Minority acculturation and peer rejection: Costs of acculturation misfit with peer group norms.
How do minority adolescents' personal acculturation preferences and peer norms of acculturation affect their social inclusion in school? Turkish and Moroccan minority adolescents (N 681) reported their preferences for heritage culture maintenance, mainstream culture adoption, and their experiences of peer rejection as a key indicator of adjustment problems. Additionally, we aggregated peer acculturation norms of maintenance and adoption within ethnically diverse classrooms (N 230 in 50 Belgian schools) distinguishing between co ethnic (Turkish or Moroccan classmates only, N 681) and cross ethnic norms (also including N 1,930 other classmates) Cross ethnic peer group norms (of adoption and maintenance) and co ethnic norms (of maintenance, marginally) predicted minority experiences of peer rejection (controlling for ethnic composition) Moreover, misfit of minorities' own acculturation preferences with both cross ethnic and co ethnic peer group norms was harmful. When cross ethnic norms stressed adoption, 'integrationist' minority youth who combined culture adoption with maintenance experienced most peer rejection. Yet, when co ethnic peers stressed maintenance, 'assimilationist' minority youth experienced most rejection. In conclusion, acculturation misfit with peer group norms is a risk factor for minority inclusion in ethnically diverse environments.
The British journal of social psychology