Towards and understanding of the immigrant experience: Social-cognitive processes of identity development during cultural transition

In a highly globalized world, where more than 200 million people are living as international migrants (OECD, 2013), continuously confronting and negotiating the demands of at least two different cultures, there is a growing need to understand how cultural transition affects the identity of immigrants and explore the factors that can potentially contribute to the development of a positive, coherent, and consolidated immigrant identity. The current research programme integrates aspects of developmental and cross-cultural theory to gain a deeper insight in to the dynamics of identity formation and the processes involved in identity reconstruction during cultural transition from the very early stages of acculturation. Drawing from previous work on identity styles by Berzonsky (1989, 2011), chapter two introduces a new version of the Identity Style Inventory assessing social-cognitive information processing strategies during cultural transition (ISI-CT). The ISI-CT incorporates five distinct identity styles (analytical informational, exploratory informational, normative to the country of origin, normative to the host society, and diffuse-avoidant) and a measure of identity commitment. Three studies are presented reporting the construction of the ISI-CT and the examination of its factorial structure (study 1 and study 2), the convergent and discriminant validity of the assessment tool (study 1), and longitudinal relationships among subscales (study 3). Chapter three extends Berzonsky’s theorizing to acculturation research and tests a model of identity development with a diverse sample of newly arrived immigrants (N = 218). Results indicate that social-cognitive identity processing styles facilitate both positive and negative pathways to immigrant identity outcomes and highlight the central role of identity commitment during acculturation identity crises. In chapter four is presented a six-month longitudinal study that investigates the appraisal (threat or challenge) of identity stress in immigrants, the capacity of identity processing styles in reducing the negative effects of acculturative identity stress, and the prediction of psychological adjustment over time. Longitudinal interaction effects revealed that the analytical and exploratory informational styles enhanced the positive effects of challenge appraisal on psychological adjustment over time. In contrast, styles involving avoidance and normative orientation to one’s country of origin dampened the positive effects of challenge appraisal on psychological adjustment six months later. In sum, the series of studies reported in the present thesis draw attention to the central role of social-cognitive identity styles in terms of identity development, acculturative stress management, and long-term psychological adaptation of recent immigrants. The findings of the research programme have important implications for acculturation theory and research by highlighting the benefits of the developmental approach in the understanding of the immigrant experience. In addition, potential avenues for applications and future research are discussed.