Acculturation

Assimilation

Assimilation occurs when the act of acculturation eclipses the originating culture and there is a loss of cultural heritage, language, behaviors, and beliefs. It is a complete loss of the originating culture and results in the loss of associated risk and protective factors that are attributed to the originating culture. The total erasure of the originating culture is [Page 14]often perceived as deleterious and has been found to be associated with familial stress, negative health impacts, a disenfranchisement of the person who is perceived to assimilate, and health disparities in the United States. Often assimilation occurs through generational exposure; the priMary generation does not assimilate but the next generation born in a differing culture more readily accepts the behaviors, beliefs, and perceptions and this results in the aforementioned outcomes.

Adaptation

Adaptation occurs when there is a mixing of the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and perceptions of historical culture and the newly exposed. Adaptation provides a platform for reconciliation of the past culture and the current culture in which a group or person currently exists. It is the seamless combining of multiple cultures and provides the platform for acceptance and feelings of belonging among those who have migrated and those of the culture they are being exposed to. However, because adaptation is a merging of multiple cultures, it has been hard to identify and employ as a construct in behavioral or mental health research and has been employed in discussions relating to communication and the linguistic modification of instruments utilized in research.

Reaction

Reaction is interconnected with oppression and the subjugation of the group that is being newly exposed to another culture. Reaction is a rejection of the new culture and compensation for the perceptions of superiority forced upon the adopting culture to their past culture. The people who have rejected the new culture often display zealous pride in their heritage and adopt or reemploy behaviors of their originating culture. Additionally, generations removed from the initial inoculation of the current culture often return to the cultural behaviors and beliefs of past generations. The pride in one's originating culture to the point of rejecting the current culture is often called ethnocentrism. The return to a person's culture of origin or of their heritage, when associated with subjugation and oppression, has proven to increase feelings of belonging and self-esteem and often a reduction of health risk behaviors among youth.

...