We are (migrant) families: The interdependence between family members’ actual and perceived acculturation

Acculturation has been studied extensively in the context of migrant families. Acculturation gaps between parents and youth have been associated with negative outcomes for migrant families and youth. Importantly, past studies have used different methods to operationalize this gap. Some studies compare self-reported acculturation from both family members in a parent-child dyad, the actual measure. In contrast, other studies rely on a single participant to report acculturation levels of both their relative and themselves, the perceived measure. The current study directly examined the interplay between actual and perceived measures of the acculturation gap by surveying migrant parents and their children in the community (parents: N = 153, Mage = 49.03, 60 % female, 71.2 % 1st generation migrants; youth: N = 153, Mage = 19.64, 58 % female, 58.8 % 2nd generation migrants). All families were residing in the United Kingdom, but varied in their heritage cultures. Parents and youth were asked to report acculturation towards their heritage and settlement cultures, of themselves and of their relative (youth and parents respectively). Using the Accuracy and Bias in the Perception of the Partner model (in SEM), participant's perceived acculturation was found to be associated with the acculturation of themselves, but also with their partners’ acculturation level. The co-existence of accuracy and bias in parents’ and youth's perception of their partners’ acculturation indicates that perceived acculturation might not be an accurate proxy measure of the actual acculturation. Future research may wish to take differences between the perceived and actual measures of acculturation into consideration.