Second Culture Acquisition

Bilinear Model

Berry postulated that immigrants grapple with two questions: Is it valuable to maintain cultural identity and characteristics (enculturation)? and Is it valuable to maintain relationships with other groups (acculturation)? Although the answers to these questions are independent of each other, they interact, leading to four qualitatively different responses to the second culture: integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization.

In the integration mode of adaptation, also known as biculturalism, individuals value both the original culture and the host culture and are able to balance the retention of cultural identity and relationships within the dominant society. This strategy is considered the most psychologically healthy strategy for a person to use. A person's development of a bicultural identity is highly individualized and dependent on characteristics such as age, gender, personality, and socioeconomic status.

There are several aspects of biculturalism that positively influence mental health. The first is that the individual maintains positive attitudes toward both cultural groups. In this way, the individual is able to interact with, and gain support from, both groups (groundedness). For example, Kim and Omizo found in their study that Asian American participants who [Page 1310]engage with the majority culture both perceive themselves as being able to cope with different cultural situations and feel that people from the majority culture view the Asian American group favorably. They also expressed more cognitive flexibility and general self-efficacy. Similarly, Kosic found that immigrants who favored the integration strategy were more socioculturally adapted than those who used the separation and marginalization strategies. Engaging with the original culture is important as well because enculturation behaviors are associated with the membership dimension of collective self-esteem (the worth placed on one's cultural group).

Another factor that comes into play is bicultural efficacy, which is the sense that the person can live in the two groups without compromising his or her identity. This factor also influences personal relationships with both cultural groups in that people can interact with others without fear that they are betraying their identities. Another crucial part of biculturalism is the person's ability to communicate well in both cultures. Without this ability, it is difficult to have a positive relationship with both groups and to believe that one can function well in each of them. Another facet of biculturalism is role repertoire, in which the individual has developed a range of roles and behaviors that can differ based on situational factors. This flexibility and knowledge of roles helps the individual navigate through both cultures in appropriate ways. Kosic asserts that being able to function well in both cultures helps an individual to be more psychologically adapted, exhibiting less emotional distress and psychosomatic symptoms.

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