Development of a Social Network Measure of Acculturation and its Application to Immigrant Populations in South Florida and Northeastern Spain

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

Acculturation is broadly defined as the consequences of two cultures coming into contact. Originally conceived by anthropologists as a way to explain the similarities of traits between cultures, acculturation is now used to explain phenomena of interest to policy-makers, such as civic participation or risky and illegal behaviors of migrants from developing countries. Recent migration patterns have changed so that many migrants from developing countries move back and forth between their origin and host countries. This project will develop ways to measure adjustment to a host culture that transcends individual cultural differences and captures influences from both origin and host countries. Personal network research is suited for this because it quantifies who a migrant knows, how they know them and how network members interact. The project will test whether there are regularities across cultures and geography in personal network composition and structure, and whether personal network composition and structure explain a significant fraction of variance in the behavioral and attitudinal outcomes of acculturation that are not accounted for by acculturation scales alone. A total of 700 interviews will be conducted, 100 from each of seven different migrant groups: Cuban, Nicaraguan, Puerto Rican and Brazilian migrants to South Florida, USA and Berber, Equatorial Guinean and Gambian migrants to Catalonia, Spain. Broader impacts of advances in understanding of the compositional and structural basis of the personal networks of migrants, and how they relate to acculturation strategies, are that this understanding will help policymakers identify potential social intervention points. Interventions could be designed for specific problems known to exist in migrant communities, such as risky behavior related to illegal activities, or access to social services such as health and child care.