Discuss the process of acculturation. What effects would you expect it to have on women of color who are immigrants?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Acculturation is the process of psychological and behavioral change that one undergoes as a result of long-term contact with another culture, including the adoption of values, customs, norms, attitudes, and behaviors from that culture. When someone migrates from one country to another, they typically find themselves adapting to the new host country’s culture while also trying to stay connected to their original native country’s culture. One of the main effects of acculturation on immigrant women of color is acculturative stress that may happen because of the pressure to both maintain values from one’s native culture and adopt behaviors and norms of one’s host culture. This can become even more difficult when native cultural values conflict with new cultural values. Some immigrant women of color may take pride in finding a good balance between old and new culture blending. However, other immigrant women may find themselves feeling like they have to abandon their native culture in order to be accepted into the host country culture. Some immigrant women may feel deep loyalty to and comfort with their native culture, making it more difficult to go through the acculturation process, therefore making it harder for them to gain community support and lead to more discrimination. Although acculturation is associated with positive outcomes, it may cause immigrant women of color to experience ambiguous loss and grief, anxiety, depression, and undue stress.