The challenge of culture change the cross-cultural adaptation of Hong Kong Chinese adolescent immigrants in New Zealand

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate changes in adaptive outcomes within Hong Kong Chinese adolescent immigrants from pre-migration to four years after arrival to New Zealand. The study used a quasi-longitudinal design, in which information was collected from one sample of respondents before migration and several samples of respondents after migration. Based on John Berry’s (1980) cross-cultural model, four cultural identity states were identified: assimilation, integration, separation and marginalization. Other adaptive outcomes were indicated by a variety of daily living activities and different modes of social-psychological functioning. A total of 283 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents in three phases of migration to New Zealand (pre-migration, less than two years in New Zealand, and between two and four years in New Zealand) participated in the study. Each respondent completed a booklet containing six questionnaires and a cultural identity scale. The study showed that respondents across cultural identity states and within migration phases differed significantly in adaptive outcomes. The proportion of respondents in the assimilation and integration states increased with length of migration, while those in the separation and marginalization states decreased. Across migration phases, respondents in the pre-migration phase differed significantly from the two post-migration groups in behaviours, preferences, attitudes and social support ratings; but the two post-migration groups did not differ significantly from each other. Across cultural identity states, assimilated, integrated, separated and marginalized respondents differed significantly from one another. Assimilated respondents manifested behaviours, preferences and attitudes indicating non-maintenance of ethnic culture; integrated respondents were characterized by both maintenance of ethnic culture and penetration into the host society; separated respondents were characterized by both maintenance of ethnic culture and a lack of penetration into the host society; whereas marginalized respondents showed a desire to penetrate into the host society but an inability to do so. Family separation, the desire to stay in the host society, causal attribution for cultural learning performance and social support, also influenced the respondents’ ability to adapt. Finally, the dynamic changes of the respondents’ cultural identity states over time were studied. Using the findings, seven paths of adaptation taken by a majority of Hong Kong Chinese adolescent immigrants in New Zealand are derived.