"My Culture Helps Me Make Good Decisions": Cultural Adaptation of Sudanese Refugee Emerging Adults. (March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Qin, Desiree Baolian; Saltarelli, Andy; Rana, Meenal; Bates, Laura; Lee, Jungah Ah; Johnson, Deborah J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of adolescent research. Volume 30:Number 2(2015:Mar.)
• Page Start: 213
• Page End: 243
• Publication Date: 2015-03
• Subjects: immigrant youth -- identity -- acculturation -- emerging adulthood -- Sudanese refugees -- African; Youth -- Periodicals; Adolescence -- Periodicals; 305.235
• DOI: 10.1177/0743558414547097
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0743-5584

Abstract

The last two decades have witnessed growing research on the experiences of children and youth after migration or resettlement. However, nearly all of this research focuses on children and youth who arrived in the country with their parents. We know little of the unique experiences of refugee youngsters who came to this country without parental company. How do they negotiate the different cultures in the absence of parents? In this article, we draw on in-depth interview data with 19 Sudanese emerging adults who came to the United States as unaccompanied refugee minors to examine issues of acculturation and adaptation. Our findings show that having a strong root in their native culture and identity helped them make good choices, maintain focus, and avoid distractions associated with negative aspects of the U.S. youth culture. Our participants also discussed the importance of learning the new ways. As a result, those who maintained their native culture and combined it with the positive aspect of the U.S. culture were the ones who did best in their adaptation. Our research confirms previous findings on immigrant and refugee youth with parents that a bicultural orientation is the best for adaptation. Our findings also illustrate a more specific and agentic process of cultural appropriation with a flexible orientation.