Comparative Studies of Acculturative Stress

A series of studies of acculturative stress is reported, involving immigrants, refugees, Native peoples, sojourners and ethnic groups in Canada. Acculturative stress is defined as a reduction in health status (including psychological, somatic and social aspects) of individuals who are undergoing acculturation, and for which there is evidence that these health phenomena are related systematically to acculturation phenomena. A theoretical model and a comparative framework are presented within which the empirical studies were conducted. A total of 1,197 individuals were studied in the last decade and a half, using a common indicator of acculturative stress, for which reliability and validity indices are presented. Results indicate substantial variation in stress phenomena across types of acculturating groups, and across a number of individual difference variables (such as sex, age, education, attitudes and cognitive style), and across a number of social variables (such as contact, social support and status). A need for further comparative studies is identified so that acculturation phenomena may be understood in terms of their origins in variations across host societies, across acculturating groups and their interactions.