Acculturation Clusters and Life Satisfaction

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of our study was to determine if acculturation variables from different acculturation domains form empirically extracted acculturation clusters [based on Berry’s (1997) model], and if the clusters are related to the life satisfaction of first and second generation immigrant college students. One hundred twenty-two students attending a university in the Midwestern USA (70% female), representing more than 20 countries of origin, completed an online questionnaire. Hierarchical cluster analysis using Ward’s method and a k-means analysis revealed four acculturation clusters that were labeled (1) Bicultural Attitudes, (2) Bicultural Practices & Heritage Identity, (3) U.S. Practices, and (4) Heritage Practices. Participants in the two clusters most closely resembling Berry’s (1997) acculturation category of integration (i.e., Bicultural Attitudes, and Bicultural Practices & Heritage Identity) reported significantly higher life satisfaction than participants in the cluster most closely resembling Berry’s (1997) acculturation category of separation (i.e., Heritage Practices). The findings of the present study lend additional support to the use of clustering methods as a way of including multiple domains of acculturation, thereby gaining a more comprehensive understanding of acculturation and its connection with psychosocial adjustment. The results also reinforce prior research findings that integration, or biculturalism, is an adaptive acculturation strategy