of intelligence by
and then triumph as they finally made it to the top (see drawings. New York: World Book Company.
Figure 2). In Figure 1, the participant narrated his map to Hammer, E.F. (1997). Advances in projective drawing interpre-
us as part of the interview protocol. He explained that he tation. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
was opening his door to the future where his friends and Hart, R. A. (1981). Children’s spatial representations of the
family were cheering and encouraging him to go further. landscape: Lessons and questions from a field study. In
The maps in concert with other qualitative and quantitative L. S. Liben, A. H. Patterson, & N. Newcombe (Eds.),
methods allowed us to look deeply at participants’ lives Spatial representation and behavior across the life span
over time. The maps in concert with the interviews often (pp. 195-233). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
enabled new deconstructive insights to emerge. Hart, R.A., & Moore, G.T. (1973). The development of
spatial cognition: A review. In R.M. Downs & D. Stea
(Eds.), Image and environment (pp. 246-288). Chicago:
The Potential of Mapping as Methodology Aldine.
Through our research, we have discovered the unique and Harvey, D. (2001). Capitalism: The factory of fragmentation.
powerful potential of mapping as a method that enables In Spaces of Capital (pp. 121-127). New York: Routledge.
respondents to display not only their multiplicity of identi- Katz, C. (2004). Growing Up Global. Minneapolis, MN:
ties, but also the emotionality, politics, ambivalence and University of Minnesota Press.
relationships attached to these varied identities (see Stuart, LaFromboise, T., Coleman, H. L. K., & Gerton, J. (1993). Psy-
et al. (this issue) for another application of mapping). Most chological impact of biculturalism: Evidence and theory.
research on identity formation and on youth perceptions of Psychological Bulletin, 114(3), 395-412.
injustice has been overly cognitive, and dependent upon Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA:
text – in surveys or interviews – with only limited attention Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
to the enormous amount of affective and relational material Mason, J. (2006). Mixing methods in a qualitatively driven
buried, or exploding, at the hyphen. Maps offer a creative way. Qualitative Research, 6(1), 9-25. doi:10.1177/
dialogic moment (Mason, 2006) that can be juxtaposed to 1468794106058866.
the survey items and interview/focus transcripts to thicken Milgram, S., & Jodelet. D. (1976). Psychological maps of
our understandings of multiple and hyphenated selves Paris. In H. Proshansky, W. Ittelson, & L. Rivlin (Eds.),
over time. Environmental Psychology (pp. 104-124). New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston.
Saarinen, T. F. (1973). Student views of the world. In R. M.
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Berry, J. W. (1990). Psychology of acculturation: Under- tive Mapping and Spatial Behavior (pp. 148-161). Chicago,
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(pp. 232–253). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE. racial domination. In S. H. Razack (Ed.), Race, space, and
Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. London, UK: the law: Unmapping a white settler society, (pp. 99-119.
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Bhatia, S. (2007). Opening up cultural psychology: analyz- Sirin, S. R., Bikmen, N., Mir, M., Zaal, M., Fine, M., &
ing race, caste and migrant identities. Human develop- Katsiaficas, D. (2008). Exploring dual identification
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Buck, J.N. (1948). The HTP technique: A qualitative and methods study. Journal of Adolescence, 31(2), 259-279.
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ogy, 4, 151-159. American Youth Negotiating Identities on the Fault

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Lines of Global Conflict. Applied Developmental Science, Challenges of Research with Refugee Young
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Sirin, S. R., & Fine, M. (2008). Muslim American youth:
Understanding hyphenated identities through multiple From time to time, particular populations and particular
methods. New York: New York University Press. research issues combine to challenge accepted approaches and
Stuart, J, Ward, C., & Adam, Z. (this issue). Current Issues methods in developmental research (e.g., political upheaval
in the Development and Acculturation of Muslim Youth and technological advances). Refugee young people’s move-
in New Zealand. ments across borders, and movements deeper into the techno-
Suarez-Orozco, C. (2005). Identities under siege: Immigra- logical world confront assumptions about the effectiveness of
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immigrants. In M. M. Suarez-Orozco, C. Suarez- processes of contemporary developing persons.
Orozco, & D. Boilian-Qin (Eds.), The new immigration:
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Winnicott, D.W. (1989). The squiggle game. In Psycho-
Researchers need to draw on techniques that assist research
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participants to actively express their thoughts and feelings.
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Recently, Schwarz (2009) demonstrated how standard mea-
Zaal, M., Salah, T., & Fine, M. (2007). The Weight of the
surement tools may not live up to researchers’ expectations
Hyphen: Freedom, Fusion and Responsibility Embodied
of accurately reflecting psychological phenomena. After
by Young Muslim-American Women During a Time of
numerous refinements of his quality of life measures,
Surveillance. Applied Developmental Science, 11(3), 164.
Schwarz found that the reliably and validly generated
doi:10.1080/10888690701454674.
scores did not yield the negative scores expected of clinical
Zelniker, T., Hertz-Lazarowitz, R., Peretz, H., Azaiza, F., &
participants. Cancer patients, instead, could explain their
Sharabany, R. (2009). Arab and Jewish Students Partici-
positively skewed scores in plausible ways that defied attri-
patory Action Research at the University of Haifa: A
buting their positivity to measurement error. Scharwz was
Model for Peace Education. In C. McGlynn, M. Zemby-
forced to admit there was no one-to-one correspondence
las, Z. Bekerman, & T. Gallagher (Eds.), Peace education
between psychological measurement and psychological
in conflict and post-conflict societies: Comparative perspec-
phenomena – ‘‘the toy within our playpen was broken’’
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199-214.
between research behaviors and psychological processes, it
is productive for researchers to work with researchees to
construct authentic and meaningful research information
(Lawrence & Dodds, 2010).
Constructing Research Knowledge This constructive approach to data generation is partic-
ularly important where researchees are from ethnic back-
with Refugee Young People: Using grounds, have been traumatized, and often have learnt
Computer-assisted Techniques not to trust people who appear to be in authority and who
Jeanette A. Lawrence are asking personal questions (Goodnow, 2010, in press).
The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Just as it is inappropriate to use measures designed for
E-mail: [email protected] adults with children, so it is inappropriate to use measures
designed for middle class American and European children
and with children who have crossed cultural and language
Agnes E. Dodds borders to live in transit camps and new countries. Standar-
The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia dized questionnaires are not part of their worlds.
If we wish to understand these vulnerable young
and people’s developmental trajectories, adaptive competencies
Abi Brooker and goals, then developmental researchers need measures
The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia that are more closely aligned with children’s lived experi-
ences and interests. We turned to computer-assisted tech-
niques as one way to engage refugee young people to
Refugee young people (children, adolescents, young
work on accessible and meaningful research tasks.
adults) are among the world’s most vulnerable people.
They form half the 15 million people who have left their
home countries because of war, persecution, famine and Using Computer-assisted Research
other natural and human-made disasters. They are at risk
of dislocated, disrupted, and delayed developmental trajec-
Techniques
tories. Yet there is limited evidence of how their traumatic Regardless of their refugee or mainstream status, contem-
experiences and changing circumstances impact on their porary young people live in a world of technological possi-
abilities to make adaptive transitions through phases of the bilities. They acquire mobile phones and Face Book pages

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life course. as soon as possible. They follow global trends in music and

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

invited to submit their data only if they feel comfortable.

In schools, these self-administered programs are delivered
in laboratories with two or more researchers to assist. Both
forms of computer-assisted data collection give researcher
and researchee flexibility and authenticity, with trade-offs
related to complexity, control, and privacy (see de Leeuw,
Hox & Kef, 2003).
We find these data collection programs provide refugee
participants from elementary school levels and beyond
with attractive and sensitive research environments, sup-
porting their confidentiality, self-pacing and control, and
confidence in their ability to express their meanings. They
give researchers facility to present complex tasks (e.g.,
allow young people to build their own casts of family,
friends and acquaintances so that they later can specify who
helps them or makes things difficult for them; Figure 1). We
randomize stimulus materials, and provide branching
pathways and feedback. An added advantage is articula-
tion and testing of assumptions and potential modes of pre-
sentation. Multiple language voice-overs and keyboard
overlays are possible. In the computer-assisted interview,
the interviewer can be an interpreter or counselor. In all
programs, quantitative and qualitative data are immedi-
ately available for de-identification of personalized infor-
mation and downloading.

Collaborations
Collaboration between researchers and service providers
offers more than applied respectability and access to fund-
ing. Service providers and advocates for refugee groups
have first-hand knowledge that informs stimulus tasks and
appropriate modes of response (e.g., the cultural and
experiential inappropriateness of asking refugee children
about their birthdays or about the intricacies of supposed
family relationships). This is especially so when young
people are included as collaborators – a practice we have
found as rewarding in the refinement and acceptance of
materials as it is challenging of researcher assumptions.
Another major source of collaboration is with designers,
artists, animators and programmers who help turn research
questions into engaging activities for young people. Itera-
Figure 1. Example task from Worlds of Young People Program tive processes of story-boarding, design, creation, trialing
(Lawrence, Dodds, Campbell & McInnes, 2008). and recreation challenge and test researchers’ assumptions.
The additional time and effort incurred in consultations
over stimulus materials and mode of presentation pays off
fashion. Most refugees, for example, arrive by plane with with added authenticity, and with potential for direct feed-
sports bags and faux Gucci and Nike accessories. Compu- back of research findings for intervention and advocacy.
terized research tools are as attractive and appropriate to
them as to other children.
Our group uses two forms of technologically enhanced Illustrative Projects
data construction: computer-assisted interviews and self- School-related Integration of Children from Somali
administered, on-line interactive programs. When using Refugee Families. In collaboration with Mission Australia,
computer-assisted interviews, a researcher sits with the a large NGO, we used computer-assisted interviews to
researchee to offer assistance and ask for explanations address political concerns about the integration of the chil-
(e.g., by helping young participants to type their ideas into dren of African refugees into the Australian school system
text boxes, by answering children’s side questions, or by (Dodds et al., 2010, in press). Children of Somali refugees
prompting for clarification). When using self-administered, were at two disadvantaged schools. We investigated their
on-line techniques, the researcher gives researchees access perceptions of their school-related skills and needs in
to programs designed to dynamically structure and comparison with those of their disadvantaged peers and
respond to their choices with well-sequenced, linked and advantaged children from a nearby school. All children
branching tasks. Participants work in secure websites with readily responded to computer-assisted interviews that

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instructions and practice tasks with feedback. They are asked them to identify their school-related skills and needs.

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

opportunities and goals through their first year in regular

Australian high schools. We will also track their accultura-
tion and enculturation experiences.

Documenting and Tracing Mental Health Indicators for

Refugee Children in Therapy. Our latest project is in close
collaboration with clinical psychologists working in direct
services for traumatized children at Foundation House.
Although Foundation House provides well-recognized
individualized therapeutic counseling and advocacy, there
are few measures suitable for identifying children’s psycho-
Figure 2. Paired-comparison task from the Strengths and Skills of logical damage and recovery over time with therapy.
Kids Program (Lawrence, Campbell & McInnes, 2007). Together, we are developing a set of computer-assisted
interview modules that will allow young people to explore
and express their psycho-social reactions to family dissolu-
The program gave children an appealing and simple
tion, loss and confusion, and to express their own worry,
way, with minimal reading, to choose between pairs of 13
guilt and multiple health and mental health needs. The pro-
randomly presented skills (Figure 2). Asking the children
grams currently being constructed allow children to inspect
to choose their better skills avoided requiring them to
the lives of hypothetical refugee children and then to
describe themselves in negative terms. The children also
express their own experiences of similar issues. Animated
rated randomly presented school needs using vertically
illustrations of hypothetical children’s problems prompt
presented and color-coded rating buttons and type-in boxes
questions about the child’s own circumstances (e.g., ‘‘Ali
for explanations. These techniques revealed subtleties of
(Aya) is so worried about family members left behind in the
Somali/local agreements (preferences for skills in comput-
old place that s/he can’t play with other kids. Do you ever
ers and maths, rejection of skills in making speeches); and
feel so worried you can’t play?’’). In therapy situations,
disagreements (Somali children’s culture-related rejection
clinicians will be able to use the computerized material as
of art and music).
stimuli for follow-up questions as well as to document
In related studies, we ask elementary and high school
changes over time.
children to identify their worlds, populate them with the
people in their lives, and show who of these helped them
towards their school-related goals and how (Figure 1). We Further Directions
also used these techniques to have children evaluate after-
school programs run by Mission Australia, and we pro- The usefulness of the technology is not simply its novelty
vided feedback on the children’s evaluations, goals and value. It is historically appropriate. It facilitates the joint
school-related needs to them, their families and schools. construction of research information by treating young
researchees as active participants who can express their
thoughts and feelings when researchers respect the com-
Tracing Pathways through Education. Abi Brooker is
plex perspectives that may lie behind and frame responses
investigating the pathways through Australian education
and present tasks that invite their considered contributions
taken during and after initial language and orientation pro-
(Lawrence & Dodds, 2010). This approach can yield infor-
grams by adolescent and young adult refugees from Asia,
mation that brings closer connections between young peo-
Africa and the Middle East. Some students go on to high
ple’s psychological worlds and their research behaviors in
school, others into technical and university studies. Some
relation to developmentalists’ research questions.
modify their high achievement goals, diverting to more
The computerized materials are not only being used
accessible courses. Some drop out, recycle into orientation
with refugee young people. They have been used with chil-
programs or are lost to educational progress. Our data will
dren and adolescents with particular needs (e.g., about their
provide new information about the environmental, social
experiences of giving witness in court, in response to illness
and personal factors that, in interaction, take refugee stu-
and surgery). They successfully yield mixed methods infor-
dents along more and less productive pathways.
mation from university students. They have been made
Self-administered on-line programs assist students to
available with adaptations for use by colleagues through
reflect on their challenges and opportunities, their goals,
the Bridging Multiple Worlds Alliance (http://www.bridging
and their identification with their ethnic culture and the
worlds.org). Rather than relying on broken toys (Schawrz,
Australian culture. In one task, students construct persona-
2009), our group is actively working to build research envir-
lized diagrams of their larger and smaller challenges and
links between them. Achieving language and educational onments where researcher and researchee together con-
struct useable knowledge. Further information about our
competencies are the most frequent challenges. Family and
approach and our programs can be obtained from Jeanette
personal challenges are much less commonly identified.
Lawrence ([email protected]).
We will follow one group of students with computer-
assisted interviews after a UCAN2 orientation program of
the Victorian Foundation for the Survivors of Torture Acknowledgements
(Foundation House), an organization that provides direct We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Mission
services, educational programs and advocacy for refugees. Australia and its donors, Victorian Foundation for the
This three-wave mini-longitudinal study will trace changes Survivors of Torture and its donors, and The University of

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in the challenges of these recent arrivals, together with their Melbourne.

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

References culture of origin and to the host culture because the two
may be orthogonal (Oetting & Beauvais, 1990). In earlier
de Leeuw, E., Hox, J., & Kef, S. (2003). Computer-assisted research and in popular culture, acculturation has often
self-interviewing tailored for special populations and been conceptualized as assimilation, a one-dimensional
topics. Field Methods, 15(3), 223-251. process where immigrants acquire the new culture as they
Dodds, A. E., Lawrence, J. A., Karantzas, K., Brooker, A., shed their affiliation to the culture of origin. Thus, immi-
Lin, Y. H., Champness, V., & Albert, N. (2010). Children grants may either continue to retain their culture in a
of Somali refugees in Australian schools: Self-descrip- separatist or traditionalist stance or assimilate into the new
tions of school-related skills and needs. International society. However, this either/or approach has been much
Journal of Behavioral Development. Advance online publi- criticized for neglecting the possibility that acculturation
cation. doi: 10.1177/0165025409365801. to one culture does not necessarily negate acculturation to
Goodnow, J. J. (2010, in press). Refugees, asylum-seekers, dis- the other. Rather, a bicultural view (e.g., Berry, 1980) sug-
placed persons: Children in precarious positions. Chapter gests that assimilation or separation are only two of four
to appear in A. Ben-Arieh, J. Cashmore, G. Goodman, & different acculturative options as immigrants may also
G. B. Melton (Eds.), Handbook of Child Research.. choose to acculturate to both cultures, resulting in ‘‘integra-
Lawrence, J. A., & Dodds, A. E. (2010). Three approaches to the tion’’ or biculturalism; or become disconnected from either
disjunction between psychological measurement and psy- culture, resulting in marginality. In the current literature,
chological persons: methodological and ethical considera- there are generally two different approaches to measuring
tions. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Sciences. acculturation to two cultures. The ‘‘four-fold paradigm’’
Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s12124-010-9129-4. most often used by Berry and colleagues (e.g., Kwak &
Schwarz, M. (2009). Is psychology based on a methodologi- Berry, 2001) categorizes individuals as belonging to one of
cal error? Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Sciences, the four acculturative styles (assimilation, separation, inte-
43, 185-213. gration/biculturalism, marginality). Such four-fold scales
have been criticized for being problematic for statistical rea-
sons (Rudmin & Ahmadzadeh, 2001) and because individ-
uals’ acculturative styles may be more complex than the
Acculturation Gaps and Family four categories suggest. Instead, we advocate assessing
Adjustment acculturation to the two cultures independently with con-
tinuous variables, and considering the main effects and
Dina Birman
interactions of the two acculturation dimensions in multi-
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
variate analyses. Using an independent measurement
E-mail: [email protected]
approach is particularly advantageous when more than two
and cultures are involved in the acculturation process, such as
in the case of ethnic minorities from one society immigrat-
Meredith Poff
ing into another. For example, our research on multiple
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
identities and behavioral involvement of former Soviet
E-mail: [email protected]
Jews resettled in the U.S. suggests the importance of
accounting for all three cultures (Russian, American, and
A major issue confronted by immigrant children and their Jewish) in understanding their acculturative experience
families is the acculturation gap that emerges between gen- and the link between acculturation and adjustment (Persky
erations over time. For immigrants and refugees, contact & Birman, 2005; Birman, Persky, & Chan, 2010).
with the new culture begins upon migration, and continues In addition to independent measurement of accultura-
to impact their lives for many years and often into the next tion to each of the relevant cultures, we have advocated a
generations.1 Acculturation has been shown to occur at dif- multidimensional approach assessing distinct dimensions
ferent rates for children and adults. As a result, accultura- of acculturation (e.g., Birman & Trickett, 2001). As stipu-
tion gaps have been found to emerge between parents lated by theorists (e.g., Gordon, 1964), acculturation con-
and children (Birman & Trickett, 2001; Szapocznik & sists of different components, and they unfold at different
Kurtines, 1980, 1993). A growing body of research suggests rates over time. Language and behavioral acculturation
that such gaps are linked to family conflict and adjustment occur immediately after immigrants arrive in the new coun-
(e.g., Costigan & Dokis, 2006; Smokowski, Rose, & Bacallao, try, as they struggle with communicating in the new lan-
2008). The conceptualization and measurement of accul- guage and adapting to behavioral norms and expectations
turation gaps in research relies on the ways scholars in the new society. However, other aspects of cultural
conceptualize and study acculturation. In this article, we change such as identity or values are thought to come later,
describe our approach to acculturation gap research that after the initial behavioral and language adjustments have
employs independent and multi-dimensional measures of been mastered. Despite such theorizing, most acculturation
acculturation to both the new and native cultures (Birman, research has combined a range of different items into a sin-
2006a; Birman, 2006b; Ho & Birman, 2010). gle acculturation index, sometimes even including demo-
graphic markers such as generation of immigration along
An ‘‘Orthogonal’’ and Multi-dimensional with behavioral items. Such undifferentiated indices are
likely to disguise important patterns in the acculturation
Approach to Measuring Acculturation process.
Our approach to acculturation research emphasizes the In our research we have developed and employed the

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importance of independently assessing acculturation to the Language, Identity, and Behavior Scale (LIB, Birman &

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Trickett, 2001) to assess the ways in which these different with adolescents being more competent in English, and
components unfold. Language competence or proficiency parents in Russian.
has been raised as an important issue for adults as they Behavioral acculturation seemed to involve a similar
acquire the new language, and for children who may strug- but less rapid process. For adolescents, overall levels of
gle to retain proficiency in their native language. While American behavioral acculturation were higher than
many prior assessments of acculturation have focused on Russian levels, and over time as American behavioral accul-
language use (e.g., Marin, G., Sabogal, Marin, B., Otero- turation increased, Russian behavioral acculturation
Sabotal, & Perez-Stable, 1987), in our conceptualization, declined. For parents, levels of Russian behavioral accul-
language competence refers to how well immigrants speak turation were higher on average than levels of American
and understand their native and newly acquired language. behavior, with gradual acquisition of American and decline
These language skills then provide access for immigrants to of Russian behavioral acculturation over time. However,
participate in either or both communities. In contrast we while as expected, adolescents were higher in American
view language use as a component of behavioral accultura- behavioral acculturation than parents, no gap in Russian
tion, or the extent to which immigrants engage with the behavioral acculturation was found between adolescents
host society and/or their immigrant/ethnic community. and parents (Birman & Trickett, 2001).
While research on newly arrived immigrants has largely Finally, our work has found distinctive patterns of iden-
employed behavioral acculturation measures, research on tity acculturation for adolescents. A gradual increase in
children of immigrants and ethnic minorities has empha- identification with American culture was found for adoles-
sized identity, particularly ethnic identity (Phinney, cents but not for adults, for whom the relationship between
Horenczyk, Liebkind, & Vedder, 2001). Yet for immigrants, time in U.S. and American identity was not significant. At
particularly adolescents, acculturation also involves iden- the same time, while there was a significant decrease in
tity issues, and we advocate including both components Russian identity for adults over time, this was not the case
in its assessment (Birman, 1994). Identity refers to the extent for adolescents. For them, Russian identity did not decline
to which immigrants consider themselves to be part of over time. In fact, adolescents were higher on Russian iden-
either or both culture(s) and hold a positive regard for tity relative to adults (Birman & Trickett, 2001).
either or both. Using an orthogonal two-dimensional The implications of these findings for the acculturation
assessment framework, the LIB thus measures identity, gap literature are that differences in language competence
language, and behavioral acculturation with respect to both between parents and children are likely to be the most dra-
the native and the new host cultures.2 matic of the three dimensions. Identity acculturation gaps
Our research suggests that these different components may not operate as anticipated by the acculturation gap
of acculturation do unfold differently across generations models. Thus, it is important to attend to these distinctions
and over time, depending on which domain of accultura- to understand what kinds of gaps may be harmful to fami-
tion is considered. Language acculturation in our studies lies adjusting to life in a new culture.
resembles ‘‘subtractive’’ (Gibson, 2005) assimilation for
children, with English displacing the native language.
However, this process appears to be additive or ‘‘adhe- Studying the impact of acculturation gaps. Our
sive’’ (Hurh & Kim, 1983) for adults. For example, in a approach to measuring acculturation gaps is based on the
study with former Soviet adolescents and parents LIB model. We advocate independent assessment of
resettled in the U.S. (Birman & Trickett, 2001), English actual acculturation to the new and old culture, and along
language competence was strongly and positively corre- the domains of language, identity, and behavior. 3 Studies
lated with length of time in the U.S. for adolescents, that have used assimilationist either/or format accultura-
whereas Russian language competence showed a decline. tion measures to assess acculturation of parents and chil-
For them English became the dominant language after dren (e.g., Schofield, Parke, Kim, & Coltrane, 2008; Crane,
approximately 4-5 years of residence in the U.S. It is Ngai, Larson, & Hafen, 2005; and Pasch et al., 2006) may
important to note that the decline in native language com- not be accurately capturing the acculturation discrepan-
petence in adolescents is not necessarily a result of ‘‘los- cies relevant for potential conflict. Such studies assess
ing’’ their native language skills. Immigrant children acculturation gaps by subtracting the parent’s assimilation
have not fully developed in their native language as they score from the child’s. However, these measures would
begin schooling and learn increasingly complex academic identify a gap in families where one family member is
material in the new language. As a result, their facility bicultural (and thus likely to score around the midpoint
with their native language may stop advancing. Regard- of the scale) and the other is assimilated or separatist
less, the language acculturation process for adolescents (scoring on the high or low end of the scale). In fact, such
seemed to reflect rapid assimilation. a gap may not be problematic since bicultural individuals
In contrast, for adults, Russian language competence may be able to bridge cultural differences between the
did not diminish significantly with time in the U.S. (Birman culture of origin and the host culture. This problem may
& Trickett, 2001). While English language competence account for lack of consistency in findings across these
improved over time, though not as rapidly as for adoles- studies, where Schofield et al. (2008) and Crane et al.
cents, Russian language competence remained dominant (2005) found evidence of acculturation gaps and links to
for the vast majority of adults (i.e., higher than their English family adjustment, but Pasch et al. (2006) did not.
language competence). Thus for adults, newly acquired Studies that use four-fold acculturation measures do
English language skills were being added on to native take both cultures into account, but computing accultura-
(Russian) language skills. Importantly, acculturation gaps tion discrepancies using such measures can be overwhel-

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in the expected direction were evident for both languages, mingly complex. Since each parent and child has 4

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different scores (assimilation, separatism, biculturalism, of unexpected gaps were higher for former Soviet and Rus-
marginality), 16 different possible combinations of these sian behavioral acculturation with 19% of the former Soviet
variables are possible, resulting in a complex design. and 14.4% of the Vietnamese adolescents scoring higher on
Instead, most studies have grouped the parent-child pairs behavioral acculturation to Russian and Vietnamese cul-
into those matched or mismatched on acculturative style tures, respectively. The numbers of ‘‘unexpected gaps’’
(e.g., Farver et al., 2002). Such groupings would also con- were particularly high for identity acculturation. Twenty-
sider a family where one member is bicultural and another two percent of former Soviet parents and 28% of Vietna-
assimilated or marginal to be ‘‘mismatched.’’ mese parents scored higher on American identity than their
Finally, independent acculturation measures offer children; and 50% of former Soviet adolescents and 22% of
greater complexity but also more flexibility for how to Vietnamese adolescents scored higher on their Russian and
approach operationalization of the gaps. We have advo- Vietnamese identity, respectively, than their parents.
cated employing an interaction approach, where both the These findings suggest that the acculturation gaps do
main effects of the acculturation variables for the parent not always occur in the expected direction, depending on
and the child, and their interaction are considered as pre- which dimension of acculturation is considered. While lan-
dictors of family conflict (Birman, 2006a; Ho & Birman, guage competence gaps seem to occur largely as expected, a
2010). In addition, Smokowski et al. (2008) considered how sizable number of adolescents seem to have acculturation
the interaction of parent acculturation to the culture of gaps with their parents in ‘‘unexpected directions’’ where
origin and the child’s acculturation to the American culture behavioral acculturation to their culture of origin, and both
affected family cohesion and parent-adolescent conflict. identities are concerned.
This approach may be a useful tool for testing acculturation
gap effects, as it yielded interesting results, predicting fam-
ily conflict whereas other main effects and interaction vari- Importance of gaps in predicting family adjustment.
ables had not. Our research has suggested the importance of acculturation
gaps along some of the acculturation dimensions. Findings
with both samples suggest the particular importance of
Our Multidimensional Assessment of native language competence for the adolescent children. For
Acculturation Gaps former Soviet adolescents, the main effect for their Russian
language competence was that it significantly predicted par-
We have used the LIB in two studies of first generation ental reports of fewer disagreements. Similarly, adolescent
immigrant adolescents and their parents. One included Vietnamese language competence significantly predicted
115 adolescent-parent pairs of former Soviet Jewish immi- greater cohesion in the Vietnamese sample. Importantly,
grants (Birman, 2006a), and the other 104 pairs of Vietna- we were not able to assess the interaction effects of parents’
mese immigrants (Ho & Birman, 2010). and children’s native language competence since there was
little variability on the native language competence measure
Directions of the gaps. The two studies provide inter- in the former Soviet sample, and we did not collect native
esting insights into patterns of acculturation gaps between language competence data for the Vietnamese parents.
parents and their adolescent children in the two samples. However, we feel these findings are in accord with other
To explore whether they occurred as expected, gaps were research (Luo & Weisman, 2000) where immigrant chil-
computed for each adolescent-family pair with respect to dren’s native language competence was seen as particularly
each of the six acculturation dimensions. For culture of important in family adjustment. Perhaps because the native
origin (Vietnamese and Russian) dimensions, we sub- language is dominant in household communication, it is the
tracted the scores of the adolescents from the scores of the child’s lack of competence in the native language (rather
parents, anticipating that parents would be higher on than the parents’ English language skills) that proved most
those dimensions than their children. For the host culture important for family adjustment. The presence of these pat-
(American) dimensions, we subtracted the scores of the terns across two different cultural samples suggests the
parents from the scores of the adolescents, expecting the potential robustness of the findings.
adolescents to score higher. In each case, we noted the Another consistent finding across the two samples was
presence of ‘‘unexpected’’ gaps, where the parents were the importance of gaps in identity. For the Vietnamese sam-
higher than their children on American acculturation, or ple, the interaction of parent and adolescent Vietnamese
where children were higher than their parents were on identity significantly predicted both cohesion and satisfac-
native culture acculturation. tion with parents as reported by adolescents. For the former
The acculturation gaps for both samples mostly Soviet sample, the interaction of parent and adolescent
occurred in the expected direction with respect to language American identity significantly predicted parent report of
acculturation, with a few exceptions. Parents reported family disagreements as well as adolescent report of family
greater English language competence than their children disagreements and conflict. In all of these cases, plotting the
in 6% and 2% of the former Soviet and Vietnamese samples, interactions revealed that both types of gaps contributed to
respectively. There was 1 (0.5%) instance in the former problems in family adjustment. Given that in both samples
Soviet sample where a child reported greater Russian lan- a substantial portion of the gaps in identity occurred in
guage competence than the parent. 4 ‘‘unexpected’’ directions, these findings confirm that where
For American behavioral acculturation the frequency of identity is concerned it is the discrepancy or ‘‘mismatch’’
unexpected gaps was also relatively low, with 6% of the for- between parents and adolescents that seems to be proble-
mer Soviet and 5% of the Vietnamese immigrant parents matic for family adjustment, regardless of the specific direc-

•
reporting higher scores than their children. The numbers tion of the gap.

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Summary of either the parent or the child (Buki, Ma, Strom, R., &
Strom, S., 2003; Lau et al., 2005). As demonstrated by
Thus, our research program has affirmed the importance of Merali (2002) measures of perceived gaps may under-
native language maintenance for immigrant adolescents, or over-estimate the actual gaps, and confound reports
and the negative impact of acculturative gaps in identity of acculturation disparity with perceptions of quality of
between parents and children. Our view is that the more family relationships.
nuanced measurement of acculturation, and operationali- 4. We assumed perfect Vietnamese language fluency for
zation of the gaps using an orthogonal and multi-domain parents, assigning them a score of ‘‘4’’. Focus group par-
approach yields more interpretable data, and suggests ticipants suggested that asking about fluency in Vietna-
opportunities for intervention. For example, interventions mese would be insulting to the adults. Further, in our
that help immigrant children retain their native language multiple prior studies with adult refugees from the for-
proficiency may be particularly helpful in reducing family mer Soviet Union we found almost no variability with
conflict in immigrant families. At the same time, family respect to native language fluency with adults almost
interventions designed to reduce acculturation gaps in fam- always marking ‘‘4’’ in response to every question.
ilies such as proposed by Szapocznik, Rio, Perez-Vidal,
Kurtines, & Santisteban (1986) might best be focused on
discussions of identity. Adult immigrants may have very
different attitudes toward identification with the new and References
old cultures than their children. Parents, not children make Berry, J. W. (1980). Acculturation as varieties of adaptation.
the decision to immigrate. While adults may wish for their In A. M. Padilla (Ed.), Acculturation: Theory models and
children to retain their native language and behavior, some new findings (pp. 9-25). Boulder, CO: Westview.
they may also wish for them to be open to assuming Birman, D., & Trickett, E. J. (2001). Cultural transitions in
an American identity, and may see becoming a ‘‘real first-generation immigrants: Acculturation of Soviet
American’’ as the ultimate success of their children’s adjust- Jewish refugee adolescents and parents. Journal of
ment in immigration. Yet these children may resent their Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32(4), 456–477.
parents’decision to immigrate, and when having trouble fit- Birman, D. (2006a). Acculturation gap and family adjust-
ting in with American peers may reject their American ment: Findings with Soviet Jewish refugees in the U.S.
identity and instead adopt a ‘‘reactive identification’’ with and implications for measurement. Journal of Cross-Cul-
their native culture (Birman & Trickett, 2001). In other tural Psychology, 37, 568–589.
families, children may be more interested in becoming Birman, D. (2006b). Measurement of the ‘‘acculturation
‘‘American’’ than their parents wish for them. Family gap’’ in immigrant families and implications for par-
interventions that explore such different perspectives on ent-child relationships. In M. H. Bornstein & L. R. Cote
native and American identity among parents and children (Eds). Acculturation and Parent-Child Relationships: Mea-
may be helpful in generating greater empathy for each surement and Development. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
other’s stance, building cohesion, and resolving conflict. Birman, D. Persky, I. & Chan, W. (2010). Multiple identities
of Jewish immigrant adolescents from the former Soviet
Notes Union: An exploration of salience and impact of ethnic
1. Our work also draws attention to focusing on newly identity. International Journal of Behavioral Development,
arriving immigrants because the construct of psycholo- 34(3) 193-205.
gical acculturation is most applicable to their experience. Buki, L. P., Ma, T. C., Strom, R. D., & Strom, S. K. (2003).
Newly arriving immigrants are socialized or ‘‘encultu- Chinese immigrant mothers of adolescents: Self-percep-
rated’’ in their native culture, and then leave it to tions of acculturation effects on parenting. Cultural
undergo an acculturative process in a new culture. How- Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9(2), 127–140.
ever, for second-generation immigrants born in the new Crane, D. R., Ngai, S. W., Larson, J. H., & Hafen Jr., M.
country, the point of contact or ‘‘exposure’’ to the new (2005). The influence of family functioning and parent-
culture is difficult to establish. Their ‘‘enculturation’’ or adolescent acculturation on North American Chinese
socialization occurs within the context of the immigrant adolescent outcomes. Family Relations, 54, 400-410.
and the majority culture. Thus, for children of immi- Costigan, C. L., & Dokis, D. (2006b). Relations between par-
grants, defining the ‘‘culture of origin’’ and the ‘‘host cul- ent-child acculturation differences and adjustment
ture’’ can be complicated. A number of studies of within immigrant Chinese families. Child Development,
acculturation and acculturation gaps have focused on 77(5), 1252- 1267.
children of immigrants (Farver, Narang, & Bhadha, Farver, J. M., Narang, S. K., & Bhadha, B. R. (2002). East
2002) or have included both immigrants and non-immi- meets West: Ethnic identity, acculturation, and conflict
grants in their samples (e.g., Smokowsky et al., 2008). in Asian Indian Families. Journal of Family Psychology,
2. We have struggled to arrive at a way to measure 16(3), 338-350.
‘‘values’’ as a component of acculturation, but thus far Gibson, M. A. (2005). Promoting academic engagement
we have not found an appropriate or reliable way to among minority youth: Implications from John Ogbu’s
develop a values scale that could be administered to Shaker Heights ethnography. International Journal of
immigrants from a variety of different cultures. Qualitative Studies in Education,18(5), 581-603.
3. As we’ve argued elsewhere (Birman, 2006a), studies that doi:10.1080/09518390500224853.
assess actual gaps through independent assessment of Gordon, M. (1964). Assimilation in American Life: The role of
acculturation of the parent and the child are preferable race, religion, and national origins. New York: Oxford Uni-

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to those that assess perceived gaps from the perspective versity Press.

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

Ho, J. & Birman, D. (2010). Acculturation gap in Vietnamese Szapocznik, J., Rio, A., Perez-Vidal, A., Kurtines, W. M., &
refugee families: Impact on family adjustment. Interna- Santisteban, D. (1986). Family effectiveness training
tional Journal of Intercultural Relations 34 (2010), (FET) for Hispanic families. In H. P. Lefley & P. B. Ped-
pp. 22-33. DOI:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2009.10.002. ersen (Eds.), Cross-cultural training for mental health profes-
Hurh,W. M.,& Kim, K. C. (1983). Adhesive sociocultural sionals (pp. 245-261). Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.
adaptation of Korean immigrants in the U.S.: An alterna-
tive strategy of minority adaptation. International Migra-
tion Review, 18(2), 188-216.
Kwak, K., & Berry, J. W. (2001). Generational differences in Children at a Crossroads of
acculturation among Asian families in Canada: A com-
parison of Vietnamese, Korean, and East-Indian groups.
Expectations: An Ethnographic
International Journal of Psychology, 36(3), 152-162. Approach to Understanding the
Lau, A. S., McCabe, K. M., Yeh, M., Garland, A. F., Wood, Experiences of Migrant Parents,
P. A., & Hough, R. L. (2005). The acculturation gap-dis-
tress hypothesis among high-risk Mexican American Children and their Teachers as Newly
families. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(3), 367–375. Arrived Children Start School in
Luo, S. H., & Wiseman, R. L. (2000). Ethnic language main-
tenance among Chinese immigrant children in the
Australia
United States. International Journal of Intercultural Rela- Marı´a Florencia Amigó
tions, 24(3), 307–324. Macquarie University, Australia
Marin, G., Sabogal, F., Marin, B. V., Otero-Sabogal, R., & E-mail: [email protected]
Perez-Stable, E. J. (1987). Development of a short accul-
turation scale for Hispanics. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Currently, 1 in every 4 Australians was born overseas.
Sciences, 9(2), 183-205. Under the skilled and family reunion migration schemes,
Merali, N. (2002). Perceived versus actual parent-adoles- every year Australia receives 200,000 new immigrants from
cent assimilation disparity among Hispanic refugee fam- a wide range of countries (mostly European and Asian) and
ilies. International Journal for the Advancement of children migrating with their families make up a substan-
Counselling, 24(1), 57-68. tial proportion of them. Over a million Australian children
Oetting, G. R., & Beauvais, F. (1990). Orthogonal cultural (about 35% of all children under 15) live in migrant families,
identification theory: The cultural identification of where one or both parents were born overseas. Of these
minority adolescents. International Journal of the Addic- children about a third were born overseas themselves,
tions, 25(5-A-6-A), 655–685. accounting for about 400,000.
Pasch, L. A., Deardorff, J., Tschann, J. M., Flores, E., Penilla, In this study my research partner Dr. Jessica Casiro and I
C., & Pantoja, P. (2006). Acculturation, parent-adolescent focused on the experiences of two language groups of
conflict, and adolescent adjustment in Mexican Ameri- recently arrived migrant children (Spanish-speaking from
can families. Family Process, 45, 75-86. South America and Indonesian) as they started primary
Persky, I., & Birman, D. (2005). ‘‘Ethnic’’ identity in psycho- school in the new country. We wanted to explore the role that
logical research: A study of multiple identities of Jewish school plays in these children’s adjustment to the new
refugees from the former Soviet Union. Journal of Cross- cultural setting and how parents and teachers interplay in
Cultural Psychology, 36(5), 1-16. this process. Although studies of first generation migrant
Phinney, J. S., Horenczyk, G., Liebkind, K., & Vedder, P. children have been common in other countries (Bak & von
(2001). Ethnic identity, immigration, and well-being: Bromssen, 2010; Olwig, 2003; Orellana, Thorne, Chee, &
An interactional perspective. Journal of Social Issues, Lam, 2001; C. Suárez-Orozco & M. Suárez-Orozco, 2001),
57(3), 493–510. they are still scarce in Australia (Dockett & Perry, 2005; Sana-
Rudmin, F. W., & Ahmadzadeh, V. (2001). Psychometric gavarapu & Perry, 2005) and only a few–in Australia and
critique of acculturation psychology: The case of Iranian elsewhere–have delved into the social and psychological
migrants in Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, implications that the beginning of formal education in a
42(1), 41-56. foreign country can have in migrant children’s lives (Adams
Schofield, T. J., Parke, R. D., Kim, Y., & Coltrane, S. (2008). & Kirova, 2007; Beraldi, 2006; Devine, 2009).
Bridging the acculturation gap: Parent-child relationship The psychological burden of moving into a different
quality as a moderator in Mexican American families. culture can be considerable. For young children, who are
Developmental Psychology, 44, 1190-1194. at a crucial stage in the development of their identity and
Smokowski, P. R., Rose, R., & Bacallao, M. L. (2008). Accul- in forging a sense of belonging to a place and to a group,
turation and Latino family processes: How cultural starting school in a new land where they cannot understand
involvement, biculturalism, and acculturation gaps the language and are not acquainted with its cultural codes,
influence family dynamics. Family Relations, 57, 295-308. can be very trying. As Laosa (1999) mentions, ‘‘there may be
Szapocznik, J., & Kurtines, W. (1980). Acculturation, bicul- issues of loyalty to the group, intergenerational conflict,
turalism and adjustment among Cuban Americans. In threats to one’s identity, the sheer difficulty of the task, the
A. M. Padila (Ed.), Acculturation: Theory models and some time and effort required, fear of failure, fear of rejection by
new findings (pp. 139-159). Boulder, CO: Westview. one’s own group, feeling of ambivalence, and doubts about
Szapocznik, J., & Kurtines, W. (1993). Family psychology and the worth of the outcome (e.g. the probability that even
cultural diversity: Opportunities for theory, research, and a transition will never lead to one’s full acceptance by the

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application. American Psychologist, 48, 400-407. outgroup’’ (Laosa, 1999, p. 357).

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Methods
We decided this would be a qualitative study and planned
the collection of data in two stages of six months each. The
first stage consisted of ethnographic fieldwork, and the
second one of semi-structured and in-depth interviews. In
ethnography, an approach derived from anthropology and
sociology, the researchers immerse themselves in the daily
lives of the people under study and aim at becoming a
familiar face for them so that the information flows in an
open and unrestricted form. Ethnography has two interre-
lated purposes: to become involved in the culture or subcul-
ture the investigator is studying, and to strive to extract
meaning from that–usually–unfamiliar reality. Ethnogra-
phers aim at grasping ‘‘the native’s point of view,’’ not
through a mere process of empathy or of inner correspon-
dence with the people in the culture being studied, but
through a systematic procedure that entails thorough obser- Indonesian migrant mother and her child in Sydney, Australia
vation and detailed note-taking of the everyday use of
language, behaviors, and habits of a particular group. The level of English in order to be eligible for the skilled migra-
role of the ethnographer is to record these discrete and tion scheme, their young children rarely come to the country
empirical components of their social worlds, infer the with any knowledge of the English language.
symbolic implications of such components, and based on Collecting data from three different groups (parents,
these data, develop conceptual interpretations of the social children and teachers) on the same topic was an interesting
life of that particular group. Clifford Geertz’s (1973) analogy but challenging endeavor. Formal and informal instances of
between studying a culture and reading a text is illuminat- data collection revolved around the topic of how migrant
ing. For him, doing ethnography is like reading a text, and children experienced starting school in a new country. Not
studying a culture is like reading a book. All components surprisingly, it was during the first stage of fieldwork that
of a book–word, chapters, images–are put together in order migrant families (parents and children) felt more comforta-
to achieve an understanding of the whole. Like a reader, the ble discussing their recent experiences. Compared to formal
ethnographer is an interpreter of the culture he studies. interviews, an ethnographic approach allows for a more
Although ethnography is a slow, costly and time-consuming unstructured and relaxed collection of data, wherein the
research approach, the interconnectedness and intimacy researcher interacts informally with the group and the
between researcher and subjects of study makes it a prime information flows naturally, in part, perhaps, due to the
methodology for shedding light on different cultural and avoidance of questionnaires and recorders. As mentioned
social worlds. above, during ethnography the investigator becomes a
Conducting ethnography in a remote and self-con- meticulous observer and detailed note taker, while at the
tained village is, of course, different from doing it in a city same time participating in the social life of the group under
as we did, where the group under study may be spread study. The term ‘‘participant observation’’ captures the
out, making the immersion of the ethnographer into their essence of the ethnographer’s endeavour.
social worlds a bit less intensive and more challenging, But the need for more specific information, the need to
but nevertheless worthwhile. During the ethnographic compare responses to the same questions, and the willingness
phase the researchers frequented the settings where to include teachers made the second stage a necessary compo-
newly arrived families gather, such as community centers, nent. In the end, however, planned interviews became inter-
playgroups, religious meetings, and special events. On spersed with a prolonged stage of fieldwork, since the
these occasions the researchers not only had the opportu- structured and formal instance of an interview made many
nity to meet newly arrived families, but also to interact informants within migrant families very restricted in their
with them informally, get a good understanding of their answers. This was particularly true for the children. Having
social realities and learn about their issues as new the chance to interact informally with these same children
migrants in the country. The ethnographers’ prior famil- beyond the context of the interview was very worthwhile,
iarity and experience working with both migrant groups since it gave the researchers the opportunity to fill in gaps
was undoubtedly an advantage. in their understanding of migrant children’s lives. Interviews
During the ethnographic stage the researchers recruited with parents and with teachers were more successful.
20 families (10 from each migrant group) along with children However, as in the case of children, the prolonged stage of
aged 5 to 8 born overseas all of whom showed a willingness fieldwork with migrant families enabled the researchers
to participate during the second stage of the project, and to deepen their relationship with these families, and have
agreed to be interviewed. The second stage of the research access to a richer source of discursive and observational data.
consisted of interviewing the parents and children in these
families, and the teachers of these children at their respective
schools. The research team members were proficient in
Findings
speaking both Spanish and Indonesian, and this was espe- Starting school for the first time can be perplexing for any
cially useful when interviewing the children, because while child, but for a recently arrived migrant child it can be espe-

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most adult migrants to Australia need to have a reasonable cially daunting. Migrant children from a different language

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

and cultural background go through a double transition as Analysis and Implications

they start school in a new country: they become pupils, but
they also become migrants. They need to incorporate these Our analysis of the experiences recounted by the three dif-
two new statuses at the same time and this can be challen- ferent groups of participants suggests that children’s resili-
ging for their evolving identities. Many of the interviewed ence following family migration has been overly assumed,
children reported feeling scared during the first days of and their vulnerabilities and struggles mostly ignored. We
school in the new country, and very vulnerable as they were discovered that migrant children become entangled in a
not able to understand their teachers or peers, and were crossroads of expectations soon after they arrive in the
unable to follow instructions. Some of them reported getting country. Their teachers and parents expect them to do well
lost in the school and finding it very difficult to engage in in school and learn the language as well–and as fast–as pos-
play with other children. Most of them remembered trau- sible. Their peers–responding to a particular socialization
matic episodes such as crying, falling or getting hurt, and not system–pressure them to assimilate into the mainstream
being able to communicate their problems or feelings. and to discard strong ethnic identifiers. Two socialization
However, after these first difficult months, children reported systems interplay in the everyday lives of these children,
feeling happy at school and making friends, and suggested the one that aims at transforming them into good Austra-
to the interviewers that they would try to be part of the main- lian citizens operating at school, and the one that struggles
stream and erase their ethnic identifiers as much as possible. to preserve their ethnic and cultural traits operating at
For example, they avoided taking typical foods to school, or home. Similarly, migrant children get caught in between
speaking their native tongue when at school (and even asked two different educational models, the rigid and academi-
their parents to avoid speaking it when in public). cally demanding one their parents experienced in their
The beginning of school in a new country can be simi- home countries, and which they therefore expect for their
larly difficult for these children’s parents who are not only children, and the Australian approach which is more
very unfamiliar with the schooling system in the new coun- unstructured and focused on personal development and
try and with what the school expects from them, but who social competence. This dissonance can create confusion
are usually also very concerned about the social and psy- in these children, who often receive contradictory messages
chological wellbeing of their children, who will have to at home and at school. We see many of these migrant chil-
immerse themselves for several hours each day in a foreign dren transiting a liminal terrain, where they do not identify
setting where they do not know anyone, nor understand the as Latin Americans, nor as Indonesians, nor as Australians,
language or cultural codes. Despite the welcoming attitude and where they find themselves crossing cultural bound-
of schools, most parents mentioned being worried about aries and systems several times a day. Their identities fluc-
how their children would communicate their needs, and tuate between binary opposites: modernity and tradition,
more importantly, whether they would be able to make the future and the past, sameness and difference–whether
friends and feel a part of a group. In addition, all parents they like it or not. Further research is needed to understand
found a big difference between the educational system of the psycho-social implications for these children, and the
their home countries and Australia’s educational system, impact these cross-cultural early experiences will have on
and acknowledged that this created a clash of expectations their adult lives. Our research is a starting point suggesting
between what parents and schools wanted for their chil- that the issues of child resiliency in migration need to be
dren. A very different relationship between families and thoroughly addressed.
schools as to what they were used to, exacerbated their dis-
orientation, which was, of course, much more troublesome
for those parents whose English language level was limited.
References
Finally, many parents mentioned that as time went by, they Adams, L., & Kirova, A. (Eds.). (2007). Global Migration and
struggled to make their children speak their language at Education: Schools, Children and Families. New Jersey,
home and maintain cultural values and habits. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
For their part, most teachers also reported frustrations Bak, M., & von Bromssen, K. (2010). Interrogating Child-
in dealing with recently arrived migrant families. The hood and Diaspora Through the Voices of Children in
majority of teachers (mostly Anglo-Australian) were largely Sweden. Childhood, 17(1), 113.
unacquainted with their newly arrived students’ cultures Beraldi, C. (Ed.). (2006). Education and Intercultural Narra-
and languages, or their previous educational experiences tives in Multicultural Classrooms. Rome: Offizina
in their home countries. The teachers also showed little Edizioni.
reflection on how their own ethnicity and cultural back- Devine, D. (2009). Mobilising capitals? Migrant children’s
ground determine the way they appreciate and teach negotiation of their everyday lives in school. British Jour-
migrant students. The data collected from the teacher inter- nal of Sociology of Education, 30(5), 521.
views suggest that although they try their best to assist Dockett, S., & Perry, B. (2005). Starting school in Australia is
recently arrived migrant children and to ease the gap ‘a bit safer, a lot easier and more relaxing’: issues for
between them and the rest of the classroom, their lack of families and children from culturally and linguistically
specific knowledge about their migrant students’ back- diverse backgrounds. Early Years: An International Journal
grounds amounts to ingrained preconceptions and reduces of Research and Development, 25(3), 271.
their job to trying to homogenize differences. Although this Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. New York:
is one of the unstated goals of public education, the ‘‘color Basic Books.
blind’’ approach can jeopardize children’s sense of belong- Laosa, L. M. (1999). Intercultural Transitions in Human
ing and the development of their cultural identities at a cru- Development and Education. Journal of Applied Develop-

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cial stage of their lives. mental Psychology, 20(3), 355.

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Olwig, K. (2003). Children’s places of belonging in immi- Sanagavarapu, P., & Perry, B. (2005). Concerns and
grant families of Caribbean background. In K. Olwig & Expectations of Bangladeshi Parents as their Children
E. Gulløv (Eds.), Children’s Places: Cross-Cultural Perspec- Start School. Australian Journal of Early Childhood,
tives. London and New York: Routledge. 30(3), 45.
Orellana, M. F., Thorne, B., Chee, A., & Lam, W. S. E. (2001). Suárez-Orozco, C., & Suárez-Orozco, M. (2001). Children
Transnational childhoods: The participation of children of Immigration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
in processes of family migration. Social Problems, 48(4), 572. Press.

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

Country Focus

Some topics are just at the starting phase of investigation,

Developmental Psychology in such as risk factors for cyber-bullying (in some reports,
36% of Lithuanian children are reported to be among the
Lithuania victims). Also, longitudinal studies on children aban-
Rita Zukauskiene doned due to parental migration for employment should
Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania be implemented. Population-level data on, for example,
E-mail: [email protected] vulnerable child populations in Lithuania are mainly avail-
able due to multi-country international surveys, conducted
Lithuania’s location at the crossroads between East and in collaboration with local partners. For example, a compre-
West Europe has resulted in its complicated and turbulent hensive assessment of children’s well-being has been per-
history. Over the centuries its geopolitical situation chan- formed by UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Centre. This
ged frequently. The state of Lithuania, founded in the assessment measured and compared child well-being under
13th century, lost its independence several times and for six different dimensions: material well-being, health and
long periods. In the 16th century, it united with Poland to safety, education, peer and family relationships, behaviors
form a commonwealth. During the partition of this and risks, and young people’s own subjective sense of
commonwealth by Russia, Prussia and Austria in the 18th well-being (UNICEF Innocenti Report Card 7, 2007).
century, Lithuania was absorbed into the Russian empire. However, it’s worth mentioning some studies that have
After the First World War, in 1918, the Lithuanian Council already contributed to the field of human development.
proclaimed the restoration of the Lithuanian state. How- One of very few longitudinal studies in Lithuania is the
ever, the secret protocol of the Soviet-German frontier Lithuanian Longitudinal Research Program (LLS), analyz-
treaty in 1939 consigned the greater part of Lithuania to ing risk and protective factors in the development of adjust-
the Soviet sphere of influence and on 3 August 1940 ment problems from childhood to adolescence (project
Lithuania became a Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR. leader: Rita Žukauskiene, _ Mykolas Romeris University).
On 11 March 1990 Lithuania re-established its indepen- This longitudinal study was set up to examine the develop-
dence, and a new stage in the life of the country began. ment of adjustment problems from childhood to adoles-
Twenty years of independence, marked not only by cence, with special emphasis on risk and protective
strengthening statehood but also by the transition from a factors. The study is based on a holistic view of the develop-
totalitarian to a democratic society and from a centrally ment of individual adjustment problems. Therefore, the
planned to a market economy, have made great changes central question is how problems in different domains are
in the political, socio-economic, and cultural life of the interrelated, and what kinds of patterns of extrinsic malad-
country. Social, economic, and political developments justment in childhood and adolescence exist. This implies
also created new opportunities and new challenges for that a variable approach is complemented by a person-
Lithuanian psychologists. Freed from former ideological oriented approach. Variable-oriented methods are used to
dogmas, they were able to benefit from the experience of get an overview of how the problems are related. Person-
foreign colleagues, work on international research pro- oriented methods are used to get an overview of how the
grams and join international organizations of psycholo- problems come together in individuals to form syndromes
gists (Bagdonas, Poci _ Rimkute,
ute, _ & Valickas, 2008). (subtypes of adjustment problems), and examine the stabi-
During the last two decades human development in lity and change of these subtypes during certain periods.
Lithuania has been studied mostly by psychologists at The longitudinal study program was initiated in the
Vilnius University, Mykolas Romeris University, Vytautas 1996/1997 school year and continued up to 2008. The first
Magnus University, Vilnius Pedagogical University and data collection included children from 14 primary and sec-
_
Klaipeda University. However, the vast majority of psy- ondary schools. The sample is school-based, with children
chologists graduating from MA and PhD programs in from particular classes recruited to the study. The selection
Lithuania enter applied fields, choosing careers as clinical of the schools was based on the attempt to include children
psychologists, school psychologists, counselors, personnel into the study from different economic backgrounds, e.g.
managers, etc. Thus, the Lithuanian psychological profes- schools from different locations in Vilnius city and a few
sion has a relatively small body of active researchers in neighboring suburban areas; a few classes from the second
child, adolescent, and adulthood development. Moreover, largest city (Kaunas) were also selected. The original cluster
most psychologists in academia are rather heavily consists of four age cohorts (from 7 to 11 years old). Addi-
burdened by too many teaching hours. There are also no tional cohorts of 11- and 12-year-old children were included
doctoral programs dedicated to research training in devel- in 2000 and 2001. The survey is carried out each year and
opmental psychology per se; i.e., PhD programs are run information is collected about every child participating in
under the ‘umbrella’ of (general) Psychology. Thus, the the study. Overall, there are 1,148 children (597 boys and
study of human development is done by individual 551 girls) in the study, with varying success in data collec-
researchers or groups of researchers interested in one or tion at different points in time. Information about each child
another topic, which means that studies of human devel- is collected from four different sources – parents, teachers,

•
opment in Lithuania are not done on a systematic basis. peers, and children themselves. Multiple assessment

37
 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

 Additional questionnaires are filled in by each participat-

ing child only once at a certain time of the study:
Sociometric measurements, OCA and peer evaluations for
each child were collected at the first assessment (at the
ages of 7-10); The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and SAQ
were filled in at the age of 14; EMBU and YPI were com-
pleted at the age of 15; and NEO-FFI was done at the age
of 17.

Currently, a new assessment of the sample is in

the planning stage, in order to measure developmental
outcomes in young adulthood, to be conducted in
2011. Research findings were presented to the interna-
tional community in conference presentations and peer-
Rita Zukauskiene reviewed publications (Malinauskiene_ & Žukauskiene, _
2004, 2007; Sondaite_ & Žukauskiene, _ 2004; Žukauskiene, _
2004; Žukauskiene,_ Ignatavičiene,_ & Daukantaite, _ 2003;
Zukauskiene & Sondaite, 2004, Žukauskiene_ & Mal-
inauskiene, _ 2008; Žukauskiene,_ Pilkauskaite-Valickiene,
_
Malinauskiene, & Kratavičiene.,_ 2004).
Researchers from Vilnius University are mostly con-
ducting cross-sectional studies, exploring issues related
to suicides, aiming to identify the main risk groups, and
analyzing the social, cultural and psychological factors
determining the high number of suicides in the country
(Gailiene,_ 1998; 2004, 2005). Kazlauskas and Gailiene
(2003, 2005) conducted studies evaluating the psychologi-
cal and psychopathological consequences caused by the
lasting traumas inflicted on the people by the Soviet occu-
pation and repressions. Gintiliene_ and Girdzijauskiene_
(2003) conducted a study with a focus on culture and chil-
dren’s intelligence, addressing the cross-cultural analysis
of the WISC-III. Bieliauskaite, _ Garckija, and Jusiene_
(2009) conducted a study on the psychological adjustment
of children with bronchial asthma and its relation to par-
ental conflicts and parental practices.
In cross-sectional studies, researchers from Mykolas
Romeris University analyze different aspects of human
development. For example, Šilinskas and Žukauskiene_
(2004) investigated subjective well-being in a sample of
Lithuanian men. Daukantaite and Žukauskiene_ (2006),
using cross-sectional and longitudinal data, analyzed
Swedish and Lithuanian employed women’s subjective
well-being. Barkauskiene_ (2005) investigated relation-
ships between mothers’ expectations, feelings, and per-
ceived support with emotional and behavioral problems
in children with learning disabilities. Also, large-scale
data collection on the emotional and behavioral problems
Impressions from the XIV European Conference on Developmental of 7- to 18-year-old children and adolescents was
Psychology held in Vilnius 2009 performed by Žukauskiene_ and Kajokiene_ in 2004. In a
number of international papers, research findings from
procedures are used in the research. The multi-method and this representative sample (N ¼ 3,627) of Lithuanian
multi-agent research strategy are used in order to ensure a children were presented (see, for example, Rescorla
higher validity of the data obtained. The assessment pack- et al., 2007a, 2007b).
age consists of the following instruments, administered Researchers at Vytautas Magnus University have ana-
every year: lyzed risk-taking behaviors (Endriulaitiene_ & Martišius,
2002, 2003) and conducted a longitudinal study of
 questionnaires for parents of children aged 7-13 – health behaviors, exploring the negative effects of alcohol,
CBCL4/18 tobacco, and drugs on the health of people and society as
 a questionnaire for teachers to fill in yearly about well as the efficacy of preventive measures (Goštautas,
children aged 7-15 – TRF 6/18 2004). Legkauskas and Jakovlevaite_ (2005) conducted a
 one questionnaire for children from 11 to 18 years old – cross-sectional study to assess the relationship between

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YSR11/18 risky sex behaviors, aspects of ego-identity, and the quality

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

of relationships with friends and parents among freshman Cross-cultural analysis of the WISC-III (pp. 165-179). San
and sophomore high school students. Diego: Academic Press.
Currently, new studies are in the implementation Goštautas, A. (2004). Tabako ir etanolio vartojimas Lietuvoje
phase, for example, a new longitudinal study that is a 1972-2003 metais ir profilaktikos perspektyva. Kaunas: VDU
continuation of the previous LLS longitudinal study. leidykla.
Another short-term longitudinal study of positive youth Kazlauskas, E., & Gailien_e, D. (2003). Politiniu˛ represiju˛ metu
development (PYD) by researchers from Mykolas Romeris patirto sunkaus ilgalaikio traumavimo psichologiniu˛
University is in the implementation phase (Žukauskiene_ padariniu˛ kompleksiškumas. Psichologija, 27, 43-52.
& Malinauskiene, _ 2009). This study addresses the mechan- Kazlauskas, E., & Gailiene, _ D. (2005). Išgyvenusiuj˛ u˛ poli-
isms of promoting positive youth development in the con- tines represijas potraumines _ simptomatikos ir traumines _
text of socio-economic transformations (POSIDEV). The patirties, demografiniu,˛ somatiniu˛ veiksniu˛ bei vidines _
primary goal of this study is to examine and elucidate the darnos sasajos.
˛ Psichologija, 32, 46-59.
mechanisms responsible for positive developmental out- Legkauskas, V., & Jakovlevaite, _ V. (2005). Rizikingo
comes in the context of socio-economic transformations seksualinio studentu˛ elgesio ir ju˛ psichosocialiniu˛
during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. savybiu˛ ryšys: Psichologija, 32, 35-45.
Eastern Europe has experienced major socio-political and Malinauskiene, _ O., & Žukauskiene_ R. (2004). Paaugliu˛
economic changes in the last two decades. The impact of depresijos simptomu,˛ savivertes, _ šeimos socio-
these transitions on families, individuals and their ekonominio statuso ir tev _ u˛ auklejimo
_ stiliaus sasajos.
˛
functioning has been significant. In Lithuania, those who Psichologija, 30, 17-31.
are now 16-24 years old were born and grew up during the Malinauskiene, _ O., & Žukauskiene, _ R. (2007). Paaugliu˛
Independence years. Thus, they experienced great changes emociniu˛ ir elgesio sunkumu˛ sasajos ˛ ir pokyčiai per
in their immediate social environments, which included a trejus metus: amžiaus ir lyties ypatumai. Psichologija,
mix of difficulties and uncertainties, as well as new possibi- 35, 19-31.
lities. We aim to identify key factors influencing successful Rescorla, L. A., Achenbach, T. M., Ivanova, M. I.,
adjustment and functioning in emerging adulthood, and to Dumenci, L., Almqvist, F., Bilenberg, N., et al.
offer guidelines for youth policy. (2007a). Epidemiological Comparisons of Problems
In summary, in the past twenty years Lithuanian and Positive Qualities Reported by Adolescents in 24
researchers have expanded their studying of human devel- Countries. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
opment, and new findings are emerging. Our basic chal- 75, 351-358.
lenge as researchers is to systemize research and to build Rescorla, L., Achenbach, T. M., Ivanova, M., Dumenci, L.,
better collaboration between separate researchers and/or A., Almqvist, F., Bilenberg, N., et al. (2007b). Behavioral
research groups. and Emotional Problems Reported by Parents of Chil-
dren Ages 6 to 16 in 31 Societies. Journal of Emotional and
Behavioral Disorders, 15(3), 130-142.
References Sondaite, J., & Zukauskiene, R. (2005). Adolescents’ Social
Strategies: Patterns and Correlates. Scandinavian Journal
Bagdonas, A., Poci _ B., Rimkute,
ute, _ E., & Valickas, G. of Psychology, 46, 367-374.
(2008). The history of Lithuanian psychology. European Šilinskas, G., & Žukauskiene, _ R. (2004). Subjektyvios
psychologist, 13(3), 227-237. geroves _ išgyvenimas ir su juo susije˛ veiksniai vyru˛
Bieliauskaite,_ R., Garckija R., & Jusiene_ R. (2009). imtyje. Psichologija, 30, 47-58.
Ikimokyklinio amžiaus bronchine astma sergančiu˛ UNICEF Innocenti Report Card 7 (2007). Child poverty in per-
vaiku˛ psichologinio prisitaikymo, tev _ u˛ konfliktiškumo spective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries.
_
bei auklejimo budu˛ sasajos.
˛ Psichologija, 40, 37-45. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. http://
Daukantaite, D., & Zukauskiene, R. (2006). Swedish and news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/13_02_07_nn_
Lithuanian employed women’s subjective well-being. unicef.pdf
International Journal of Social Welfare, 15(1), 23-31. Žukauskiene, _ R (2004). A comparative study of adolescents
Endriulaitiene, _ A., & Martišius, V. (2002). Rizikingu˛ living in long term residential care and adolescents liv-
sprendimu˛ priemimo_ ir situacijos pob udžio sasajos.
˛ ing with parents: differences in cognitive and behavioral
Psichologija, 26, 7-15. strategies, internalizing and social problems. Interna-
Endriulaitiene, _ A., & Martišius, V. (2003). Pasirenkamo rizi- tional Journal of Child & Family Welfare, 7(1), 2-13.
kos lygio pastovumas ivairiose
˛ sprendimu˛ situacijose. Žukauskiene, _ R., Ignatavičiene, _ K., & Daukantaite, _ D.
Psichologija, 28, 7-17. (2003). Subscales scores of the Lithuanian version of
_ D. (1998). Jie neturejo
Gailiene, _ mirti. Savižudybes_ Lietuvoje. CBCL: preliminary data on the emotional and beha-
Vilnius: Tyto alba. vioral problems in childhood and adolescence. European
_ D. (2004). Suicide in Lithuania during the Years of
Gailiene, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 12(3), 136-143.
1990 to 2002. Archives of Suicide Research, 8, 389-395. Žukauskiene_ R., & Malinauskiene, _ O. (2008). Skirtumai tarp
Gailien_e, D. (2005). Užburtame rate: savižudybiu˛ paplitimas lyčiu,˛ prognozuojant elgesio ir emocinius sunkumus
Lietuvoje po nepriklausomyb_es atk urimo. Psichologija, 31, paauglysteje _ pagal asmenybes _ bruožus ir tev
_ u˛ auklejimo
_
7-15. stiliu.˛ Psichologija, 2008, 38, 63-83.
Gintiliene,_ G., & Girdzijauskiene, _ S. (2003). Lithuania. In Žukauskiene, _ R., & Malinauskiene, _ O. (2009). The effect of
J. Georgas, L. G. Weiss, Fons J. R. Van de Vijver & personality traits and values on adolescents’ prosocial
D. H. Saklofske (Eds.): Culture and children’s intelligence. orientation. Socialinis darbas, 8(2), 97-107.

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_
Žukauskiene, R., _
Pilkauskaite-Valickiene, R., _ R., & Sondaite, J. (2004). The Strategy and
Žukauskiene,
Malinauskiene, O., & Kratavičiene,_ R. (2004). Evaluating Attribution Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties of
behavioral and emotional problems with the CBCL and a Lithuanian Translation in an Adolescent Sample.
YSR scales: cross-informant and longitudinal associa- Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 45, 155-160.
tions. Medicina, 40(2), 169-177.

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

Notes from The Past President

This is my last ISSBD newsletter (Bulletin) note. I want to recommendations were just approved in July and can
conclude as I began – by thanking each of you who work tire- now be implemented by President Wolfgang Schneider.
lessly on behalf of this wonderful organization. I have really (9) Studying regional workshops and other activities for the pur-
enjoyed working with all of you! We have accomplished a great pose of identifying the most effective ways for ISSBD to play a
deal together! Stepping back to review the goals I set, my vision role in the active engagement of ISSBD members in human
for my presidency was to find ways for ISSBD to contribute to development research.
the work of each developmental scholar and member around the (10) Thanks especially to Suman Verma and Catherine
world. My primary objective for my Presidency was to identify a Cooper for their excellent research on regional work-
‘‘stable core of committed members around the world, who are shops, and their recommendations for improving
engaged in important and effective activities to advance the field workshop effectiveness, now in use. Their recommen-
of developmental science and to sustain ISSBD.’’ I further elabo- dations also went beyond regional workshops in
rated and developed specific goals in subsequent messages to recommending the creation of a structure for providing
the membership. research infrastructure and access to data for all ISSBD
Here are some of the accomplishments of which I’m most members, regardless of their academic context. This
proud: exciting effort is still underway, and should also pro-
(1) Expanding active engagement with the work of running vide good support for training. I will commit to contin-
ISSBD, through the creation of four major committees ued involvement with the implementation of this
(Finance, Membership, Publications, Regional Workshops) effort.
and an expanded officer group with the division of the I leave it to all of you to assess what difference we made.
Treasurer/Membership Secretary role into two separate One priority on which we made less headway was Finance. I
roles, to advance the work of both areas. had hoped to work with Treasurer Ingrid Schoon and the
(2) Supporting young scholars, especially within the broader Finance Committee on the development of an effective invest-
purpose of creating a vital, renewed group of human devel- ment strategy and budgeting process for ISSBD. Instead we
opment researchers and ISSBD members. spent way too much time simply gaining access to our funds,
(3) Thanks especially to Peter Smith for proposing and then a problem arising from the changes in banking laws. Having
managing the Developing Country Fellowships, involv- now resolved the problems, ISSBD is better positioned to con-
ing mentored fellowships with research support. sider the original questions. Again, these issues remain for the
(4)Thanks also to all the young scholars, and especially Zena President and Executive Committee to address.
Mello, as well as many senior scholars, for their energetic Another priority of mine was to capitalize on the broad
generation of ideas and concrete action to engage, scientific focus of ISSBD on human development over the life
advance, and support young scholars, who are the future course. While I had conversations with some of you on produc-
of ISSBD. tive directions for pursuing this priority, I ran out of time and
(5) Special thanks to the wonderfully supportive funders who energy for adequate pursuit. The opportunities remain to con-
make these programs possible: the Jacobs Foundation for sider an integrative approach to examining major human
their very significant support this year (which was even development challenges across disciplines, life span, and cul-
greater than their important support through the years), tures, and from science to real life. These are exciting times
the National Science Foundation (US), and the American scientifically with many innovations that will be meaningful
Psychological Association. to lives globally. It will be up to all of us to capitalize on these
(6) Reframing ISSBD membership guidelines to update the roles opportunities. I hope to continue considering these issues in
of regional coordinator, update fee structures, and target new my own writing.
member campaigns. In my report to the Executive Committee, I extended thanks
(7) Thanks especially to Ann Sanson, chair of the Member- to those among our members who have especially given much of
ship Committee, together with the first Membership Sec- their time and talents. I will not repeat here the long list of out-
retary, Xinyin Chen. standing ISSBD members who deserve our deep gratitude. I am
(8) Thanks to the Executive Committee for approving the truly indebted to each of you! Working with you has made my
committees’ recommendations for a clear role descrip- Presidency a joy! And ISSBD is a better organization for your
tion for the regional coordinator (a similar description efforts.
was used in recruiting several additional coordinators);
updating the membership fees to align with World Bank Anne C. Petersen
standards; and identifying several key areas and University of Michigan, USA,
approaches for membership recruitment. The latter E-mail: [email protected]

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Notes from The President

As I write these notes, I look back over my first couple of weeks which will work out a master plan regarding systematic support
in the new office of President. Accordingly, I cannot talk much of young scientists in our society. If we are successful, we may
about recent accomplishments but will instead focus on my obtain funding by the Jacobs Foundation, which has supported
view of the state-of-the art tools available to us and the ISSBD activities and has been generous from the very beginning.
tasks that should be tackled in the near future. In my role as We owe many thanks to Simon Sommer of the Jacobs Founda-
President-Elect during the past two years, I learned a lot about tion who has given valuable input to our young scientist plans,
the dynamics in the ISSBD management system, participating and also encouraged us to pursue such goals in the future. More-
in various meetings of the ISSBD Executive Committee (EC) over, we are grateful to the National Science Foundation for its
and numerous contacts among the members of the Steering continuous travel support of young scientists from the US, and
Committee. I am particularly grateful to Past President Anne to UNICEF and SAGE for providing additional financial sup-
Petersen who patiently and carefully initiated me into all port. As can be seen from Bill Hartup’s (1996) and Rainer Silber-
relevant topics and provided me with the basic knowledge con- eisen’s (2002) reports on the history of the Society, several other
cerning past developments and necessary next steps in a broad national foundations were supportive in the past. It seems
variety of ISSBD ‘‘problem zones.’’ Anne served as a wonderful worthwhile to explore ways of further improving the funding
role model, and it is good to know that she will be available as situation, not only for young scientists but also for senior scien-
Past President during the next two years. Together with the tists from currency-restricted countries. Suggestions from our
members of the EC committee, she has worked extremely hard members in this regard are highly welcome.
to increase the effectiveness of ISSBD. There is no doubt for me A second issue of major interest to most past presidents and
that she reached her major goals, and that it will be a challenge also myself is to build capacity for the study of human develop-
for me to continue on this path. ment in the developing world. In order to fulfill this part of its
What were my visions of major tasks when I accepted the mission, ISSBD has always been active in organizing regional
nomination as president two years ago? First of all, I thought workshops and conferences. I fully agree with my predecessors
that the issue of membership should be attended to more closely. that such workshops and conferences underpin the Society’s
Although ISSBD is a truly international and global learned soci- most important functions, namely, providing opportunities for
ety, it is obvious from membership statistics that some parts of our members from currency-restricted countries to become
the world are less well represented than others. Apparently, the acquainted with recent trends concerning research on behavioral
number of ISSBD members has stagnated for quite a while. I development, and also to benefit from methodological advances
learned from Bill Hartup’s (1996) report on the history of ISSBD in the various disciplines represented in ISSBD. So far, these
that about 140 scientists were affiliated with the Society at its efforts have been very successful. We will certainly continue,
beginning in 1969, and that about 300 members were registered maybe even expand this tradition. Anne Petersen established a
in 1979. Another 10 years later, the Society counted more than Regional Workshop Committee co-chaired by Catherine Cooper
1000 members from more than 40 countries. This is about the and Suman Verma which is exploring new options to further
number that was also reported on later occasions, and it appears improve the situation, for instance, by establishing a network
that we have not been able to increase this number during the of Web-based collaborative research groups.
past two decades, even though the number of membership coun- A third issue concerns our biennial meetings, that is, our
tries went up to 60þ. I do know that this has been a relevant showcase of international research on human development. The
issue for many of my predecessors, and it is also good to know Past Presidents worked hard to make our biennial meetings
that a highly effective ISSBD membership committee is currently more appealing to all generations of scientists, and also to pur-
working on this problem. We believe that the measure of offer- sue our aim that these meetings stress the life-span conception
ing one-year free membership packages at our biennial meetings of continuity and change, offering significant information for
has been effective to some degree, but also know that more has researchers interested in all periods of life. I also consider this
to be done to be successful in this aspect. We will try hard to to be an important goal for the time period of my presidentship,
increase multidisciplinarity (right now, about 75% of the mem- and hope to make further progress in this regard. In my view, we
bers identify with psychology), and to ensure that ISSBD will managed to continuously increase the scientific standard of our
continue to focus on human development over the life course. meetings, and the last one in Lusaka, Zambia was no exception
Although research interests of most ISSBD members are still to this rule. My impression was that all those who attended our
restricted to the two first decades of life, it is a special feature first biennial meeting in Africa were impressed by the high-
of ISSBD that it is the only international learned society covering standard program with many highlights. Congratulations and
the total life span. So expanding our focus on adulthood and old grateful thanks go to Robert Serpell and his team for all their
age seems important. hard work in organizing such a great event that also gave us
Last but not least, our efforts to recruit more members will highly interesting insights into the Zambian culture! It was par-
specifically focus on young scholars, who represent our future. ticularly moving to experience the extreme friendliness of the
Special efforts to increase the attractiveness of the Society for people we met in Lusaka, despite all the problems they have
young scholars have been undertaken by Past Presidents Rainer to cope with in daily life.
Silbereisen and Anne Petersen. For instance, a Young Scholar I am confident that we will have another exciting biennial
Initiative led by Karina Weichold and Deepali Sharma was suc- meeting in Edmonton, Canada, in July 2012. At the business
cessfully established at the biennial meetings in Melbourne and meeting in Lusaka, Nancy Galambos, Jeff Bisanz, and their team
Würzburg, arranging for roundtable discussions of young and came up with an excellent introduction to the conference site,
senior scientists. Furthermore, Zena Mello, the young scholar and also provided convincing plans for the scientific program.
representative to the Executive Committee, organized Young I already look forward to visiting Edmonton in two years!
Scholar Community meetings which turned out to be very sti- Finally, one of the issues that I want to explore in the near
mulating and successful. I am sure that Zena’s successor as future concerns archiving historically important developments
young scholar representative, Jaap Denissen, will manage to within our Society. If I see it correctly, older ISSBD documents
continue along these lines. The EC established a new committee are stored in the Royal Archives of the Netherlands, but

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

probably still in boxes. I know from two Past Presidents, Lea factor, which deserves our deepest respect. A similarly positive
Pulkkinen and Ken Rubin, that they keep ISSBD materials in development can be reported for the ISSBD Bulletin (formerly
their offices that may be of interest to more people, and I guess Newsletter), and we are very grateful to the editor-in-chief,
this may be also true for other Past Presidents as well. Given new Karina Weichold, and the co-editor Bonnie Barber. As Bonnie
electronic archiving options, it may be worthwhile to have core will no longer be available for this job, she will be followed by
documents illustrating the history of ISSBD and its structural Deepali Sharma. We are confident that the Bulletin will continue
development digitalized and electronically available to ISSBD to be a valuable publication instrument stimulating exchange
members. For EC members, particularly, it could be helpful among ISSBD members. The transfer of IJBD to the new pub-
to know about all actions and motions described in the EC Min- lisher, SAGE, has certainly contributed to the positive develop-
utes. I will contact the Past Presidents to find out about suitable ment, involving the assumption of several administrative tasks
ways to pursue this plan. that turned out to be troublesome for our volunteer members.
Overall, I think that ISSBD is in very good shape and has pro- We are grateful to Kerry Barner and the other SAGE colleagues
mising perspectives. Through its very active program of confer- for professionalizing our membership management and for all
ences and workshops, the Society has become an important the assistance they provided with regard to journal issues. I fully
player in the field of Developmental Science. The major journal agree with Anne Petersen’s judgment that we have a terrific
of the Society, the International Journal of Behavioral Development organization, and look forward to a time period in the new office
(IJBD), has developed flagship properties and can be considered which hopefully will not only be busy but also rewarding!
a very noteworthy publication outlet in the field of life-span and
cross-cultural developmental science. During the last decade, its Wolfgang Schneider
editors – Rainer Silbereisen, Bill Bukowski, and Marcel van Aken University of Wuerzburg, Germany
– have managed to continuously increase the journal’s impact E-Mail: [email protected]

Editorial
Main Editor Co-Editor Production:
Karina Weichold Deepali Sharma SAGE Publications Ltd
Correspondence address: ISSBD Bulletin 1 Oliver’s Yard
ISSBD Bulletin Department of Human Development & Family 55 City Road
Department of Developmental Relations London EC1Y 1SP
Psychology Government Home Science College
CADS – Center for Applied Panjab University, Sector 10 Typesetting:
Hurix Systems
Developmental Science Chandigarh 160011, India
University of Jena Email: [email protected] India
Am Steiger 3/Haus 1 Printing:
D-07743 Jena, Germany Copy Editing: Page Brothers Ltd
Email: [email protected] Lucy Hahn Norwich, UK
Murdoch University

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Minutes of the ISSBD Executive

Committee Meeting and General
Business Meeting: Lusaka,
Zambia 2010
Katariina Salmela-Aro
University of Helsinki, Finland, [email protected]
Times:
Executive Committee Meeting (EC)
July 18th, 8.30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
General Business Meeting (GBM)
July 21st, 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Members of the EC and regional officers present: Marcel The President was also very grateful for all committee
van Aken (Outgoing EC Member, Editor IJBD), Toni chairs and members and in particular Toni Antonucci
Antonucci (EC Member), Catherine Cooper (Regional (Awards Committee), Andy Collins (Publications Commit-
Workshops), Jaap Denissen (Incoming Young Scholar), tee), Ann Sanson (Membership Committee), Peter Smith
Silvia Koller (EC Member), Zena Mello (Young Scholar (Developing Country Fellowships), Liz Susman (Finance
Representative), Bame Nsamenang (EC Member), Anne C. Committee), Suman Verma and Catherine Cooper (Regional
Petersen (President), Katariina Salmela-Aro (Secretary Gen- Workshops), and the Committee members for the Precon-
eral), Arnold Sameroff (Outgoing EC member), Ann Sanson ference Workshops: Marcel van Aken, Toni Antonucci,
(EC Member), Wolfgang Schneider (Incoming President), Zena Mello, and Liz Susman were thanked for their hard
Ingrid Schoon (Treasurer), Robert Serpell (Incoming EC work in reviewing the Young Scholar Applications for the
Member), Suman Verma (Incoming EC Member), Liqi Zhu 2010 Preconference Workshops.
(Appointed EC Member) The President summarized her vision for the Society as
Editors present: Marcel van Aken (IJBD), Kerry Barner the pursuit of ways for ISSBD to contribute to the work of
(SAGE), Josafa Cunha (e-news), Deepali Sharma (Bulletin) developmental scholars around the world, with the pri-
In addition, present for specific issues were: Peter Smith mary objective to engage a ‘‘stable core of committed mem-
(Developing Country Fellowship: 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.), bers around the world, who are engaged in important and
Nancy Galambos (22nd Biennial Meeting, 12.00 noon-2:00 effective activities to advance the field of developmental
p.m.), Jonathan Santo (Young Scholars) science and to sustain ISSBD.’’ Together with the EC she has
Apologies for absence received from: Andrew Collins accomplished much of what she envisioned four years ago.
(Publications Committee), Serdar Degirmencioglu (Mem- She was particularly grateful for contributions from Zena
ber), Brett Laursen (Incoming Member), Ulman Lindenber- Mello, Josafa Cunha, Suman Verma and Catherine Cooper,
ger (EC Member), Xinyin Chen (Membership Secretary), as well as Marcel van Aken’s great leadership at IJBD, Kerry
Elisabeth Susman (Finance Committee), Margarita Azmitia Barner (SAGE) and Bonnie Barber as co-editor of the ISSBD
(Member), Karina Weichold (Bulletin). Bulletin. In addition, she pointed out that the financial
issues of ISSBD have been sorted out and that ISSBD now
has a financial office, with Rick Burdick being contracted
to manage ISSBD financial transactions in conjunction with
the Treasurer, Ingrid Schoon. The President expressed
1. President’s Opening and Report enormous gratitude to Liz Susman for her special efforts
The President, Anne C. Petersen, welcomed all present as to provide access to our accounts, and ultimately to close
her last time as President. She gave warm thanks to three them.
current EC members who were stepping down after this The President mentioned that the ISSBD Web page
meeting: Marcel van Aken, Andrew Collins, and Arnold needs to be updated; she will send her notes to Wolfgang
Sameroff. She also congratulated the newly-elected EC and Kerry.
members: Brett Laursen, Robert Serpell, and Suman Verma A new opportunity for international engagement by
as well as Jaap Denissen, the new Young Scholar Represen- ISSBD next year was introduced by the President: SRCD has
tative to the EC, overlapping and succeeding Zena Mello asked ISSBD to co-sponsor their international reception
(who was the previous representative) for two years. In event at the Montreal 2011 meeting.
addition, Deepali Sharma was welcomed as a new co- ACTION: This suggestion was motioned, seconded,

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

international reception event together with SRCD in ballots. Each ISSBD member was asked to vote for up to
Montreal 2011. In addition, the EC requested that ISSBD three EC candidates, and for one of the three Young Scholar
be given the opportunity to say something about our orga- Representative candidates. Given that about 50 to 100
nization at this meeting. ISSBD members still do not have e-mail addresses, Xinyin
The President concluded the report where she began – Chen was asked to contact these members by snail mail
by thanking everyone who worked on behalf of ISSBD over letters. The following scientists were chosen for EC mem-
the past four years. The ISSBD is an organization of volun- bership: Brett Laursen, Robert Serpell, and Suman Verma.
teers. The effort expended on behalf of the organization is From the Young Scholar Representative candidates, Jaap
important to its success! Denissen received the majority of votes. Immediately after
the elections, Anne Petersen sent out letters to those candi-
dates who were not successful. A decision was made to
announce the election results and present the new members
2. Minutes of the EC meeting in 2009 at the Business meeting in Lusaka.
Wolfgang Schneider as a new President is aiming to
ACTION: The Minutes of the EC Meeting in 2009 in Denver,
retain several committees for the ISSBD. He would like to
US were approved unanimously.
continue at least the following: Awards (Toni Antonucci),
Finance (Liz Susman), Membership (Ann Sanson), Nomina-
tions (Anne Petersen, Past President, as the chair), Publica-
tions and Fellowship Award (Peter Smith).
3. Secretary’s report There was a discussion of funding for EC members to
Katariina Salmela-Aro reported that the Secretary’s office travel to the EC meetings (now only one night of accommo-
has been involved in many activities of the Society, such dation is covered). It was established that the EC members
as preparing agendas and minutes of the Executive Com- are expected to be present at the meetings, and the Finance
mittee meetings, answering a variety of questions from the Committee will recommend possibilities of further support
members of the Society, being involved in on-line voting, for EC members.
disseminating information about the Society to other societ- ACTION: EC members are expected to join in the meet-
ies and international journals/volumes, providing the orga- ings, and supportive funding will be targeted for those
nizers of the Biennial Meetings with information about the coming from countries not in the World Bank top category.
Society, and furnishing the President and other officers These members should have some additional support to
with information concerning the Society’s By-laws, previ- join the EC meetings.
ous decisions and other organizational matters. Coopera-
tion with President Anne Petersen and the publisher,
Kerry Barner, has been very helpful.
In addition to these activities, the Secretary arranged 5. Report from the Membership
for the election of three new Executive Committee members Secretary (Xinyin Chen was not
for 2010 – 2016, in cooperation with the President-Elect,
Wolfgang Schneider. The candidates elected to serve present and Anne Petersen gave his
were: Brett Laursen, Robert Serpell, and Suman Verma. The report), Membership Committee (Ann
Young Scholar representative is Jaap Denissen. Sanson), and Kerry Barner (SAGE)
ACTION: The EC unanimously approved the Secre-
tary’s report. The Membership secretary thanked Kerry Barner and Anne
Petersen for their continuous support for various activities
with regard to membership. SAGE has been taking care of
most ordinary duties for renewal and retention of members.
4. Incoming President-Elect Wolfgang Membership typically declines during the years when there
are no meetings and thus Anne Petersen and Xinyin Chen
Schneider have sent e-mails to all those who did not renew their mem-
As chair of the Nominations Committee, the Incoming Pres- berships. They also sent a number of personal e-mails to
ident thanked Anne Petersen, Katariina, Kerry, and the people in North America, Europe and other developed
other EC members for their support. He then described the countries to promote ISSBD membership. In addition,
election procedure which was planned by the President- ISSBD has Regional Coordinators who have helped to
Elect in close collaboration with the President, the Secretary maintain and recruit new members from China: Huichang
General, Kerry Barner, and the Membership Secretary, Chen; India: Suman Verma; Lithuania: Rita Zukauskiene;
Xinyin Chen. In a first step, a list of potential candidates Russia: Tatiana Ryabova; and Latin America: Silvia Koller.
was generated in an open call which served as an initial The Membership Secretary has been in contact with all
orientation. Then eventually nine candidates were invited regional coordinators. ISSBD has also successfully recruited
for the three EC positions, with the proviso that the few several new coordinators in Africa: Paul Oburu (Kenya);
non-members all join ISSBD before the election started. One Esther Akinsola (Nigeria); Peter Baguma (Uganda); Jacque-
person declined, which left us with 8 candidates for the line Jere-Folotiya (Zambia); Mambwe Kasese-Hara (South
three EC positions. Moreover, three young scientists were Africa); and Therese Tchombe (Cameroon). They were
invited as candidates for the open position of a Young Scho- warmly welcomed by Anne Petersen. Because Suman
lar Representative. All of them accepted the nomination. An Verma has now been elected to the EC, a new coordinator

•
online ballot was used with simple majority rules to count is needed for India. Professor Shagufa Kapadia at Maharaja

45
 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, has be changed so Category I ¼ low income, Category II ¼
agreed to do this for two years after Suman’s term as EC lower-middle income, and Category III ¼ upper-middle
member begins. Professor Huichang Chen has expressed income. Eligible countries not currently on the ISSBD list
his intention to step down as a coordinator for China. As are now added to the Web site. Ann Sanson also mentioned
a result, Professor Liqi Zhu will take over the responsibil- that the dues for Reduced Regional Membership should be
ities of the regional coordinator in China. Liqi has been on re-adjusted in line with the changes in the 2007 World Bank
the EC for two years as an appointed member and has been lists. The importance of recruiting and engaging young
helping Huichang with regional activities, such as organiz- scholars was strongly endorsed. There was discussion
ing a regional workshop, during this period. Xinyin Chen about whether early career researchers (e.g., within 3 to 5
will continue to recruit regional coordinators for other years of completing their PhDs) should be categorized
countries/regions. Chen also expressed his gratitude to along with students in terms of fees payable. It was noted
Suman and Huichang for their wonderful work in this role that some early career researchers have not yet secured
for many years. employment and are in financial hardship, whereas oth-
SAGE will continue working with the ISSBD on mem- ers are in well-paid positions and may be insulted by
bership management issues. ISSBD used to have one being categorized as students. It was suggested that a
regional coordinator from Africa. However, it was dis- clause inviting young scholars in financial hardship to
cussed that coordinators need to represent a country rather make a case for fee reduction to the Membership Secre-
than a continent. Silvia Koller in future will represent Brazil tary could be developed. It was noted that an increase
rather than Latin America. It was agreed that ISSBD needs in fees for conference registration may be more important
to recruit new coordinators, in particular from North Afri- than increases in membership fees. Ann Sanson sug-
can countries, from the Middle East, and from Europe. gested encouraging older members to explicitly and
Guidelines for regional coordinators are on the Web page. personally encourage their students to become members
In addition, more regional activities are needed, such as and to work with national organizations to arrange joint
regional workshops. subscriptions, combined memberships and shared activi-
The EC discussed how to increase the membership. ties. A lot of discussion was carried out concerning the
ISSBD is currently allowing one year’s free membership fol- student fee but no action was yet taken. Also it was dis-
lowing conference registration. However, various new stra- cussed whether a face-to-face meeting is needed for the
tegies are needed for recruiting and maintaining members. regional coordinators.
The EC also discussed the issue of taking into account the ACTION: The Web site no longer uses number labels
real income level of members when considering member- for the three categories and Web site needs to be updated.
ship fees. Fees for low income countries ought to be bought into line
ACTION: ISSBD seeks new regional coordinators and with World Bank categories with a four year delay from
to increase membership numbers. 2007 (motion seconded and agreed).
Kerry Barner, Membership Management, SAGE, con- Following discussion within the Executive Committee,
tinued with presenting the membership statistics. It is the it was determined that no change in the categorization of
Society’s aim and priority to grow and retain the member- early career researchers would be made (motion seconded
ship of ISSBD, with a focus on persuading lapsed members and agreed). However, those researchers who wish to dis-
to renew. Membership at the end of 2009 stood at 787. As cuss their membership application with the Membership
per trends, membership tends to dip in the years when Secretary prior to payment should contact: Xinyin Chen
there is no Biennial Meeting and 2009 is no exception. It was [[email protected]]
agreed that the key opportunity to recruit new members is
at the Biennial Meetings.
Ann Sanson, Membership Committee, continued with
her report. Sanson also mentioned that the ISSBD Web site
is not updated. She mentioned the difficulties with organiz- 6. Report from the Treasurer
ing group meetings for the Membership Committee. Conse-
quently, the committee has used mainly individual e-mail
Secretary, Ingrid Schoon
contacts. She was grateful that the Membership Committee As of January 2010 an ISSBD financial office has been
has representation across the world. created. The office is managed by Rick Burdick (ISSBD
The following broad issues of concern were noted Controller, 2950 S. State Street, Suite 401; Ann Arbor MI
among committee members: an ageing membership in 48104, telephone 734-926-0620). As a consequence, ISSBD
Europe and the US; low membership in many developing accounts have been moved from Citizens Bank in State
countries; unstable membership (members joining for 1-2 College, Pennsylvania to Key Bank in Ann Arbor, Michi-
years and then lapsing); a fee structure based on out-of- gan. This new arrangement will guarantee continuous and
date World Bank data; regional/country representatives efficient management of our financial and administrative
in some places but not others, who operate differently, with tasks, under the direction of the Society’s President and its
no clear roles and responsibilities; lack of knowledge about Treasurer. This means that the future task of the treasurer
what members want, need and expect from their ISSBD involves close liaison with the financial office, which will
membership; insufficient member attendance at the bien- provide quarterly updates of the accounts and initiate
nial conference; and the fact that it is not easy or attractive payments following approval by the treasurer and the
enough to join the Society when attending the conference. President.
The titles for the three categories of reduced fees should On 1 January 1, 2010 ISSBD had the following accounts:

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

ISSBD 2007 2008 2009

Incoming Resources
Membership 35,654.80 57,673.82 33,871.30
Royalties from Journal 212,558.05 227,880.57 162,344.01
Investments 25,086.60 104,510.02 85,693.08
Donations/Grants 44,763.75 22,584.09 3,315.91
Other
Total Income 322,165.25 217,921.46 285,224.30
Expenditure
Honoraria 38,866.67 40,033.34 34,500.00 a
Reimbursements 2,635.95 9,387.49 2,702.19
Young Scholars 11,553.47 3,315.91
Conferences/Workshops 74,350.00 76,000.00 51,500.00
Miscellaneous 1,823.00 12,085.38* 3,693.97
Total expenditure 117,675.62 149,059.68 95,712.07
Net movement in funds 204,489.63 68,861.76 189,512.23
Net Funds of Society 1,191,915.99 1,260,777.77 1,450,290.00

Notes: a: please note that $7,500 was transferred to the journal editor MvA in January 2010
*: Miscellaneous expenditure in 2008 comprises a transfer of $8,861.50 into the UK account

in good shape. Member dues and royalty payments are

Current US Accounts expected to decline due to the current economic climate. We
Keybank, Ann Arbor, MI (Account: 229681004029) might want to monitor our income, expenditure, and invest-
Checking ments more closely during such times of economic instability.
Keybank, Ann Arbor, MI (Account: 229681004037) A financial review and audit would be helpful to gain a better
Savings understanding of our financial dealings and options. Ingrid
Bank of America Investment Services (W19-160687) Schoon also thanked Anne Petersen for singlehandedly
Investment Portfolio raising huge amounts of travel grants for Young Scholars,
T. Rowe-Price Mutual Fund Account Mutual Fund enabling them to attend the meeting in Lusaka.
Portfolio (118289732) Investor Number 520471050 The Finance Committee chaired by Liz Susman has also
been very helpful in providing advice, and the future finan-
cial budget plan should focus more on financial planning
issues and investment strategies. ISSBD needs resources
Current UK Accounts to cover two years of running costs, yet at the same time
must have scope to develop its investments more strategi-
HSBC Community Account, London (GB43MIDL40060721
cally. All exchange among Finance Committee members
609564)
is done via e-mail.
Checking
ACTION: ISSBD needs some mechanism for making
HSBC Business Money Manager (GB21MIDL40060721
strategic financial decisions about the budget and invest-
609572)
ments. The Finance Committee should have 2 virtual
Money Market
meetings annually, preferably by telephone (or Skype), yet
ISSBD Income and Expenditure: Summary of the past 3
if needed a face-to-face meeting should be arranged as
years’ accounts
well. Rick Burdick, and Wolfgang Schneider as the new
Ingrid Schoon thanked President Anne Petersen for all
President will replace Anne Petersen in the Finance Com-
her help and support in making this new arrangement pos-
mittee as ex officio members.
sible. During the past two years Anne has been carrying out
The report of the Treasurer, budget plan 2010 and the
most of the financial transactions, in addition to her role as
accounts were approved unanimously by the EC and the
President, as it was not possible for the treasurer based in
Business Meeting.
the UK to access the ISSBD accounts held in the US. This
added a tremendous burden to the President’s time. With
the new financial office this burden has been lifted, and
we can now look forward to the future – being less affected
by variable exchange rates and huge transfer fees. 7. Publications
No changes were made in the investment portfolios,
and ISSBD has recovered from some of the losses we incurred
7.1. International Journal of Behavioral
last year as a result of the global banking crisis. Currently Development, Marcel van Aken, editor IJBD;
the Finance Committee is considering new investment oppor- and Kerry Barner (SAGE)
tunities, with the priority of maintaining a secure financial
base for the society. Despite losses in ISSBD investments IJBD includes original manuscripts (84.8 %), methodology-

•
due to global banking turmoil, the Society’s finances are oriented manuscripts (11.8 %) and reviews (3.4%). Each

47
 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

issue has a Methods and Measures section, edited by Brett Psychological well-being in mid to late life: The role of
Laursen. generativity development and parent-child relationships
Focus of Associate Editors: Jaap Denissen: Social/person- across the lifespan, with 881 downloads. Utrecht University
ality development; Nathan Fox: Biological aspect of devel- Library was the institution that downloaded International
opment; Silvia Sörenson: Life-span development, aging; Journal of Behavioral Development’s articles most fre-
Olivier Pascalis: Development in infancy and preschool; quently in 2009. The 2009 Impact Factor for IJBD was
and Susie Lamborn: Adolescence. Marcel van Aken’s idea 1.416, placing the journal 31 out of 59 in Developmental
was to have one review article in each volume. We have Psychology journals. A fantastic achievement! The 5-year
published review papers but more active commissioning Impact Factor for IJBD was 1.949 in 2009. The most highly
is needed to guarantee good quality reviews on a regular cited paper to date in HighWire is Charles M. Super and
basis. However, a number of recent journals included a Sara Harkness, The Developmental Niche: A Conceptuali-
review. 2009 has been a particularly busy and fruitful year zation at the Interface of Child and Culture, with 45 cita-
for SAGE and the IJBD journal. Everyone has applauded tions. The European Reference Index for the Humanities
the increasing impact score of the IJBD based on its excel- ranks IJBD as a B journal in the psychology discipline list.
lent scientific contributions. Kerry Barner will work on this issue.
Most submissions currently come from the USA, the The year 2010 sees the introduction of a new marketing
Netherlands and the Canada. There was a lot of discussion tool to replace the journal postcards – wallet-sized business
about immediate rejection of articles, which Marcel van cards will be produced for IJBD development. The idea of
Aken conducts if needed. Silvia Koller remarked that the going green was also discussed providing the option of not
southern part of the world has only a few submissions and receiving a paper version and also the possibilities of send-
also only few manuscripts accepted and it was agreed that ing/donating the paper version to another address. It was
this should be taken into consideration. also discussed if there could be a possibility of creating a
virtual issue by putting together articles around a good
7.2. Bulletin editors’ report – Deepali Sharma theme.
The EC applauded Kerry Barner’s and SAGE’s excellent
(Karina Weichold sent the report and her report and their active efforts to find means to promote
greetings) the IJBD.
The overall satisfaction with the ISSBD Bulletin was rated
as ‘‘very good’’ on the survey SAGE conducted last year. 7.4. E-newsletters from April 2009, Josafa
In November 2009, a Bulletin on ‘‘Intergenerational rela-
tionships: Grandparenting’’ was published and in May
Cunha e-newsletter Editor
2010 a Bulletin on ‘‘Innovative approaches to longitudinal Josafa has dramatically changed the look of the e-
data analyses’’ appeared (Nesselroade & Molenaar, von newsletter, making it look more professional and in line
Eye, Bergman & Nurmi, and Steyer et al.). In addition, sev- with ISSBD’s branding. The e-newsletter complements the
eral authors were invited to report in the section titled Bulletin by informing members on time-sensitive issues,
‘‘Reports from the Lab’’ on examples of excellence in long- in particular issues related to the Biennial Meeting. Cur-
itudinal studies within behavioral science, such as the rently, there are 735 e-mail addresses in the distribution list,
Dunedin Longitudinal Study (Poulton & Moffitt) or the which includes members and corresponding authors of
Seattle Longitudinal Study (Schaie & Willis). In addition, accepted submissions for the Biennial Meeting who are not
in the May 2010 issue a new section was introduced: ‘‘Coun- members yet. The EC applauded Josafa Cunha for his excel-
try Focus,’’ which presented developmental research in lent work on the e-newsletter.
Guatemala. The upcoming issue of the ISSBD Bulletin
(November 2010) will focus on ‘‘Mobility, Migration, and
Acculturation’’ – a topic that is highly relevant to our soci-
ety. Bonnie Barber has resigned as Bulletin co-editor and 8. Young scholars, Zena Mello and Jaap
was thanked for her contributions. Deepali Sharma was Denissen
elected as a co-editor of the Bulletin. Finally, the team at
SAGE was thanked for their close and supportive Calendar for overlapping young scholar service estab-
interactions. lished: Young Scholar Terms: 2010-2014, 2012-2016,
2014-2018, 2016-2020. Elections: 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019.
Election for Young Scholar Representative: Jaap Denissen,
7.3. Publisher’s report, Kerry Barner SAGE
Germany, Elected. Travel Team identified and contacted
Kerry Barner from SAGE presented a detailed Publisher’s funders to support young scholar travel. Contributing indi-
report on the IJBD, including topics such as the Journal’s viduals were Chen, Gayles, Mello, Parada, and Santo. In the
editorial, production, promotion, marketing, subscription Meeting there were Scholarly and Professional Develop-
and circulation services. The report stimulated discussion ment Workshops on Publishing: IJBD editor Marcel A. G.
on a variety of topics among the members of the EC. van Aken led a workshop; Young Scholar Community
SAGE thanked the Executive Committee members and Meeting: Open forum for young scholars to (a) learn about
Editors for all their support and hard work and in particu- young scholar activities within ISSBD including young
lar Anne Petersen for her tremendous work as President of scholar governance and the elections results and (b) com-
ISSBD over these past four years. municate interests and needs to the Society; Professional
IJBD articles were downloaded 131,721 times in 2009. Development Workshop: led by Drs. Antonucci and Peter-

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The most-downloaded article in 2009 was Jeong Shin An, sen; Grant Workshop: representatives from funding

48
 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

agencies will describe funding opportunities and the fund- Social Change and Human Development, led by Patricia
ing process. Drs. Sommer (Jacobs) and Sussman (NSF); and Greenfield, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,
Roundtable: discuss issues related to the development of Heidi Keller, University of Osnabrueck, Germany and
international collaborations. Young scholar committees: Camilo Garcia, Veracruz University, Mexico; Introduction
Chen, B.B., China, Regional Workshop; Cunha, J., Brazil, to methodology and analyses of longitudinal data, led by
E-Newsletter; Denissen, J., Germany, Executive Council; Marcel van Aken, Utrecht University, Netherlands and
Gayles, J. G., USA, Young Scholars’ Corner; Jonathan, S., Jaap Denissen, Humboldt University, Germany; and Devel-
Canada, Publications; Mello, Z., USA, Executive Council; opmental origins of aggression from an interdisciplinary
Mendive, S., Chile, Finance; Poorthuis, A., Netherlands, and comparative perspective, led by Richard Tremblay,
Membership; Messerli-Burgi, N., Swiss National Awards; University of Quebec, Canada. All took place Saturday July
Parada, F., Portugal, International Fellowship; Sharma, D., 17th 2010.
India, E-mail Listserv; Solomontos-Kountouri, O., Cyprus The following support was won: the Jacobs Foundation
Membership and Sorkhabi, N,. Iran-USA, Web. in the amount of $90,000, with a $10K component for Men-
Anne Petersen also raised the issue of Archives, which tored Maseno Fellows drawn from the young scholars who
are now in the Netherlands. She pointed out that ISSBD has submitted posters that were judged by a group of senior
no way of capturing e-documents; the Biennial Meeting scholars at the ISSBD Regional Workshop at Maseno Uni-
programs and information, for example, are disappearing, versity in Kenya in November-December 2009 and $10K for
with no way of accessing them a year after the meeting. This Latin American young scholars in an invited symposium
means we are losing a significant part of our history. for the 2010 meeting (the latter two budgets were managed
Wolfgang Schneider mentioned that there are good by Robert Serpell); The National Science Foundation for US
facilities in the University of Wuerzburg; materials might young scholars ($36,000); American Psychological Associa-
be transferred there in the future. Zena Mello mentioned tion in the amount of $5,000 and 3,600 Euros from the Gul-
the possibility of Young Scholars contributing to this effort. benkian Foundation (Portugal) for Lusophone young
scholars from Africa. (However, the latter grant could not
be used because we had no Lusophone young scholars.)
The review committee (Toni Antonucci, Marcel van
9. Biennial Meetings Aken, Anne Petersen, and Liz Susman) met via Skype sev-
9.1. Biennial meeting, 21st ISSBD Biennial congress 2010 eral times; as a result, support was provided to 46 young
(July 18-22), Robert Serpell, Congress Convenor, and scholars on Jacobs funding (including 2 Maseno Fellows
Chair, Local Organizing Committee, University of Zambia, whom we supported in the amount of $200) and 15 young
Lusaka, Zambia. Robert Serpell reported on the final pro- scholars on NSF funds.
gram of the Lusaka meeting, the first Biennial Meeting to Four young scholars studying in Australia were rated
take place in Africa. Besides being successful scientifically, highly by the ISSBD committee, before we knew whether
680 presentations will be given by participants from 51 we would have funding. Ann Sanson was able to fund three
counties. In addition, three excellent preconferences took of them on the remaining funds from ISSBD 2006 profits
place before the meeting. Serpell was very grateful for the and the fourth (from Indonesia) was supported by Jacobs.
support from the Jacobs Foundation, UNICEF, SAGE and The total attendance of 75 expected for the workshops
NFA. Also a Maseno-Lusaka fellowship award program includes: 46 Jacobs, 15 NSF, 3 Australian, 2 ISSBD DCF
was created. In addition, about 20 local businesses helped (workshop participation was not specified in advance so 1
financially. It has been a major undertaking but very suc- DCF is arriving too late), 4 Maseno fellows (þ 2 included
cessful. Serpell introduced the Operations of the Proposal in the 46) of the 8 Maseno Fellows, 4 non-funded partici-
Review Panel, On-line management of proposal reviews pants above and 2 UNZA doctoral students who are help-
and registration, Publicity for the Congress, Local manage- ing with the workshop registration process.
ment of non-academic aspects of the congress, Financial
Management, Funding/sponsorship by international and Recommendations
local organizations, ARAP’s (The African Research Advi-
sory Panel) contributions and future potential roles, LOC ISSBD EC should continue to manage the preconference
members’ roles and future professional development, and workshops/young scholar travel grants, to work in part-
the UNZA’s institutional development. The EC applauded nership with the conference committee. To accomplish this,
Robert Serpell and his team for their splendid efforts in we should establish a committee of 4-5 people. Eligibility
organizing the 21st Biennial meeting. criteria: Those eligible for funding must be doctoral stu-
dents or no more than 4 years postdoctoral. An issue
(though not a problem) is the workshop fee. Deadline: Set
9.2. Preconference workshop, President the deadline for submission of funding applications after
the likely program acceptance date. Funding Distribution:
Anne Petersen We recommend that we continue to urge travel grantees
The EC took the decision for the EC to manage the precon- to make their own bookings (within guidelines based on
ference workshops. This makes sense given the EC’s lowest fares available on the Web) and that those who can-
responsibility, on behalf of ISSBD, to nurture human not do this be asked to notify us early so that bookings can
development research strength, especially for our young be arranged in a timely way. Workshop Fee: Either we
researchers. Two EC members and one Committee Chair should have a meaningful fee that will cover the costs of the
agreed to serve on the review committee of proposals. workshops and include this fee when submitting proposals

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Three outstanding preconference workshops were given: to funders, or we should drop the fee altogether. Finally,

49
 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

evaluation or feedback should be conducted as a routine capacity in human development research. A summary was
matter. given by Paul Oburu and he also thanked the EC.

9.3. 22nd Biennial meeting in Edmonton, 10.2. Regional Workshop, June 15-17, 2009,
Canada, July 8-12, 2012, Nancy Galambos Nanjing, China, by Liqi Zhu
Nancy Galambos thanked Anne Petersen for helping her to The workshop was very successful. The topic of the work-
organize the next meeting. Edmonton Tourism arranged a shop was Social and Emotional Development in Changing
site visit for Anne Petersen May 14-17, 2010. Anne toured Societies. The workshop aimed to provide a communication
venues, hotels, University of Alberta accommodations, and and collaboration platform for the scholars, who are dedi-
attractions. cated to research on human development from diverse
The University of Alberta Conference Services Depart- fields and the application of the resulting knowledge to
ment for Conference Management Services (CMS) will education. This workshop emphasized an interdisciplinary
coordinate the conference. They have an agreement with discussion of new concepts and innovative research meth-
the Shaw conference center. The Conference office is in the odologies suitable for specific regions. The workshop
university which is very helpful. There was discussion addressed the current issues, challenges, and future direc-
about the Web; the official Web site for ISSBD2012 is tions in the study of social and emotional development,
http://www.psych.ualberta.ca/issbd2012/. Local organiz- especially in relation to a changing society. Participants in
ing and national advisory committees have been estab- the workshop included about 120 senior and junior scholars
lished, with members representing the diversity of human from 13 countries or regions. The participants from the Chi-
development research across the lifespan. Note: The Inter- nese regions were mainly junior and middle-level scholars
national Program Committee is the EC plus additional who are interested in the study of children’s and adoles-
interested participants. cents’ social and emotional development. There were 10
invited addresses at the workshop, delivered by Professors
9.4. Progress on recommendations for Rainer Silbereisen, Nancy Eisenberg, Ron Rapee, Gisela
changes needed in the Biennial Meeting Trommsdorff, Xinyin Chen, Clancy Blair, Hirokazu Yoshi-
kawa, Zentaro Yamagata, Niobe Way and Zuhong Lu.
guidelines, including the financial
arrangements (Ann Sanson and Wolfgang
Schneider) 10.3. Asia Pacific Workshop, Ann Sanson
An Asia Pacific Workshop titled: Human development in
the context of movement within and across national bound-
9.5. Biennial meetings, 2014, 2016 aries, was held in Adelaide, Australia, July 4-5, 2009. It was
In 2014 the Meeting might take place in Shanghai. How- held by Julie Robinson, School of Psychology, Flinders Uni-
ever, there is no further information. The President will versity, Australia. This was the first ISSBD workshop held
contact X. Chen. For the 2016 meeting Oslo, Norway has in Australia; it was convened by Ann Sanson (University
shown interest. A formal proposal for 2014 needs to be of Melbourne) and Julie Robinson (Flinders University),
received before the Montreal meeting in March, 2011. Pro- and funded by the ISSBD and the local organizing commit-
posals should be received no later than the end of 2010 as tee of the 2006 ISSBD Meeting held in Melbourne. The
there inevitably will be issues to resolve prior to the EC workshop focused on the consequences that movement
meeting in March, 2011. within and across national boundaries has on human devel-
ACTION: The EC approved the recommendations from opment for those who are left behind, those who move, and
the 2006 and 2008 program chairs that (1) the size of the loan those who live in receiving communities. A total of 65 peo-
be $50,000 rather than $30,000 and (2) the profits be split 50/ ple attended the workshop, including delegates from India,
50 between local organizers and the society starting from Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Papua-New
the biennial meeting 2010. It is also an option for the 2012 Guinea, the Philippines, China, Korea, and New Zealand.
meeting. It was a truly multidisciplinary meeting including the disci-
plines of demography, geography, psychology, sociology,
social work, health, population studies, law, education,
women’s studies, urban planning, and cultural studies. The
10. Workshops workshop organizers actively sought to recruit delegates at
diverse points in their careers. The workshop was evalu-
a) Completed Workshops ated very positively, and resulted in a surplus of $AUD
4,153.04; Ann Sanson recommended using the funds to
10.1. Regional Workshop in Maseno, Kenya, extend the ‘‘Textbooks for Africa’’ project (which has so far
distributed almost 300 recently superseded textbooks to
2009 Dr. Paul Odhiambo Oburu (Chair)
universities in African countries that have a high level of lit-
The 8th African regional workshop was held from Novem- eracy in English—thus far all recipients have been ISSBD
ber 30, 2009 to December 2, 2009 and hosted by Maseno members). Julie Robinson joined the Thursday meeting to
University, Kisumu, Kenya. The Venue was the Kisumu discuss ideas concerning book distribution. The attendees
Hotel (Maseno University Conference Centre). The work- recommended supporting the textbook project and evaluat-

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shop theme was Building African graduate students’ ing the workshops.

50
 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

ACTION: Because workshops are very important for and Southeast Asia; and policy-makers and practitioners.
developing new scholars around the world, workshop The workshop will provide ISSBD with greater visibility
ideas should be collected and disseminated, and the men- and build membership of the Society in India and Southeast
toring process should be supported. Workshops should Asia. A nominal registration fee of $50 will be charged from
be evaluated routinely, perhaps using the evaluation sheet the participants. A total of 100 participants are expected to
developed for a recent Asian workshop. The participants attend the workshop. $4,000 will be contributed by ISSBD
also recommended support of Julia Robinson’s textbook India funds and $5,000 will come from registration fees.
project. $40,000 is requested from the ISSBD.
ACTION: $40,000 was approved from the ISSBD to the
workshop.
b) New Workshops

10.4. Risk, Protection, and Resilience among 10.5. ISSBD Regional Workshop Study:
Children at-Risk: Research and Action Plans, A Report on the Follow-up Action, Suman
ISSBD Regional Workshop (Southeast Asia Verma and Catherine Cooper
Region), March 2011 An invited symposium built on the findings of the regional
Workshop proposal, Suman Verma and Deepali Sharma, workshop study addressed the following themes: How can
Department of Human, Development and Family Rela- ISSBD regional workshops become more effective and
tions, Government Home Science College, Panjab Univer- culturally relevant? How can ISSBD facilitate regional colla-
sity, Chandigarh, India. borations and resource sharing? How can ISSBD play a pro-
The workshop aims at addressing state-of-the-art devel- vocative role in capacity building among young scholars?
opments in the field of risk, protection and resilience, espe- How can we make ISSBD a truly international organization
cially in India and Southeast Asia, because countries in this by building human resources at the regional level? What
region face accelerated processes of change due to such fac- sustainable strategies will work in each region? The sympo-
tors as economic transformation, globalization, and migra- sium convened distinguished leaders of regional work-
tion. The present workshop aims at broadening the scope shops to discuss these issues. The speakers included
of the current topic by getting perspectives from India and Avi-Sagi-Schwartz, Israel; Rita Zukauskiene, Lithuania;
Southeast Asian countries that are undergoing rapid socio- Therese Mungah Shalo Tchombe, Cameroon; Silvia Koller,
cultural changes, and facing similar challenging social Brazil; Tao Sha, China; and Suman Verma, India, with
issues related to child survival and protection, and can thus reflections from ISSBD President Anne Petersen. The major
share mutually beneficial findings related to successful highlights of this symposium with insights from 19 nations
implementation of policies, interventions, and research are published in the November 2009 issue of the ISSBD
with relevant cultural implications. The mentoring pro- Bulletin. Across the regions recommendations were given
gram initiated with the Developing Countries Fellowship for four steps: facilitating regional collaborations by form-
(DCF) awards will be extended in this workshop by identi- ing research groups and creating opportunities for resource
fying young scholars pursuing research who can benefit by sharing; capacity building among young scholars by pro-
being associated with senior mentors. The following are the viding avenues for professional growth, greater inter-
broad objectives of the workshop: The first objective is to connectivity and institutional placements, including men-
advance comparative cross-national research on child toring by senior scholars in both regional and global con-
development in India and Southeast Asia, with a special texts; forming regional centers of excellence that respond
focus on at-risk children. From a comparative perspective, to cultural needs; and moving beyond training to develop
the workshop will investigate the social causes of margina- collaborations. Possible strategies for supporting regional
lized juvenile pathways and their consequences for child teams include networking, capturing regional perspectives,
development. The second aim of the workshop is to address adopting measures for overcoming financial constraints,
research and methodological issues related to risk, protec- and developing an online data bank to build research
tion and resilience. The third objective is to identify gaps infrastructure.
in research, stimulate further research, and establish an The participants also stated that ISSBD could play a
international network of policy makers, researchers, and pivotal role in pilot development of an IT platform. Such
practitioners working for the welfare of children at-risk in a platform would be very helpful for undertaking cross-
India and Southeast Asia. This will also enable us to bring national work and for more effectively engaging colleagues
forward the conceptual, ideological, and pragmatic under- in the developing/majority world.
pinnings that guide intervention, and to plan participatory Ideally such a platform would contain research data,
or evaluation research. The workshop aims at providing an research literature relevant to each study, access to online
interactive platform for young scholars via poster work- library services, and research tools (e.g., statistical packages,
shops and related academic sessions. These sessions will research writing aids such as ENDNOTE, etc.). Further,
provide opportunities for skill development, capacity there will likely be some demand for research training on
building, and feedback on their work. The participants for the platform. Such a platform would be enormously useful
the workshop will include the following: researchers from for global philanthropy (and any global nonprofit work).
the India and Southeast Asia in academics, government For these collaborations there would also need to be some
organizations, and NGOs working in the field of risk, pro- resource sharing (readings, reports, etc.,) but communication
tection, and resilience among children; ISSBD members; support would likely predominate. The committee mem-

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student participants and early career researchers from India bers are working on a proposal to be submitted to the

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Rockefeller Foundation Study and Conference Center at Bel- received 20 applications. Main criteria: Academic Scope;
lagio, Italy, to convene a meeting including IT professionals Practical Outcomes; Use of Support Grant; Challenges to
and scholars from the developing countries to discuss and Success; Sustainability; and Country. The ratings given are
finalize the emerging needs and software requirements for from Smith, Cooper, Verma, and Koller. No ratings were
cross-national research and collaborations among scholars received from Degirmencioglu or Parada.
from both the developed and developing world. The three candidates selected were: Malanda Noel
The President appreciated all these suggestions, although Mandela, Maseno University, Kenya, Intervention promo-
no action was taken. The EC thanked Suman Verma and tion strategies for HIV/AIDS prevention among the youth
Catherine Cooper for their very informative report. The in secondary schools in Emuhaya district, Kenya; Bestern
principles according to which workshops should be orga- Kaani, University of Zambia, Zambia, Reading in trans-
nized were also discussed. The EC decided that the Soci- parent and opaque orthographies: effects of English and
ety should produce instructions for organizing workshops Chitonga languages on reading outcomes in Zambia; and
and that these should be published on the Web site. Lauren Gail Wild, University of Cape Town, South Africa,
Grandparental involvement and adolescent adjustment
in South Africa. Mentors: Mandela: Suman Verma, Anne
Petersen;
11. Awards Kaani: Malt Joshi; Wild: Peter Smith. Each Fellow has
been awarded free registration at the ISSBD conference in
11.1. ISSBD Awards Committee, Toni Lusaka, July 2010; travel; a subsistence allowance, and a
Antonucci (chair) Support Grant of $1,500 per annum for the duration of
Members of the committee: Avi Sagi, University of Haifa, the Fellowship, starting in the September immediately fol-
Israel; Jeanette Lawrence, University of Melbourne, Austra- lowing the ISSBD conference. The support grant should
lia; and Nadine Messerli, University of Bern, Switzerland be used for research related purposes, such as buying
(student member). The chair was appointed by President equipment, test materials, books, or computing equipment,
Anne Peterson when the committee was constituted in or for essential travel within the country. A record should
2009, and members communicated by e-mail. By agree- be kept of all expenditure. Any non-consumable items
ment, an announcement about the awards was placed in the should be considered the property of the project, not the
ISSBD Bulletin along with various listservs familiar to com- individual, and should stay with the host institution or
mittee members. The advertisement described the various project unless otherwise agreed.
awards, named the committee members, and invited nomi- ACTION: The EC approved a second wave of new
nations to be submitted to the chair or to any committee Developing Country Fellowship (DCF) awards in 2012
member. Several recommendations were received for the (with attendance required at the conference that year)
Young Scientist Award. Noting the difficulty of assessment, and agreed to continue with this program. It should be
fine distinctions among young scientists in different parts reviewed after one year.
of the world, and a range of outstanding candidates,
the committee decided to bestow two Young Scientist
Awards this year to: Jaap Denissen of Humboldt Univer-
sity, Germany; and Su Yeong Kim from the University of
12. Other issues
Texas, United States. No nominations for any senior award President Anne Petersen was strongly applauded for her
were received by the committee. The Executive Committee outstanding work with the ISSBD!
discussed the options in the future to receive more nomina-
tions in a timely manner. It was also mentioned that the
awards committee can act as a nomination committee and Next meeting of the EC
that such nominations are advisory. It was also agreed that
this process should start very early. The next meeting will take place one day before the next
SRCD conference in Montreal, Canada on March 30, 2011.
11.2. ISSBD Developing Country Fellowships
(DCF), Peter Smith
A Committee was formed of six persons: Smith (Chair),
13. Other relevant business
Cooper, Degirmencioglu, Koller, Parada and Verma. They No other topics were raised.

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ISSBD Conference Reports

to which we added a number of distinguished guests at

Reflections on the Lusaka Congress the Opening ceremony, as well as the undergraduate
Robert Serpell student ushers (not to mention the ensemble of more than
University of Zambia, Zambia twenty dancers and musicians from the Barefeet Theatre
E-mail: [email protected] Group (* see photo), recruited from low-income neighbor-
hood youth and managed by UNZA Psychology student
What more is there to tell a readership, many of Tobias Tembo. So a sizeable and diverse sample of Zambian
whom attended the congress? It was a lot of fun, and most society met with a sample of established scholars and
of the potential mishaps that the Local Organizing advanced students of behavioral development from a broad
Committee were worried about what didn’t happen. Gen- cross-section of the world’s nations.
erally, sessions started on time, microphones and slide The scientific program included, in addition to the 20
projectors worked, and reasonable numbers of partici- invited lectures and 14 invited symposia pre-advertised
pants attended each session. Most of the delegates we on the website, a slate of more than 60 other symposia and
expected found their way to Lusaka without losing their more than 350 poster presentations, scheduled in 6 four-
baggage and successfully commuted between various hour sessions. Unfortunately, we did not monitor explicitly
hotels and lodges and the conference venue. Responses how many of the posters for which abstracts were accepted
to the anonymous questionnaire were mostly positive, and published on the CD-ROM were actually displayed.
and we received a ton of very gracious email full of ‘‘No shows’’ seem to have been quite numerous, since the
appreciative feedback from senior and early career scho- number of registered participants fell significantly short
lars based in many different parts of the world. Thank of our projections in April when the scientific program was
you all for your encouragement! published on the website. Nevertheless, many participants
The opportunity to host the first biennial congress reported having received valuable feedback from others
of ISSBD on the African continent was a great privilege for during the poster sessions.
the University of Zambia. The University’s Department of Moreover, the lectures, symposia and posters pre-
Psychology, based in the School of Humanities and Social sented over the period of four and a half days constituted
Sciences, benefited directly in a number of ways, including an immensely rich selection of cutting-edge research
active participation in a truly global gathering of researchers, undertaken from an extremely wide set of regional, cul-
productive collaboration with colleagues in other Schools tural and disciplinary perspectives, focused on aspects of
of the University, and showcasing ongoing research for behavioral development that included: genetics, evolu-
national and international audiences. Indirectly, the Univer- tion, and neuroscience; culture, socio-economic and polit-
sity as a whole stands to harvest significant longer-term ben- ical context; infant development; language, literacy and
efits such as international recognition as a competent schooling; cognitive development, especially in middle
institution, staffed with professional scholars engaged with childhood; emotional, social and moral development; vul-
significant issues, and capacity-enhancing partnerships with nerability and protective factors; lifespan human develop-
other institutions in the generation and quality assurance of ment; and theoretical and methodological issues. Pressure
research and advanced training. of time necessitated compressing most of this material into
parallel sessions, so that no single participant could wit-
ness all of it. But documentation distributed to partici-
Participation in the Global Activity of pants ensured that much of what they missed ‘‘live’’ was
still accessible in the form of abstracts, power-point
Research on Behavioral Development slide-shows, and bibliographical references. For those of
In African cultural tradition the honour of a visit is consid- us unfamiliar with this highly condensed conference for-
ered to be greater for the host than for the visitor. We are mat, a major challenge will be to ensure that we follow
really grateful to all of you who made the effort to come and up the live event with careful review of the documents,
visit us in Lusaka, more than 400 delegates from more than and, where appropriate, guided search of the published
50 different nations, including 91 delegates from 17 other literature and/or correspondence with authors to secure
African countries (the largest groups came from South texts that expand the material presented at the congress
Africa 19, Nigeria 18, Cameroon 12 and Kenya 12). One in summary or abstract form.
hundred and one participants came from the USA; 30 from
Canada; 126 from 19 European countries (the largest groups
coming from Germany 51, Netherlands, 27 and the UK 18). Productive Inter-Departmental
Thirty-four representatives came from East and South Asia
Collaboration
(including 11 from China, 7 from India and 7 from Japan);
25 came from Australia and 12 were from Brazil, as well The shared responsibilities of the Local Organising
as smaller numbers from other countries. Committee (LOC) brought eight members of academic staff
The Zambian complement of registered delegates num- in the Psychology Department into regular and sustained

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bered 86, including about thirty UNZA graduate students, contact over a period of two years with four members of the

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Department of Educational Psychology, Sociology & Spe-

cial Education, in the School of Education, and two in the
Department of Pediatrics & Child Health, in the School of
Medicine. It is no secret that in many universities around
the world, staff based in different departments are largely
isolated from one another’s work, as if they were housed
in silos. The work of the LOC taught us the importance
of clear division of responsibilities and adherence to
agreed time-lines, by manifesting real consequences of
procrastination by individuals, and rewarded us as a team
with a sense of shared accomplishment when the final
event took place according to plan. The benefits of inter-
disciplinary collaboration in research on behavioral devel-
opment were amply demonstrated in many of the projects
presented at the congress. I hope these three strands of the
experience will bear fruit in the form of closer liaison
across the three departments in sharing information, and
inviting constructive input from one another to emerging
project plans. Such liaison stands to enhance the quality
of our research and our teaching, and to reduce wasteful
duplication of administrative efforts.

Showcasing Ongoing Research for National

and International Audiences
Congress delegates visiting Zambia from abroad
were exposed to the focus and findings of ongoing
Zambian research projects on a wide range of topics,
including attachment, bullying, child maltreatment,
African indigenous knowledge systems and child-to-
child approaches to school curriculum development,
early literacy instructional methods and reading prob-
lems, estimation of adult mortality, interventions to miti-
gate the socioeconomic impact of HIV and AIDS on
orphans and vulnerable children, maternal & child health
services, life experiences of street children, pediatric programs of higher education and international confer-
HIV diagnosis and care, preventive health interventions, ences. The confidence expressed by the ISSBD in UNZA’s
ritual and play in children’s upbringing, rural preschool capacity to host a high-quality congress in 2010 for dele-
teacher preparation, self-management by adolescents gates from around the world will help to boost the institu-
with chronic health conditions, test development, and tion’s reputation, in Zambia, in the African region and in
university student service-learning. the wider international forum.
Opportunities for further international collaboration in
those areas will doubtless be actively explored over the
coming months. Moreover, several of the Zambian projects Capacity-Enhancing Partnerships
showcased at the congress were previously unknown to The reciprocal benefits of international partnerships for
other UNZA scholars with relevant interests and expertise, generating research addressed to issues of priority signifi-
and to relevant professionals working for the Zambian gov- cance for humanity has been a key theme of the ISSBD
ernment and non-governmental agencies. Thus, even since its establishment in the 1970s. Researchers of beha-
within our own national borders, the congress has the vioral development based in the more affluent societies of
potential to enhance the level of mutual understanding the ‘‘NoWeMICs’’ (Northern/Western/More Industria-
between systematic research and professional practices. lized Countries) have many reasons for wanting to include
populations outside their borders in the scope of their
systematic investigations, including validation of their
International Recognition
theories and methods. In order to do so, they need to
The University of Zambia has a mixed reputation in the collaborate with institutions and scholars in ‘‘Majority
wider Zambian society and in the international community World’’ countries for communicating with that ‘‘other’’
of scholarship. Outsiders are easily distracted–by highly segment of humanity. Conversely, the technical and infra-
visible problems such as underfunding, overcrowding, structural resources of NoWeMIC libraries, laboratories
infrastructural decay and industrial strife–from the endur- and ICT are of enormous potential value for enhancing the
ing commitment of the institution to the distinctive univer- quality of research and higher education curricula in less
sity agenda of generating new knowledge through research economically prosperous regions. The international men-

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and disseminating it through technical publications, toring program, that grew out of preparations for the

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

2010 congress in Lusaka (Oburu, 2010), is one of several whatever books were left were donated to the University
approaches to nurturing such partnerships. of Zambia.
After the closing ceremony all the delegates gathered on
the lawn of the Mulungushi Conference Centre to enjoy the
work of indigenous craftsmen and women, designers, jew-
21st ISSBD Biennial Meeting and ellers and artists while musicians and dancers entertained
us. Hand-carved elephants, hippos and zebras were on
Travels throughout Zambia: View display, along with beautifully crafted wooden toys and
from the Publisher hip-high giraffes. Josafa Cunha, our e-newsletter Editor,
Kerry Barner was heading back to Brazil with a heavy bag of goodies.
SAGE London Ingrid Schoon, Treasurer of ISSBD, had a traditional dress
E-mail: [email protected] made for her at City Market which she wore with great
pride on the final day. Everyone wanted a memento of this
The 21st ISSBD Biennial Meeting 2010 was held at the historic meeting.
University of Zambia in Lusaka. It was my third ISSBD My hat goes off to Professor Robert Serpell, Jackie
Biennial Meeting. Before Zambia, I had been to Melbourne Jere-Folotiya and their organizing team for making the
and Würzburg. On the first day, as I walked up the palm- Biennial Meeting such a success against the odds. Zambia
lined avenue to the Mulungushi Conference Centre, I saw is country with great natural beauty but some definite
impalas grazing freely on the grass. I knew then it was not challenges. Electricity supplies and Internet access can be
going to be an ordinary Biennial Meeting. It was unique in sporadic, something of an impediment to those presenters
that it was the first time the ISSBD Biennial Meeting had reliant on PowerPoint. Despite these issues, the warmth
been held on the African continent and, as significantly, it and hospitality of the organizing team beamed through and
was the first time that the capital city of Lusaka had held I congratulate the ISSBD on being a truly international and
a conference on this scale. Greeted by dancers in traditional welcoming organization.
dress, we walked into the grand hall for the Welcome
Ceremony to the beat of an African drum.
Interspersed between the opening speeches by,
Mosi-oa-Tunya and African Wildlife
amongst others, Professor Robert Serpell, organizer of the It would be wrong to wrap up without mention of two of
conference, Dr Jackie Jere-Folotiya, Master of Ceremonies, Zambia’s greatest assets: the Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-
Professor Anne Petersen, outgoing President of ISSBD, and Tunya, which means the Smoke that Thunders, and its
the Minister of Education, we were treated to more dancing diverse wildlife. Mosi-oa-Tunya is classed as one of the
and acrobatics by Barefeet Theatre, a group of children, seven natural wonders of the world. Tucked away in the
who had lifted themselves off the street and out of poverty southwest part of Zambia, close to the borders of Zimbabwe,
to create their own dance company. Their performance was Botswana and Namibia, it is a thundering mass of water
quite an eye-opener as many can testify. The 21st ISSBD tumbling into a dizzyingly deep gorge. Not for the faint-
Biennial Meeting was officially open! hearted or those suffering from vertigo! It is advisable to hire
Monday morning, the first official day of the confer- a raincoat to cross the falls to avoid the downpour of spray.
ence, and it was a 7:20 a.m. start for the Young Scholar My travelling companions, Ingrid Schoon and Katariina
meeting, headed up by Zena Mello, the outgoing Young Salmela-Aro, Secretary General of ISSBD, had umbrellas and
Scholars Representative. Despite the early hour, there was waterproof clothing. I was not so sensible. Walking through
an incredible turnout. Zena welcomed around 65 people the spray in jeans and T-shirt, I got soaked to the skin. But,
in total to the meeting and it was wonderful to hear one per- for my first visit to the Falls, it felt right to get wet. It was all
son say how well ISSBD treated their young scholars. They part of the experience. Besides, the surprisingly warm winter
are the future of the Society, so it was nice to hear such sun soon dried me off.
unprompted praise. Our guide – whose name was Elvis – took us to the Boil-
As an exhibitor, I had hoped that my SAGE boxes ing Pot, where the Zambian and Zimbabwean falls meet in
would arrive by Monday morning. I’d been promised them a swirling mass of water. It was here that you could watch
on the Thursday before but they were stuck in a Kafkaesque the adrenalin junkies tackle whitewater rafting or throw
nightmare at Nairobi airport. On Saturday there was still no themselves off the bridge on a terrifying bungee jump. Just
sign of them. By Monday afternoon, I was beginning to lose as challenging – at least to me – was the steep walk back up
hope. The SAGE stand was looking a bit bare. The materials the steps to the Victoria Falls as the path was blocked by an
were still waiting for customs clearance. To my surprise aggressive-looking baboon. Baboons were everywhere and
and delight, they arrived on Wednesday at lunchtime, it was advisable not to have too much food in your bag as
straight after Arnold Sameroff’s excellent keynote speech. they are notorious pickpockets. Elvis, dressed in a Frank
From that moment onwards I did not have a moment to Zappa T-shirt, picked up a rock and that was signal enough.
spare. People had been promised free copies of IJBD and The baboon walked off with his pink bottom in the air.
the ISSBD Bulletin along with other SAGE journals, IJBD We had arrived in Livingstone on Friday, the day fol-
pens, post-its, and mouse pads. I couldn’t get the boxes lowing the end of the conference, after a 6-hour, 500-km
open quick enough before they reached the eager hands drive down the pot-holed Lusaka Road. We passed pump-
of delegates. It was an exhilarating afternoon of exchange. kins, pots and piglets by the roadside as well as cyclists car-
I closed up ‘‘shop’’ around 6:30 in the evening, ready for a rying staggering loads of charcoal. We drove through the
well-earned Mosi beer at the Arcades shopping center. On towns and villages of Kafue, Chiseke, Mazabuka, Monze,

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Thursday afternoon, the final day of the conference, and Chomba en route to Livingstone. A cheerful sign for

55
 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

This was a taste of things to come. The next day we set

off for Chobe Safari Park in Botswana, only a 60-km drive
away where the wildlife viewing is excellent. The morn-
ing was spent on a river safari where we witnessed the
wonderful sight of hippos wallowing in the mud, vervet
monkeys playing in the trees, fish eagles diving for food,
crocodiles bathing in the sun and marabous stalking
through the swampy grasses. At the river’s edge we had
the privilege of seeing a group of sable antelopes – one
of the rarer antelopes in Africa – taking a collective drink.
After a spot of lunch at Chobe Safari Lodge, we spent the
afternoon in an open-aired jeep, driving through the
massive grounds of the safari park. It was great to know
Zambian railways met us at most places: With You All the that there are no fences whatsoever in this park. If an ele-
Way! At the Munali Hills we witnessed a terrible accident phant swims across the river to Namibia (yes, it is that
between two heavy trucks. It was a sobering reminder that close!), it will then belong to Namibia and vice versa.
the infrastructure in this country is still in desperate need of From the jeep we saw elephants, giraffes, hippos, impa-
investment. las, wart hogs and buffaloes, to name but a few. It was
Our first night was spent at Zig Zag, a very well run there that we saw the most awe-inspiring sight of all: a
motel complete with craft shop, luscious garden and swim- massive group of elephants heading to the river to drink.
ming pool. It was there that we booked a sunset cruise on And I’m not just talking about one or two small herds.
the Zambezi river, along with, it seemed, half the confer- There must have been 60-70 elephants in total from the lit-
ence delegates. As the fat red sun slowly sank into the tle babies to the great grandmothers, all gathered at the
croc-filled waters of the Zambezi we saw hippos, elephants, water’s edge with their massive African ears, to wash,

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impalas and even a few zebras from a distance. to drink, to play. I know we had come to the conference

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

amongst the tour guides that a cat had been spotted. Was
it a lion? Was it a leopard? Cats on safari are the hardest to
spot. We were told that you can drive through a safari
park for 6 hours and not see any big cats, so we expected
a bit of a crowd for this one. Sure enough, there it was,
surrounded by a group of jeeps and excited photogra-
phers, sitting in the shade of a bush, licking its paws,
probably wondering what all the fuss was about: a
leopard. As you can see from the photo, he really was a
thing of beauty.
Our day’s safari in Botswana had come to an end. And
to discuss and debate human development but it really what a day it had been! As Ingrid, Kata and I climbed into
was incredible to watch the generations of elephants liv- our little pontoon to take us back to Zambia, all three of us
ing together in the wild. had the widest grins on our faces. My face ached from
The icing on the cake came as we were heading back to smiling so much. They say elephants never forget. I don’t
the lodge at the end of the day. A rumor had started think I’ll forget this trip either.

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 International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

News

trajectories of immigrant youth, trajectories of depressive

symptoms, or goal appraisal and self-esteem during the tran-
News from the IJBD Editor sition from elementary to secondary school. The interna-
Marcel van Aken tional focus of the journal and the society is reflected in the
Utrecht University, The Netherlands fact that the papers are written by an international group
E-mail: [email protected] of authors, and involve samples from various countries,
including Somalian refugees in Australia, or young adults
The November issue of International Journal of Behavioral of various ethnic backgrounds in the United States.
Development, which you will have received together with this Our Method & Measures article in this issue is a timely
Bulletin, offers another rich variety of papers. Since papers one: Jaap Denissen (the new young scholar representative
on biological and cognitive development are somewhat less in ISSBD’s Executive Committee and the recipient of
frequent in our journal, it is interesting to see an article by ISSBD’s 2010 Young Scientist Award) and his colleagues
Leppanen et al., who study heart rate and saccadic eye write about how the internet changes the daily lives of
movements and their relation with emotion and attention people, but also the way research in behavioral develop-
very early in life, and an article by Rosey on behavioral inhi- ment is (or has to be) done. In a time where the internet
bition and motor skills. Several other papers reflect the is becoming an important factor in our research (both as
increasing number of submissions to IJBD involving (often topic and as method) this article promises to be an influen-
quite long-lasting) longitudinal studies, and study academic tial one. Enjoy reading!

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 2010 BULLETIN Number 2 Serial No. 58

MAJOR CONFERENCES OF INTEREST

2011 March 8–10 2011 March 31–April 2
Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research
on Adolescence in Child Development (SRCD)
Location: Vancouver, Canada Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Website: www.s-r-a.org Website: www.srcd.org

2011 July 4–8 2011 August 23–27

12th European Congress of Psychology 15th European Conference on Developmental
Location: Istanbul, Turkey Psychology (ECDP)
Website: www.ecp2011.org Location: Bergen, Norway
Website: www.ecdp2011.com

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