ABSTRACT
The changing racial and ethnic composition of U.S. society has prompted research attention to the acculturation and ethnic identity of visible ethnic minority groups. The collective understanding among investigators working closely within this area (e.g., Berry, 1980; Isajiw, 1990; Phinney, 1991; Smith, 1991; Sodowsky, Kwan, & Pannu, 1995) is that ethnic minority individuals living in the U.S. pluralistic society must contend with four critical issues: (a) experiences of racism and discrimination owing to their immigrant and minority status, (b) relationship with the dominant culture, (c) retention of ethnic or cultural heritage, and (d) stress that results from the previously mentioned experiences. The constraints of this chapter do not allow us to address ethnic minorities’ racism experiences and their consequent development of racial consciousness. The three remaining issues studied within three broad research domains of acculturation, ethnic identity, and acculturative stress are addressed along with generational status, which has been shown to cause differences in the three said domains (Sodowsky, 1998).
