Skip to main content

Assimilation

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
  • 83 Accesses

It is almost inevitable that when an immigrant moves from his or her home culture to a different culture, there will be some tension between the cultures of the home and host countries, which will influence the immigrant’s behavior.

Culture may be viewed as a set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an organization, institution, or group. Cultures have evolved over centuries and continue to do so. Furthermore, culture may provide a strong sense of identity to members and may inform how members view themselves and others. Some immigrants find it challenging to navigate potentially discrepant home and host cultural beliefs and practices.

Acculturation is a dynamic process. It reflects the degree to which the original culture is retained while adapting to the new culture. There are four different patterns of acculturation: integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization. Assimilation may be described as “unicultural acculturation.” Assimilation...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   1,100.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Suggested Readings

  • Agius, M., Shah, S., Ramkisson, R., Persaud, A., Murphy, S., & Zaman, R. (2007). Three year outcomes in an early intervention service for psychosis in a multicultural and multiethnic population. Psychiatria Danubina, 19(Suppl), 29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agius, M., Shah, S., Ramkisson, R., Persaud, A., Murphy, S., & Zaman, R. (2008). Three year outcomes in an early Intervention Service for Psychosis in a multicultural and multiethnic population. Psychiatria Danubina, 20(4), 494–499.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Agius, M., Shah, S., Ramkisson, R., & Zaman, R. (2006, October). Three year outcomes of management of patients with first episode psychosis in a multicultural and multiethnic setting. Proceedings of First World Conference on Cultural Psychiatry, Beijing, China.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anbesse, B., Hanlon, C., Alem, A., Packer, S., & Whitley, R. (2009, November). Migration and mental health: A study of low-income Ethiopian women working in Middle Eastern countries. The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 55(6), 557–568.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W., Phinney, J. S., & SamDL, V. P. (2006). Immigrant youth in cultural transition. Acculturation, identity, and adaptation across national contexts. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhugra, D., & Becker, M. A. (2005). Migration, cultural bereavement and cultural identity. World Psychiatry, 4, 18–24.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cantor-Graae, E. (2007). The contribution of social factors to the development of schizophrenia: A review of recent findings. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 52, 277–286.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGrew, W. C. (1998). Culture in nonhuman primates? Annual Review of Anthropology, 27, 301–328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selten, J. P., & Cantor-Graae, E. (2005). Social defeat: Risk factor for schizophrenia? The British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 101–102.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Suggested Resources

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this entry

Cite this entry

Agius, M. (2012). Assimilation. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_55

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_55

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5655-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5659-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics