Multicultural Psychology Commons^™

Reconsidering The “Acculturation Gap”: Mother-Adolescent Cultural Adaptation Mis/Matches And Positive Psychosocial Outcomes Among Mexican-Origin Families, Jinjin Yan, Lester Sim, Jiaxiu Song, Shanting Chen, Su Yeong Kim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Previous studies have linked parent-child cultural adaptation mismatches with adolescents’ maladjustment without addressing how intergenerational mis/matches are related to positive aspects of adolescent development and parental outcomes. Using data from 604 Mexican-origin families (adolescent sample:54%female, Mage = 12.41, range = 11 to 15), response surface analysis was conducted to investigate how mother-child mis/matches in cultural adaptation (acculturation, enculturation, English and Spanish proficiency) are associated with adolescents’ and mothers’ resilience and life meaning. Adolescents and mothers reported greater resilience and meaning when they matched at higher, versus lower, levels of acculturation, enculturation and English proficiency; adolescents reported more resilience when they …