Perceived Dyadic Cultural Discrepancies, Intergenerational Conflict, and
Ethnocultural Identity Conflict in Arab Canadian Families
by
Sarah Rasmi
A Thesis
presented to
The University of Guelph
In partial fulfilment of requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
Psychology
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
 Sarah Rasmi, August 2012
ABSTRACT
PERCEIVED DYADIC CULTURAL DISCREPANCIES, INTERGENERATIONAL
CONFLICT, AND ETHNOCULTURAL IDENTITY CONFLICT IN ARAB CANADIAN
FAMILIES
Sarah Rasmi
Advisors:
University of Guelph, 2012
Susan Chuang and Karl Hennig
Research on developmental, family, and cross-cultural psychology has consistently
found evidence that discrepancies exist between parents and their youth around individual
preferences, social conventions, and personal values. In immigrant families, these issues may
be compounded by cultural change. Indeed, some research has found that immigrant parentyouth dyads diverge in their heritage and settlement culture orientations and have different
personal values priorities. These discrepancies, in turn, are related to poorer youth and family
adjustment. In recent years, some studies have proposed that facets of the parent-youth
relationship may buffer the experience of maladjustment as a function of cultural
discrepancies. Therefore, this dissertation had two general aims: (1) to examine the extent to
which immigrant Arab Canadian youth perceive cultural discrepancies between themselves
and their parents, as well as how they relate to individual and familial adjustment; and (2) to
identify specific facets of the parent-youth relationship that moderate the association between
perceived cultural discrepancies and outcomes.
Although research on different cultural groups as well as immigrant and ethnic
minority families has increased in recent years, there is a paucity of empirical work
examining Arab immigrants in Canada. This dissertation used a mixed-methods approach to
comprehensively investigate youth‟s perceptions of parent-youth cultural discrepancies and
parent-youth relationships, and how they related to intergenerational conflict and
ethnocultural identity conflict.
Study 1 consisted of a series of semi-structured interviews. Using a narrative
approach, 12 immigrant youth were asked to describe their individual and family experiences
as Arabs living in Canada. Findings confirmed that youth perceived cultural discrepancies
between themselves and their parents, which were associated with increased intergenerational
conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. However, specific aspects of the parent-youth
relationship were identified as either a protective (i.e., when they were open, communicative,
and supportive) or risk (i.e., when they were marked by emotional distance) factor.
Study 2 was a quantitative approach to examine the prevalence of perceived cultural
discrepancies, and their association with intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity
conflict. Specifically, a series of hierarchical regressions were used to test the hypotheses that
parent-youth relationships moderated the associations between perceived cultural
discrepancies and conflict. Results confirmed that immigrant Arab youth in Canada perceived
heritage and settlement culture orientation and values discrepancies between themselves and
their parents, that perceived cultural discrepancies were associated with more conflict, and
that parent-youth relationships moderated the relationship between perceived cultural
discrepancies and conflict.
These studies were among the first to examine these issues in immigrant Arab
families in Canada. It is imperative to increase our knowledge of Arab families in Canada
given their rapid population growth, cultural dissimilarity, the pervasiveness of group
misunderstanding and misrepresentation that has been exacerbated post-9/11, and the
likelihood that immigration from the Middle East and North Africa will surge following the
Arab Spring.
iv
Acknowledgements
I have thought about writing my acknowledgements at least once a week for the past
four years and yet, I find myself unable to fully articulate my gratitude to those who have
helped me along the way. First and foremost, I have to extend my deepest appreciation to my
advisors, Susan Chuang and Karl Hennig, for their mentorship, support, and patience. Sue,
you have helped me through every step of the process, fought for me when I needed your
help, and been an invaluable support system on weekends, over holidays, and at a moment‟s
notice. Thank you. Karl, thank you for always challenging me to think of the forest and not
just the trees, and your tireless work on my results. I would also like to thank Margaret
Lumley for being a helpful and accommodating member of my advisory committee. Finally, I
would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues at the University of Western Australia,
Julie Lee and Geoff Soutar, for their support as I completed my dissertation, and their
willingness to brainstorm ideas and run statistics with me.
This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and enthusiasm I
received from my participants. A big „thank you‟ to Omar, Karina, Lana, Iskandar, Ahmed,
Khaled, Mostafa, Mahmoud, Layla, Amani, and Dina for sharing your life experiences with
me. I admire each and every one of you, and your courage, strength, and resilience.
I would not be here today were it not for the love and support of my family and
friends. My parents, Yousri and Theresa, encouraged me to apply for graduate school six
years ago when I found myself at a crossroads in my life. I thank you for pushing me to
realize my full potential, and for providing me with an incredible education from
kindergarten through my Ph.D. Thank you to my brother, Adam, for your companionship and
support. The years after you left Guelph were certainly not as fun as when you lived there
too. I also have to thank my closest friends, Francesca, Sarah, and Stefanie, for always being
v
there and remembering to ask about my progress, but more importantly, for reminding me
that love and friendship are the most important things in life.
My experience has certainly not been a typical one. Over the last four years, I have
moved from Guelph to Akron, Ohio and then to Perth, Western Australia. These moves are
part of the reason I feel such a close connection to my research, and I have used what I know
about acculturation and adaptation to ease some of my own personal stresses around moving.
I have also faced some challenges at the University of Guelph. To the person who tried to
bring me down, thank you for making me stronger.
Last but certainly not least, to my husband Tim, thank you for making sure I got a
break from my dissertation by marrying me twice! To my beautiful son Alexander, thank you
for inspiring me and for your words of encouragement. You were both by my side on this
emotional rollercoaster, and I can‟t wait to make up for the time you sacrificed with me so
that I could finish. I hope I have made you proud. I love you both.
vi
List of Tables
Table 1. Acculturation Measures of Cultural Practices, Identification, and Values. ............ 161
Table 2. Schwartz's (1992) Personal Values and Items Used as Markers. ........................... 164
Table 3. Demographic Information for Study 1. .................................................................... 165
Table 4. Codes, Subcodes, and Descriptive Findings. ........................................................... 166
Table 5. Perceived Discrepancy Issues and Frequency. ....................................................... 167
Table 6. Main Findings. ......................................................................................................... 168
Table 7. Demographic Information for Study 2. .................................................................... 169
Table 8. Descriptive Statistics for Study 2. ............................................................................ 170
Table 9. Intercorrelations Among Scales............................................................................... 171
Table 10. Discrepancies in Parent-Youth Cultural Orientation Predicting Intergenerational
Conflict .................................................................................................................. 172
Table 11. Discrepancies in Parent-Youth Cultural Orientation Predicting Ethnocultural
Identity Conflict. .................................................................................................... 173
Table 12. Discrepancies in Parent-Youth Values Predicting Intergenerational Conflict. .... 174
Table 13. Discrepancies in Parent-Youth Values Predicting Ethnocultural Identity
Conflict. ................................................................................................................. 175
Table 14. Parent-Youth Cultural Orientation Discrepancies Predicting Intergenerational
Conflict Moderated by Parent-Youth Relationship. .............................................. 176
Table 15. Parent-Youth Values Discrepancies Predicting Intergenerational Conflict
Moderated by Parent-Youth Relationship. ............................................................ 177
Table 16. Parent-Youth Cultural Orientation Discrepancies Predicting Ethnocultural Identity
Conflict Moderated by Parent-Youth Relationship. .............................................. 178
Table 17. Parent-Youth Values Discrepancies Predicting Ethnocultural Identity Conflict
Moderated by Parent-Youth Relationship. ............................................................ 179
vii
Table 18. Study 2 Results Summary ....................................................................................... 180
viii
List of Figures
Figure 1. Conceptual model for perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict .................... 181
Figure 2. Arab and Canadian cultures ranked on Hofstede’s (2001) dimensions ................ 182
Figure 3. Berry’s (1997) orthogonal model of psychological acculturation ......................... 183
Figure 4. Schwartz’s (1992) personal values theory modified quasi-circumplex structure .. 184
Figure 5. The relationship between perceived parent Arab orientation and intergenerational
conflict at three levels of youth Arab orientation ...................................................... 185
Figure 6. The relation between perceived parent Canadian orientation and intergenerational
conflict at three levels of youth Canadian orientation............................................... 186
Figure 7. The relation between perceived parent Arab orientation and ethnocultural identity
conflict at three levels of youth Arab orientation ...................................................... 187
Figure 8. The relation between perceived conservation values and intergenerational conflict
at three levels of youth conservation values .............................................................. 188
Figure 9. The relation between perceived parent openness to change values and
intergenerational conflict at three levels of youth openness to change values.......... 189
Figure 10. The relation between perceived parent conservation values and ethnocultural
identity conflict at three levels of youth conservation values .................................... 190
Figure 11. The relation between perceived Arab orientation discrepancy and
intergenerational conflict at three levels of parent-youth relationships ................... 191
Figure 12. The relation between perceived conservation values discrepancy and
intergenerational conflict at three levels of parent-youth relationships ................... 192
Figure 13. The relation between perceived Arab orientation discrepancy and ethnocultural
identity conflict at three levels of parent-youth relationships ................................... 193
ix
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................. IV
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ VI
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
Arab and Canadian Cultures ............................................................................................. 3
Acculturation Theory and Cultural Discrepancies ............................................................ 8
Values Discrepancies ....................................................................................................... 12
Intergenerational Conflict ............................................................................................... 16
Ethnocultural Identity Conflict ........................................................................................ 21
Parent-Youth Relationships in Immigrant Arab Canadian Families .............................. 27
Examining Mothers and Fathers Independently .............................................................. 29
Aims of the Present Studies .............................................................................................. 31
Overview of Studies 1 and 2............................................................................................. 32
CHAPTER 2: STUDY 1 ........................................................................................................ 34
METHOD ............................................................................................................................... 36
Participants ...................................................................................................................... 36
Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 37
Data Analysis ................................................................................................................... 38
Validation......................................................................................................................... 40
RESULTS ............................................................................................................................... 42
Descriptive Findings ........................................................................................................ 42
Main Findings .................................................................................................................. 42
Examining Mothers and Fathers Independently .............................................................. 56
DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................................... 58
x
CHAPTER 3: STUDY 2 ........................................................................................................ 63
Hypotheses ....................................................................................................................... 63
METHOD ............................................................................................................................... 65
Participants ...................................................................................................................... 65
Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 66
Measures .......................................................................................................................... 66
RESULTS ............................................................................................................................... 72
Preliminary Analyses ....................................................................................................... 72
Analytic Strategies ........................................................................................................... 74
Main Analyses .................................................................................................................. 76
Results Summary .............................................................................................................. 87
DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................................... 89
CHAPTER 4: GENERAL DISCUSSION ........................................................................... 94
Studies 1 and 2 Summary ................................................................................................. 94
Testing the Acculturation Gap-Distress Hypothesis ........................................................ 95
Extending the Literature: Personal Values and Conflict................................................. 97
Parent-Youth Relationships in Immigrant Arab Canadian Families ............................ 101
Social and Policy Implications ...................................................................................... 103
Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 106
Future Directions ........................................................................................................... 109
Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 116
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 120
APPENDIX A ....................................................................................................................... 194
INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR STUDY ONE .................................................................................... 194
APPENDIX B ....................................................................................................................... 198
xi
STUDY 1 CODING SYSTEM .................................................................................................. 198
APPENDIX C ....................................................................................................................... 201
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE ...................................................................................................... 201
APPENDIX D ....................................................................................................................... 203
THE LANGUAGE, IDENTITY, AND BEHAVIOR ACCULTURATION MEASURE (LIB) ................ 203
APPENDIX E ....................................................................................................................... 206
PORTRAIT VALUES QUESTIONNAIRE (PVQ) ....................................................................... 206
APPENDIX F ....................................................................................................................... 210
INTERGENERATIONAL CONFLICT INVENTORY (ICI) ............................................................ 210
APPENDIX G ....................................................................................................................... 212
ETHNOCULTURAL IDENTITY CONFLICT SCALE (EICS) ....................................................... 212
APPENDIX H ....................................................................................................................... 214
INVENTORY OF PARENT AND PEER ATTACHMENT (IPPA) .................................................. 214
1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Every year, millions of people leave their country of birth in pursuit of economic and
social opportunities, as well as political and religious freedom. In 2010, there were almost
214 million international migrants worldwide. Most of these migrants had moved to
developed nations, but some countries such as Canada attracted more immigrants than others.
As of 2010, almost 4% of all international migrants (over 7.2 million people) were living in
Canada, a country that comprises only 0.5% of the global population (United Nations, 2009).
Many of these migrants chose to settle in Canada because it is a pluralistic society (Berry,
2003), with an official multiculturalism policy (Department of Canadian Heritage, 2006), and
delivers a wide array of support services through an extensive network of settlement agencies
(Chuang, Rasmi, & Friesen, 2011).
Currently, there are over 200 different ethnic origins in Canada (Statistics Canada,
2008). One of the fastest growing groups is Arab Canadians, whose population increased
27% between 1996 and 2001 (Statistics Canada, 2007) and an additional 34% from 2001 to
2006. By 2010, there were over 470,000 Arab Canadians, the majority of whom (56%) were
immigrants (Statistics Canada, 2010). The term Arab Canadian refers to people who have
migrated to Canada and originate from North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and
Tunisia), the Arab Levantine states (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian Territories),
the Arab peninsular countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, and Yemen), and Iraq. Despite some intracultural variation, people throughout this
region are united by their shared identity, language, and cultural traditions, which include
music, food, and customs (Barakat, 1993). However, Arab culture beliefs, values, norms, and
practices differ markedly from those held by Canadian culture (Hofstede, 2001; Schwartz,
2006).
2
Given the fundamental differences between Arab and Canadian cultures, immigrant
Arab Canadians may be challenged to balance two cultural worlds. To illustrate, when
immigrant children begin school, they are exposed to teachers, peers, and a curriculum that
likely espouse competing values, beliefs, and behaviours as compared to their heritage culture
(Phinney, Ong, & Madden, 2000). At home, however, their parents may continue to speak the
Arabic language, cook Arab food, practice their religious traditions, and enforce rules that are
consistent with their heritage beliefs and values. Over time, as youth are socialized in
Canada, they often become more oriented to the settlement culture and begin to internalize its
values (Kwak, 2003). As their parents were socialized in the heritage society, this shift is less
likely to occur and when it does, it happens at a slower rate (Costigan & Dokis, 2006a).
When parents and youth are differentially oriented to their settlement and heritage culture or
values, they experience acculturation and personal values discrepancies (collectively referred
to hereinafter as cultural discrepancies), which may strain family relationships and
complicate normative identity development. Specifically, some research has found that
cultural discrepancies are related to intergenerational conflict, which refers to the
interpersonal conflict that occurs between parents and their children (e.g., Tardif & Geva,
2006; Tsai-Chae & Nagata, 2008), as well as ethnocultural identity conflict, which refers to
the internal conflict that may result when individuals have a strong attachment to multiple
identities that have conflicting norms (e.g., Ward, 2007, 2008). Recently, a few studies have
proposed that aspects of the parent-youth relationship moderate the association between
cultural discrepancies and various individual and familial outcomes (e.g., Kim & Park, 2011;
Schofield, Parke, Kim, & Coltrane, 2008; Weaver & Kim, 2008) but these studies have not
yet been examined with an immigrant Arab Canadian sample. The general aim of this
program of research is to identify the extent to which immigrant Arab Canadian youth
perceive cultural discrepancies between themselves and their parents, how discrepancies
3
relate to conflict, and whether specific aspects of the parent-youth relationship moderate the
association between parent-youth discrepancies and conflict (for conceptual model, see
Figure 1).
The following section provides a literature review on Arab and Canadian cultures,
acculturation, personal values, intergenerational conflict, and ethnocultural identity conflict.
This chapter concludes with the specific aims and outline of this program of research.
Arab and Canadian Cultures
Arab and Canadian cultures differ in a number of important ways that have
implications for family relationships and settlement. Hofstede (2001) conducted one of the
most comprehensive and influential studies of culture, in which he ranked 50 countries and
three regions on five cultural dimensions, including: (1) power distance: the degree of
equality inherent in relationships between two people, one typically more powerful than the
other, that belong to the same social network; (2) uncertainty avoidance: coping mechanisms,
such as law and religion, which are used to deal with the existential challenge of uncertainty
about the future; and (3) individualism-collectivism: centrality of the individual versus the
group. Based on this research, he found that a group of seven Arab countries (Egypt, Iraq,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) differed from Canada
on three dimensions (see Figure 2).
More specifically, Arab culture is marked by autocratic and paternalistic interpersonal
relationships (large power distance), an intolerance of opinions that dissent from the status
quo (strong uncertainty avoidant), strict adherence to cultural norms, and prioritizes the group
over individual wants and needs (collectivistic). Canadian culture, in contrast, consists of
relationships that are democratic and consultative (small power distance), denounces
prejudicial and dogmatic beliefs and behaviours (weak uncertainty avoidant), prioritizes
4
individual needs, and values self-expression, individual thinking, and personal choice
(individualistic; Hofstede, 2001).
Similarly, Schwartz (1990, 1999) proposed a theory of cultural value orientations that
identified three salient value dimensions which can be used to compare and understand
differences between cultures. The cultural values underlying this theory reflect normative
behaviours that express the priorities of important societal institutions, which are
promulgated through customs, laws, norms, and scripts. In 2006, Schwartz empirically
mapped 76 countries using this theory and found that Arab and Canadian values differed
considerably on all three dimensions: egalitarianism-hierarchy, autonomy-embeddedness,
and mastery-harmony. First, Arab countries emphasize hierarchy whereas Canada
emphasizes egalitarianism. Countries that are high on hierarchy expect people to adhere to
roles that ensure smooth societal functioning, and value social power, authority, humility, and
wealth. In contrast, countries that are high on egalitarianism expect people to cooperate with
one another to ensure both individual and collective success, and value equality, social
justice, responsibility, help, and honesty. Second, Arab countries emphasize embeddedness
and reject autonomy, which Canada emphasizes. Countries that are high on embeddedness
prioritize personal relationships and individuals tend to find meaning in life by identifying
with their ingroup, sharing the same values, and having the same goals. Maintaining the
status quo is important and thus, values such as tradition, conformity, security, obedience,
and social order are prominent. Countries that are high on autonomy, on the other hand,
prioritize the individual over the group and encourage the pursuit of individual and
intellectual independence, as well as positive affective experiences. Third, Canada
emphasizes mastery (neither mastery nor harmony are salient to Arab culture). Countries that
are high on mastery encourage people to develop and hone their skills, and use them to direct
5
and change the environment, as well as personal and group goals. For this reason, countries
high on mastery value ambition, success, daring, and competence.
In sum, Hofstede‟s (2001) cultural dimensions and Schwartz‟s (2006) cultural value
orientations revealed significant differences between Arab and Canadian culture. As a
function of these cultural differences, Arab and Canadian society also diverge in their family
structure and socialization goals. In Arab culture, the family is the most important unit of
society (Britto & Amer, 2007), and collectively takes precedence over its individual members
(Bushfield & Fitzpatrick, 2010). Family structure in Arab societies consists of powerful
parents and subservient children; fathers are the leaders of their families (Kazarian, 2005) and
mothers are the primary caregivers and disciplinarians (Hattar-Pollara & Meleis, 1995). Arab
children are socialized to be obedient, deferent (Kayyali, 2006), interdependent (Abudabbeh,
1996), and assume responsibility for the care of their aging parents (Khalaila, 2010).
Schwartz (2006) argued that cultures that are high in embeddedness and low in autonomy
socialize their children to be obedient and hardworking, and discourage imagination in order
to reinforce tradition and conformity values. In contrast, family structure in Western countries
such as Canada is more fluid; Women are more involved in the labour force and nontraditional families (i.e., single-parent, blended, or gay) are more common (Marsiglio, Day, &
Lamb, 2000). Canadian children are taught to actively experiment with and question their
environment (Hofstede, 2001), and are encouraged to learn independence and self-care, with
weaker expectations of relationship maintenance in adulthood (McGill & Pearce, 1996).
These cross-cultural differences emphasize the importance of nesting parent-youth
relationships within the sociocultural contexts in which they occur (Chuang & Moreno, 2011;
Harkness & Super, 2002; Marks & Palkovitz, 2004; Taylor & Behnke, 2005). The next
section provides some insight into the Canadian immigration context, as well as the
characteristics of Arabs in Canada.
6
The Canadian immigration context. In 1971, Canada became the first country in the
world to implement an official multiculturalism policy, which was ratified to protect the
rights and liberties of all Canadians, irrespective of their heritage, language, or religious
affiliation. The Multiculturalism Policy of Canada also affirmed English and French as
Canada‟s two official languages, and confirmed the rights of Aboriginal peoples (Citizenship
& Immigration Canada, 2008). Canada is considered a pluralist society because it has
officially endorsed both bilingualism and multiculturalism (Reitz, Breton, Dion, & Dion,
2009).
In 1988, Canada enacted the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, which aimed to
“recognize and promote the understanding that multiculturalism reflects the cultural and
racial diversity of Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of all members of
Canadian society to preserve, enhance, and share their cultural heritage” (Department of
Canadian Heritage, 2006). This act endeavours to ensure economic, social, cultural, and
political equality, inclusivity, and understanding for all Canadians. The Canadian
Multiculturalism Act is supported by the Multiculturalism Policy of Canada, as well as an
extensive network of settlement agencies that is funded, developed, and delivered by all
levels of Canadian government (Chuang et al., 2011). Together, Canada‟s official
multiculturalism policy and settlement-specific services have contributed to a high
naturalization rate (Citizenship & Immigration Canada, 2009; Citizenship & Immigration
Canada, 2012).
In sum, Canada‟s policy and services make it a unique sociocultural landscape that is
conducive to immigrant adaptation. However, the acculturation process and intergroup
relations may be strained for some culturally distant groups, such as Arabs in Canada (Safdar,
Dupuis, Lewis, El-Geledi, & Bourhis, 2008).
7
Arabs in Canada. In 2007, Statistics Canada published a report on the Arab
community in Canada that was based on the 2001 Census figures. According to this report,
most Arabs in Canada were of Lebanese (41%), Egyptian (12%), Syrian (6%), Moroccan
(6%), Iraqi (6%), Algerian (4%), or Palestinian (4%) heritage, and had settled primarily in
Ontario (43%) or Quebec (29%). In contrast to the predominantly Muslim Arab region, Arabs
in Canada were equally divided among Christian (44%) and Muslim (44%) religious
affiliations. The Arab Canadian population was found to be younger and better educated than
the national population, but also more likely to be unemployed and have a low income.
Statistics Canada also found that most Arab Canadians reported a strong sense of belonging
to their ethnocultural group (52%) as well as Canada (88%). However, 25% of Arabs in
Canada indicated that they had been discriminated against either at work, applying for a job,
or within the broader community.
Taken together, characteristics of the Arab Canadian population and their immigration
context highlight three important reasons for studying Arab Canadian settlement issues. First,
even though Canada is generally a tolerant and accepting pluralist society, discrimination still
exists and can be particularly relevant for Arabs post-9/11 (Khalema & Wannas-Jones, 2003).
Second, Arab Canadians are recent settlers (Statistics Canada, 2010) who are challenged to
adapt to a settlement society that is very different from their country of origin (Hofstede,
2001; Schwartz, 2006). Both post-9/11 discrimination (Padela & Heisler, 2010) and cultural
dissimilarity (Suanet & van de Vijver, 2009) have been found to predict poor adjustment.
Third, Arab Canadians are young and more likely to live with others (Statistics Canada,
2007), suggesting that youth and family issues, including acculturation and cultural
discrepancies, should be at the forefront of the Arab Canadian research agenda.
8
Acculturation Theory and Cultural Discrepancies
Acculturation is classically defined as the process of reciprocal and mutual changes
that occur as a result of sustained intercultural contact between two or more groups within a
single society, as well as their individual members (Berry, 2003; Redfield, Linton, &
Herskovits, 1936). Thus, acculturation occurs at both the group and individual levels, with
the latter referred to as psychological acculturation. To date, the most influential and widely
established acculturation theory is Berry‟s (1997) orthogonal model (see Figure 3). Previous
conceptualizations treated acculturation as a unidimensional model, positing that as an
individual acquired the settlement culture, they simultaneously abandoned their heritage
culture. In contrast, Berry argued that psychological acculturation centres around two
choices: the extent to which an individual wishes to interact with and adopt aspects of their
settlement culture, and the extent to which they wish to preserve elements of their heritage
culture. An individual‟s choices along these two dimensions result in one of four
acculturation strategies. Individuals who adopt an assimilation strategy choose to embrace the
settlement culture, while also forsaking their heritage culture. In contrast, individuals who
adopt a separation strategy are neither interested in interacting with or acquiring aspects of
the settlement culture, while also preferring to preserve their heritage culture. Individuals
who adopt an integration strategy embrace the settlement culture by interacting with and
adopting it, while also maintaining their heritage culture. Lastly, individuals who adopt the
marginalization strategy are those who are not motivated to interact with, adopt, or maintain
either culture.
Although psychological acculturation occurs individually, it is also experienced
within the family context. In contrast to people who migrate independently, individual
members of immigrant families experience their own acculturation process within the
parameters of their family relationships (Berry, Phinney, Kwak, & Sam, 2006). For example,
9
Arab parents are challenged to socialize their children for success in the new society even as
they undergo their own acculturation process, which can require emphasizing behaviours and
values that are inconsistent with their own (Peterson, Steinmetz, & Wilson, 2003). Immigrant
youth, on the other hand, must navigate developmental demands, such as an increased need
for autonomy, in the context of cultural change (Costigan, Su, & Hua, 2009) and often before
their parents are willing to grant it (Juang & Nguyen, 2009). The experience and outcomes of
these issues are affected by immigrant youth‟s and parents‟ orientation toward their heritage
and settlement cultures. Generally, it is thought to be less disruptive when parents and youth
have compatible orientations, such as when both prefer to preserve their heritage culture over
interacting with and acquiring aspects of the settlement culture (i.e., separation strategy,
marked by high heritage culture orientation and low settlement culture orientation). It is
thought to be more problematic when parents and youth have opposing orientations, such as
when parents adopt a separation strategy whereas their children prefer to forsake their
heritage culture and embrace the settlement culture in adopting an assimilation strategy.
Cultural discrepancies. There is a growing body of research examining how
opposing heritage and settlement culture orientations affect youth adjustment and family
functioning. Most of this research is grounded in the acculturation gap-distress model which
is predicated on two assumptions: (1) youth are more oriented toward the settlement culture
than their parents; and (2) this difference exerts a negative effect on youth and families.
Although this model makes intuitive sense, empirical support has been more limited
(Kağitçibaşi, 2006). Indeed, some studies have found that youth and parents are very similar.
For example, immigrant parents from collectivistic backgrounds tend to have children who
are also collectivistic (Phalet & Schönpflug, 2001) with shared views on issues such as peer
relations, academic achievement, sexuality, and neolocality (Kağitçibaşi, 2003). Others have
argued that there are actually four types of discrepancies that should be considered: when the
10
youth is more oriented to the heritage culture (discrepancy 1) and/or settlement culture
(discrepancy 2) than their parents, or when parents are more oriented to the heritage culture
(discrepancy 3) and/or settlement culture (discrepancy 4) than youth (Telzer, 2010).
Moreover, some studies have found that only some of these discrepancies are associated with
poorer outcomes. For example, in a sample of Chinese American mother-adolescent dyads,
Lim, Yeh, Liang, Lau, and McCabe (2009) found that the only discrepancy associated with
increased adolescent depression and somatization was discrepancy 4.
Many of the inconsistent and contradictory findings reported by acculturation
discrepancies studies stem from the same conceptual and methodological issues limiting the
broader acculturation literature. Surprisingly, some studies continue to treat acculturation as a
unidimensional continuum (Berry, 2003) despite widespread support for the bidimensional
model (Ryder, Alden, & Paulhus, 2000). To illustrate, Marín, Sabogal, Marín, Otero-Sabogal,
and Perez-Stable‟s (1987) unidimensional measure, A Short Acculturation Scale for
Hispanics, has been cited over 1,000 times1. Another primary issue is that many studies draw
broad conclusions from a single proxy measure of acculturation. For example, Pasch,
Deardorff, Tschann, Flores, Penilla, and Patoja (2006) concluded that acculturation
discrepancies were unrelated to parent-adolescent conflict and youth adjustment in a
community sample of Mexican American families (mothers, fathers, and children). However,
acculturation was only measured using a six-item language subscale. Thus, their findings
only reflected one aspect of behavioural acculturation, and overlooked other important
components such as cultural identification, values, and participation (Costigan, 2010), as well
as broader contextual factors including political and government systems, employment, and
economics (Navas Luque, Fernández, & Tejada, 2006). Unfortunately, these approaches have
limited cross-study comparability (Zane & Mak, 2003) and theoretical development, as the
1
1,077 citations in Google Scholar as of April 27, 2012.
11
acculturation field has only experienced moderate growth relative to the number of studies
conducted (Arends-Tóth & van de Vijver, 2006).
In recent years, some scholars have put forward suggestions for how to address the
field‟s limitations and further our understanding of the acculturation gap-distress model.
Schwartz, Unger, Zamboanga, and Szapocznik (2010) proposed a multidimensional
conceptual model of acculturation, which identified three core components: cultural practices
(i.e., behaviours including language and food), cultural identification (i.e., heritage culture
versus settlement culture identity), and cultural values (i.e., independence-interdependence
and individualism-collectivism). To date, acculturation measures have focused primarily on
cultural practices, and to a lesser extent, cultural identification. In a review of 28
acculturation measures with a total of 6,850 citations, 100% included items reflecting cultural
practices, 39% included items reflecting cultural identification, and only 21% included items
reflecting cultural values (see Table 1). In most cases, value items were either confounded
with other dimensions (e.g., “As far as behaviours and values, I am American/Vietnamese”
from the Acculturation Scale for Vietnamese Americans; Nguyen & von Eye, 2002) or they
were very broad (e.g., “I believe in the values of my heritage/mainstream culture” from the
Vancouver Index of Acculturation; Ryder et al., 2000).
Although cultural values are informative, they are not the most appropriate for
examining acculturation and settlement issues as they reflect the average normative values
across society, and are not representative of all individuals within a society. Therefore, it is
expected that some immigrants will place greater importance on values that are compatible
with the settlement culture, whereas others may strongly espouse values that are consistent
with the heritage culture. To account for these differences, this program of research examines
personal values, which are classically defined as the principles and broad life goals that guide
an individual‟s life (Rokeach, 1968). It is important to examine personal values in addition to
12
heritage and settlement culture orientation (i.e., cultural practices and identification) because
they are intrinsic and slower to change, yet affected by significant life events (Bardi, Lee,
Towfigh-Hofman, & Soutar, 2009).
Values Discrepancies
Currently, the most influential and widely established theoretical framework of
personal values is Schwartz‟s (1992) personal values theory. According to Schwartz, personal
values are internalized within an individual in a structure of relative importance. This
structure is best represented by a quasi-circumplex model (see Figure 4), consisting of two
higher-order value dimensions that organize 10 value types (see Table 2). The first
dimension, openness to change versus conservation, refers to the conflict motivated by
uncertainty and unpredictability versus the preservation of certainty, tradition, and the status
quo. The second dimension, self-transcendence versus self-enhancement, refers to the
conflict motivated by concern for others versus concern for self. To date, Schwartz‟s personal
values theory has been supported in over 80 countries and on every inhabited continent,
demonstrating almost universal support for the structure of values, as well as a consistent
hierarchy of value priorities (Schwartz, 1994; Schwartz, 2011; Schwartz & Bardi, 2001;
Schwartz & Sagiv, 1995).
In Schwartz‟s (1992) personal values structure, adjacent values express compatible
motivations and opposite values express conflicting motivations. For example, tradition
refers to respect, commitment, and acceptance of customs and ideas that traditional culture or
religion provide, and is located beside conformity, which emphasizes restraint of actions,
inclinations, and impulses that are likely to harm others and violate social expectations or
norms. These values oppose stimulation, which refers to the excitement, novelty, and
challenge in life, and self-direction, which emphasizes independent thought and action.
According to Schwartz, adjacent values lead to similar judgments and behaviours, whereas
13
opposing values lead to conflicting judgment and behaviours. For example, if a parent asked
a child to do something that s/he really did not want to do, the child may or may not comply.
Complying would fulfil conformity and security values, but violate self-direction values,
whereas not complying would fulfil self-direction values, but violate conformity and security
values. Consequently, holding opposite values that are highly important (e.g., conformity and
self-direction), can cause internal conflict that is associated with decreased psychological
adjustment.
Historically, researchers have assumed that personal values are relatively stable in
adults. Most of the existing research on real-life2 value change has examined the average
change in a society or group across time using matched cross-sectional samples. These
studies often suggest that values are stable within countries. For example, Davidov (2008)
found that the aggregate mean difference in the importance of values between rounds 1 and 2
of the European Social Survey showed very little change within countries over a two- to
three-year period. However, a few studies found predictable value change using smaller
specific samples. For example, Verskalo, Goodwin, and Bezmenova (2006) reported an
increase in the importance of security in two samples of Finnish school children and
university students using data collected before and after 9/11. However, the results of these
studies must be interpreted with caution, as they did not track longitudinal change within the
same group of individuals.
Far fewer studies have examined longitudinal mean level changes in value importance
using the same participants at time 1 and time 2. These studies have reported value change
attributed to a specific environment in teenagers and young adults. For example, HofmanTowfigh (2007) found that German adolescents placed more importance on power and
achievement and less on benevolence and universalism over the course of a school year.
2
In contrast to laboratory studies examining value change after priming or asking
respondents to think about their values.
14
Krishnan (2008) found that Indian business students placed more importance on selfenhancement values and less on self-transcendence values over the course of two years.
Recent seminal research in the area of value change has clearly shown that values can
change in adults, depending on life events. For example, Bardi and colleagues (2009)
examined real-life intra-individual value change over the long term across four longitudinal
studies, varying in life contexts, time frames, populations, countries, languages, and value
measures. This program of research proposed and found that value change mirrored
Schwartz‟s (1992) theoretical structure of values, where neighbouring values tended to move
together. For example, if achievement became more important, the neighbouring values of
power and hedonism also became somewhat more important, and the opposing values of
benevolence and universalism became somewhat less important. Bardi and colleagues also
found that major life events significantly affected the extent of value change in the adult
sample, in that those who experienced more major life events were less stable in their values.
Maio, Pakizeh, Cheung, and Ress (2009) found similar (short term) effects in laboratory
experiments. However, little is known about what promotes a person‟s value change in the
long term.
Despite the lack of longitudinal value change research, some recent theoretical
progress has been made. Bardi and Goodwin (2011) proposed a theoretical model in which
value change can result from both automatic and effortful processing. In this model, the most
direct route to long term value change comes from environmental cues either through priming
the importance of the target value repeatedly (i.e., through automatic processes) or through
repeated re-evaluation of the target across a range of different situations (i.e., through
effortful processes). These events result in a schema change which in turn promotes long
term value change. Maio (2010) conducted a number of experiments and found that value
change was induced when participants were asked to elaborate on why they held certain
15
values. However, Bardi and Goodwin argued that challenging values is not sufficient for long
term value change as people may reject the value-challenge message immediately, especially
if the value poses a threat to the individual (e.g., challenging traditional values for a very
devout person). In real life, messages targeted at value change (e.g., in the media, education,
or by any socialization agent such as parents and peers) are likely to produce resistance, in a
manner similar to attitude change (e.g., Aronson, 1999). Indeed, values may be even more
resistant to challenge than attitudes, as they are central to an individual‟s self-concept
(Rokeach, 1973).
For longer term value change to occur, values need to be challenged repeatedly and in
the same direction which strengthens the links of the new schema until it eventually becomes
central. It is possible that a single event is sufficient to cause permanent change, if it leads to
considerable deliberation, and the individual is able to relate the new value to different life
situations that result in deep conviction (Bardi & Goodwin, 2011). Immigration is a major life
event that can also prompt value change as a result of extended intercultural contact (ArendsTóth & van de Vijver, 2008). Immigrants with value structures that conflict with the
settlement culture – such as Arabs in Canada – are likely to be more receptive to changes in
their value schema if they adopt an integration strategy, which encourages effortful
processing and interaction with the settlement culture. Moreover, repeated exposure to life
events that promote the settlement culture‟s values will strengthen the links in their new
settlement culture values schema until it becomes central.
Value change may start to occur immediately following migration as individuals are
exposed and must adapt to a new cultural values system. For parents and youth who migrate
together, the process of personal values change occurs individually and within the context of
other family members‟ personal values change. Immigrant parents, particularly those from
culturally distant countries, are challenged to reconcile two conflicting values systems as they
16
try to socialize their children. Many parents recognize that the heritage culture values that are
important to them may not be adaptive in the settlement society, and struggle with whether
they should try to transmit them to their children. For example, Tam and Lee (2010) found
that Chinese mothers in Singapore identified differences between their personal values and
perceived normative (Singaporean) values. Both sets of values were associated with the
socialization goals they wished to transmit to their daughters; however, mother‟s personal
values were prioritized in value transmission. Immigrant youth‟s values, on the other hand,
often favoured the settlement culture‟s normative values over time (Phinney et al., 2000),
resulting in a potential parent-youth values discrepancy (Knafo & Schwartz, 2001). Some
research has argued that parent-youth values discrepancies are exacerbated when there is a
poor family-environment values fit (Boehnke, Hadjar, & Baier, 2007; Knafo, 2003), as there
will be for many, if not most, Arab Canadian families.
Despite evidence to suggest that values can and do change in response to significant
life events (Bardi et al., 2009), most investigations of personal values have been conducted
with majority groups (Suizzo, 2007). Similarly, most cultural discrepancies studies
incorporating values have focused on cultural values, which do not account for individual
differences within a society. Thus, there is a gap in our understanding of the values structures
and priorities of immigrants, as well as parent-youth values discrepancies. To address this
gap, the present program of research examined whether immigrant Arab Canadian youth who
perceive their parents to hold conflicting values experience increased intergenerational
conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict, and whether this association is moderated by the
parent-youth relationship.
Intergenerational Conflict
Conflict is defined as an “interactive process manifested in incompatibility,
disagreement, or dissonance within or between social entities”, including the self, other
17
individuals, groups, and/or organizations (Rahim, 2002, p. 207). Conflict has been studied
extensively in several fields such as developmental and family psychology. This research has
tended to focus on the interpersonal conflict that occurs between parents and their children.
To date, the intergenerational conflict literature has focused on conflict frequency and
intensity, as well as the specific issues over which youth disagree. Generally, as youth grow
older conflict frequency decreases whereas conflict intensity increases (for review, see
Laursen, Coy, & Collins, 1998; Steinberg, 2001). The literature has consistently found that
parent-youth dyads fight over every day mundane issues (Yau & Smetana, 2003), including:
chores; choice, timing, or duration of activities; homework, academic, and career issues; and
bedtime and curfew (Lundell, Grusec, McShane, & Davidov, 2008).
Many scholars have examined intergenerational conflict using the domain specificity
perspective (Turiel, 2002), which proposes that individuals‟ varied social experiences lead to
the development of different domains of knowledge. Three domains organize schemata that
individuals develop to navigate their social worlds: (1) moral: prescribes rules and
behaviours intended to preserve the rights and welfare of others, and also maintaining justice
and fairness; (2) social conventional: norms that guide social interaction, and uphold social
structure, conventions, and institutions; and (3) personal: issues of personal preferences and
choice, including privacy, activities, and friendships (for review, see Smetana, 2006).
Parental authority is considered most appropriate when regulating moral and social
conventional issues, and least legitimate in the personal domain (Nucci, 1981; Nucci &
Weber, 1995). Parents and youth generally agree that personal issues are within the youth‟s
jurisdiction because they reflect personal preferences and choices. However, parents and
youth differentially demarcate the boundaries of the personal domain and as a result, more
intergenerational conflict occurs over these issues (Fuligni, 1998; Smetana & Gaines, 1999;
Steinberg, 2001). For example, Smetana and Asquith (1994) found that parents asserted their
18
authority using social conventional justifications, whereas youth perceived the same conflict
issues to be personal. As a result, youth viewed their parents‟ exertion of authority as an
infringement on their personal freedom, which is an important and pancultural aspect of
identity development and individuation (Nucci & Turiel, 2000; Silk, Morris, Kanaya, &
Steinberg, 2003). For this reason, social cognitive research has examined autonomy
development by considering changes in parent and youth conceptions of what constitutes the
personal domain (Daddis, 2008).
Autonomy is a salient component of intergenerational conflict in adolescence and
young adulthood, particularly as youth undergo numerous developmental changes to their
identity, cognitive capabilities, and peer relationships (Steinberg & Silk, 2002) as they learn
to self-regulate and develop their own belief and value systems (Arnett, 2007). In Western
families, these changes are typically accompanied by youth‟s greater expectations for
autonomy, which can lead to disruptions in the family system. Parents attempt to resolve
these disruptions either by increasing youth involvement in the decision-making process,
reasoning with them, or granting the autonomy that youth desire (Sorkhabi, 2010). In Arab
families, these strategies to reduce conflict may be less relevant as a function of their
culture‟s socialization goals, to the extent that Arab parents seek to instil obedience,
discourage freehold exploration, and expect rigid adherence to rules and regulations
(Hofstede, 2001). These socialization goals are successfully transmitted within the context of
strong parent-youth relationships and Arab cultural values; namely an emphasis on hierarchy
and embeddedness, as well as rejection of autonomy (Schwartz, 2006). As a result, Arab
youth tend to conform to parental wishes and authority and desire autonomy to a lesser extent
as well as at a later age than their Western counterparts.
In Arab families, the culturally-specific concept of ‟aib affects autonomy expectations
and parental authority, which in turn, are associated with intergenerational conflict. ‟Aib
19
refers to any issue that is both morally and socially unacceptable, and which brings shame to
the individual and his or her family by violating their honour or reputation, two salient Arab
cultural ideals (Uskul, Oyserman, & Schwarz, 2010; Wikan, 1984). Arab parents can apply
’aib to manage their children‟s behaviour in a diverse range of contexts, including being
unkind to someone (moral), speaking to an elder out of turn (social conventional), and
engaging in activities that violate gender role ideologies (personal). In Arab countries, the use
of ’aib in this way is common, and Arab children tend to expect and accept it. Indeed, Arab
youth in the Middle East tend to submit to their parents‟ wishes, including but not limited to
internalizing their parents‟ worldview (Dwairy, Achoui, Abouserie, & Farah, 2006; Dwairy,
Achoui, Abouserie, Farah, Sakhleh, Fayad, et al., 2006).
In contrast to Arab families living in their country of origin, immigrant Arab families
might be at heightened risk for intergenerational conflict. The primary reason for this is that
immigrant families are challenged by developmental demands in the context of cultural
change (Li, 2009). This process is particularly complicated for immigrants from culturally
dissimilar countries – such as Arabs in Canada – as they are exposed to a society with
considerably different cultural norms and values. One of the major differences between Arab
and Canadian culture is their socialization goals. In contrast to Arab families, Western
families emphasize personal choice, autonomy, and individuation (Phinney & Ong, 2002).
Clearly, if Arab youth detach themselves from their parents‟ beliefs about strong paternalistic
authority and group priorities, and reorient towards the Canadian beliefs about consultative
family relationships and personal choice, there is increased opportunity for conflict. This
suggests that cultural discrepancies may be associated with intergenerational conflict.
Consistent with the acculturation gap-distress model, there is some evidence to
suggest that immigrant parent-youth dyads are more likely to experience intergenerational
conflict when youth are more strongly oriented to the settlement culture and values, and/or
20
less strongly oriented to the heritage culture and values than their parents (e.g., Choi, He, &
Harachi, 2008; Tardif & Geva, 2006; Tsai-Chae & Nagata, 2008; Smokowski, Rose, &
Bacallao, 2008). As Arab youth acclimate to Canadian culture, they are exposed to the ideals
of personal choice and freedom, without the explicit association with shame that it has in
Arab culture (Uskul et al., 2010; Wikan, 1984). As a result, youth may desire more autonomy
(Juang & Nguyen, 2009; Kwak, 2003) and become more likely to assert themselves (Nucci &
Turiel, 2000) in conflict situations, which could lead to more frequent and intense conflict as
the use of ’aib as a justification of parental authority is rejected. Parents, in turn, may address
these discrepancies by becoming stricter (Kayyali, 2006), leading to intrafamilial tension that
is often at the root of intergenerational conflict (Li, 2009).
Intergenerational conflict, however, can be mitigated by cultural frame switching
which refers to the process through which biculturals (i.e., individuals who have significant
experience with two or more cultures) shift between two skill sets to meet the demands of
their different cultural and social environments (Hong, Morris, Chiu, & Benet-Martínez,
2000). For example, it may be more adaptive for youth to emphasize autonomy to facilitate
academic achievement, but relatedness in their family relationships (Ko, Shao, & Wang,
2009). Although effective, it is not always possible to use cultural frame switching to resolve
conflict (Giguère, Lalonde, & Lou, 2010). For example, many bicultural youth fight with
their parents about romantic relationships that are exogamous (i.e., involve members of an
ethnocultural outgroup) (Uskul, Lalonde, & Konanur, 2011), which cannot be alternated.
Youth in this type of situation may feel conflicted between two worlds, leading to a
fragmented identity and making it more difficult for them to resolve their normative identity
development by committing to an achieved identity. This highlights the relevance of
examining both intergenerational conflict as well as ethnocultural identity conflict in
immigrant families.
21
Although some research has argued that intergenerational conflict issues are shaped
by the family‟s cultural background (e.g., Ahn, Kim, & Park, 2008; Yau & Smetana, 1996),
no studies have examined intergenerational conflict in Arab families. Indeed, most research
to date has focused on European American samples (Oetzel, Ting-Toomey, Chew-Sanchez,
Harris, Wilcox, & Stumpf, 2003), and to a lesser extent, Asian and Latino immigrant and
minority families (see Chuang & Gielen, 2009; Chuang & Tamis-LeMonda, 2009). Despite
some cross-cultural overlap between East Asian and Arab families, the unique cultural
heritage of Arab families warrants independent investigation. Given the significant cultural
change that immigrant Arab youth and families experience post-migration, the relevance and
shifting meaning of ’aib, and the salience of family in Arab society which is argued to
exacerbate the effects of intergenerational conflict on the family system (Hernández, García,
& Flynn, 2010), it is imperative that intergenerational conflict in immigrant Arab families is
examined. This program of research addresses these questions using a mixed methods
approach across two studies.
Ethnocultural Identity Conflict
The concept of ethnocultural identity3 has its roots in social identity theory.
According to Tajfel (1974), ethnocultural identity is the segment of social identity referring to
a “part of an individual‟s self-concept which derives from his [or her] knowledge of his [or
her] membership of a social group (or groups) together with the emotional significance
attached to that membership” (p. 69). Thus, ethnocultural identity falls at the intersection of
personal and group identities and develops over time (Phinney, 1989).
In a literature review, Phinney and Ong (2007a) identified several components of
ethnocultural identity, including self-categorization, commitment and attachment, and
3
The terms “ethnic identity” and “cultural identity” have been used almost interchangeably
in the literature. In this study, the term “ethnocultural identity” is used to represent identity as
consisting of both ethnic heritage and sociocultural identification.
22
exploration. As some researchers have contended, self-categorization is the most basic
element of ethnocultural identity (Ashmore, Deaux, & McLaughlin-Volpe, 2004). It refers to
identifying oneself as a member of a particular group. However, many people use multiple
labels to describe themselves and thus, commitment and attachment to an ethnocultural
identity are more important than self-categorization.
Commitment and attachment usually arise through identity exploration and occur
when one internalizes their identity and develops an achieved sense of self. This process
occurs in four stages: (1) diffused: individual has neither explored nor understood their
ethnicity, and lacks a sense of belonging or pride in their ethnocultural group; (2) foreclosed:
individual has committed to an ethnocultural identity without exploring it, which typically
occurs when people espouse an identity that reflects the views of close and powerful others,
such as parents, without question; (3) moratorium: individual is trying to understand their
identity but has not yet committed to it; and (4) achieved: individual has explored and
committed to an ethnocultural identity (Marcia, 1980; Phinney, 1989). People with an
achieved ethnocultural identity feel a sense of belonging and hold positive attitudes toward
their ingroup (Phinney, Jacoby, & Silva, 2007).
Erikson (1968) argued that identity formation occurs primarily in adolescence and
young adulthood, after which one‟s sense of self remains stable, continuous, and secure.
However, more contemporary research has described it as complex, dynamic, and situational
(e.g., Yip & Fuligni, 2002) and argued that identity can develop throughout the life cycle,
particularly in response to new experiences (Phinney, 2006). For example, immigration can
prompt ethnocultural identity development as individuals are exposed to and must negotiate
novel aspects of the settlement culture with their heritage behaviours, values, and beliefs.
Consistent with Berry‟s (1997) bidimensional model of acculturation, Berry, Phinney,
Sam, and Vedder (2006) identified four distinct identity profiles in their study of over 5,000
23
youth from 13 immigrant-receiving countries (samples including youth from majority and
minority ethnocultural groups). The results of this study indicated that most youth preferred
an integrated identity (i.e., maintaining their heritage identity and also acquiring a settlement
identity; analogous to integration), followed by a separated identity (i.e., maintaining their
heritage identity but not acquiring a settlement identity; analogous to separation), a national
identity (i.e., not maintaining their heritage identity but acquiring a settlement identity;
analogous to assimilation), and a diffuse identity (i.e., not maintaining their heritage identity
and not acquiring a settlement identity; analogous to marginalization). Similar to
acculturation orientation, an integrated identity is the most adaptive (e.g., Sam & Virta, 2001;
Stuart & Ward, 2011).
An integrated identity is most likely to occur when an individual strongly desires
heritage culture maintenance within a pluralistic immigration context, and when majority
members of the settlement society also prefer that immigrants adopt an integration orientation
(Phinney, 1990). Thus, an integrated identity is fostered in a multicultural country such as
Canada, where most majority group members expect immigrants to endorse the public values
enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, while also recognizing their right
to maintain heritage values that do not violate civil and criminal laws (Bourhis, Moise,
Perreault, & Senecal, 1997). Similarly, immigrants in Canada tend to strongly endorse an
integration orientation (and by extension, an integrated identity) (Bourhis, Montaruli, ElGeledi, Harvey, & Barrette, 2010). According to Bourhis and colleagues‟ (1997) Interactive
Acculturation Model, the degree of concordance between the acculturation orientations
preferred by immigrant groups and the cultural majority is associated with intergroup
outcomes. Specifically, concordant orientations are associated with more harmonious
relations and less problematic outcomes than discordant orientations. Taken together,
immigrants in Canada may be more likely to have an integrated identity, which is associated
24
with positive evaluations of the in- and outgroup, and bicultural efficacy. These immigrants
may also be more likely to endorse biculturalism, which refers to the internalization of two
cultures through exposure (LaFromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993). Similar to integration,
biculturalism is associated with better psychological and sociocultural outcomes than
separation/separated identity, assimilation/national identity, and marginalization/diffuse
identity (Nguyen & Benet-Martínez, in press).
In recent years, cultural frame switching and bicultural identity integration have been
identified as salient aspects of biculturalism. Cultural frame switching is moderated by
bicultural identity integration, which is an individual difference variable that refers to
whether individuals perceive their heritage and settlement culture to be compatible or
oppositional. Benet-Martínez and colleagues ((Benet-Martínez, Leu, Lee, & Morris, 2002;
Cheng, Lee, & Benet-Martínez, 2006) found that when primed with cultural artifacts,
individuals with high bicultural identity integration made attributions that matched culture,
whereas those with low bicultural identity integration do not.
Bicultural identity integration consists of two components: cultural distance (versus
overlap) and cultural conflict (versus harmony) that are conceptually and psychometrically
independent (Benet-Martínez & Haritatos, 2005). Cultural distance refers to the degree to
which one compartmentalizes their heritage and settlement culture identities. For example, an
individual who is high on cultural distance would self-identify as an “Arab in Canada”,
whereas an individual who is high on cultural overlap would self-categorize as an “Arab
Canadian”. Predictors of cultural distance include close-mindedness, settlement culture
language difficulties, and lower levels of cultural competence, all of which may be
exacerbated by heritage and settlement culture dissimilarity. Cultural conflict refers to the
degree to which one considers their heritage and settlement culture identities to be
compatible. Predictors of cultural conflict include discrimination and strained intercultural
25
relations (Nguyen & Benet-Martínez, 2007). Although research has suggested that intergroup
relations and outcomes are better in contexts where majority and immigrant groups prefer
concordant orientations/identifications, there is one caveat. Specifically, concordant
orientations are more likely to occur when the majority group and immigrant population are
culturally similar. For example, Safdar and colleagues (2008) found that European Canadians
were more likely to espouse “welcoming” (e.g., integrationist) orientations towards British
immigrants, and “unwelcoming” (e.g., exclusionist) orientations toward Arab Muslim
immigrants. Taken together, many immigrant Arabs in Canada may be high on cultural
distance given the dissimilarity between Arab and Canadian culture (Hofstede, 2001;
Schwartz, 2006) and prefer separation/separated identity. Moreover, those who desire
integration/integrated identity may experience resistance from members of the cultural
majority and experience more cultural conflict.
Conceptually, the bicultural identity integration framework delineates two
dimensions. Empirically, however, the distance scale tends to correlate with most predictors,
whereas the conflict scale does not. Further, some studies have dropped the conflict scale due
to its lack of internal consistency (i.e., Cronbach‟s alpha coefficient of .45; Cheng et al.,
2006). In recent years, other scholars have examined aspects of identity development that are
similar to Benet-Martínez and Haritatos‟ (2005) cultural distance dimension. For example,
Ward, Stuart, and Kus (2011) have proposed and investigated ethnocultural identity conflict,
which refers to the internal conflict that may result when individuals have a strong attachment
to multiple identities that they perceive to be irreconcilable. Ethnocultural identity conflict is
consistent with Baumeister, Shapiro, and Tice‟s (1985) concept of identity conflict, which
characterizes an inability to reconcile multiple competing senses of self, as well as the
concept of moratorium (Marcia, 1980; Phinney, 1989).
26
Ethnocultural identity development may be particularly challenging for immigrant
Arab youth and families for three reasons. First, the dissimilarity between Arab and Canadian
culture means that immigrants have to negotiate their identity within the context of
significant cultural change. Cultural dissimilarity between the heritage and settlement society
is associated with increased ethnocultural identity conflict (Ward, 2008). Second, since the
terrorist attacks of 9/11, some Arabs may encounter an unsupportive and hostile sociocultural
environment that can negatively affect their identity development and adaptation (Britto,
2008). Bushfield and Fitzpatrick (2010) warned that identity development and adaptation of
immigrant Arabs and Muslims may be hindered with the dominant society “attributing
terrorism to Islamic beliefs and blurring identities of all Muslims and all Arabs” (p. 169).
Third, minority Arab identification has been historically blurred by the United States and
Canadian governments, who have classified people of Arab origin as “White” (Abu-Laban,
1980; Kayyali, 2006). Arabs have identified this as a double-barrelled disadvantage in the
sense that they do not reap the benefits of majority group status because they are not
perceived as White, but also cannot benefit from their minority status because of their
“White” categorization (Cainkar, 2006). Taken together, these three factors may increase
immigrant Arab Canadians‟ experience of ethnocultural identity conflict.
Within immigrant families, parents and youth may each undergo identity development
post-migration. Similar to culture orientation and personal values, it is important to consider
ethnocultural identity development within the context of the family, where it is complicated.
For example, immigrant youth are challenged to explore and commit to their identity as a
developmentally normative task (Steinberg & Silk, 2002) within the context of their cultural
change (Costigan et al., 2009), including exposure to competing value messages inside and
outside the home (Phinney et al., 2000). Moreover, as a function of their own identity
development, immigrant parents become less clear and consistent in their value messages
27
(Bornstein & Cote, 2006; Phinney, Romero, Nava, & Huang, 2001; Umaña-Taylor, Bhanot,
& Shin, 2006), decreasing the likelihood that their children will internalize them (Grusec &
Goodnow, 1994). Unsuccessful value transmission leads to parent-youth values
discrepancies, which reinforce ethnocultural identity conflict (Ward, 2007) as well as some
types of intergenerational conflict (Stuart & Ward, 2011). To date, no studies have examined
these issues within immigrant Arab populations. The present program of research addressed
this gap by investigating how both ethnocultural identity conflict and intergenerational
conflict relate to perceived cultural discrepancies in immigrant Arab families, and whether
aspects of the parent-youth relationship moderate this association.
Parent-Youth Relationships in Immigrant Arab Canadian Families
The literature has examined how multiple facets of parent-youth relationship affect
youth and family outcomes. Early research in this area was biased to the extent that it applied
Western models of parenting to non-Western families. For example, Baumrind‟s (1966)
classic research argued that authoritarian parenting was consistently related to child
maladjustment, without considering that authoritarian characteristics may be normative in
some ethnocultural groups. Scholars now advocate the importance of nesting parent-youth
relationships within the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which they occur (Chuang
& Moreno, 2011; Harkness & Super, 2002; Marks & Palkovitz, 2004; Taylor & Behnke,
2005). To accomplish this goal, one must consider culturally normative values, beliefs, and
behaviours, both broadly and with respect to the family. This idea is consistent with
Bronfenbrenner‟s (1992) ecological systems theory, which stresses that multiple overlapping
social systems work together to dynamically influence development. One of these systems,
the macrosystem, refers to cultural values, customs, and laws, and affects all other layers,
namely the key structures in one‟s life (i.e., family, school, and neighbourhood; the
microsystem), the intersection of key structures in one‟s life (i.e., the family‟s role within the
28
neighbourhood; the mesosystem), the child‟s indirect social system (i.e., community-based
family resources; the exosystem), and the timing of events as well as the aging process (the
chronosystem).
Consistent with ecological systems theory, more contemporary research has sought to
contextualize families within their own sociocultural environment. However, an
understanding of Arab families, both immigrant and otherwise, remains underdeveloped as
most research on non-Western ethnic groups in Western immigration contexts has primarily
focused on Latino and Asian populations (see Chuang & Gielen, 2009; Chuang & TamisLeMonda, 2009). One exception is a recent study conducted by Rasmi, Chuang, and Safdar
(2012) that examined the association between perceived parental rejection and youth
adjustment (psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and risk behaviour) for European
Canadian, Arab Canadian, and Arab youth in Egypt and Lebanon. European Canadian youth
were less likely to perceive parental rejection and had higher life satisfaction than both
groups. However, perceived parental rejection was more strongly associated with poor
outcomes in European Canadian families. Rasmi and colleagues argued that two culturally
normative aspects of parent-youth relationships mitigated the effects of perceived parental
rejection in Arab families: intrafamilial embeddedness and hierarchy.
Arab parents tend to believe that the world is a dangerous place and that they are
protecting their children by discouraging exploration of the unknown and expecting them to
adhere to strict rules and regulations (Hofstede, 2001). As such, the primary socialization
goals in Arab families are diligence and obedience, achieved in part through vertical parentchild communication and even physical punishment (Kayyali, 2006). Although these
parenting practices may be considered maladaptive in Western families, they are supported
by the cultural values of embeddedness and hierarchy. For this reason, Arab youth have been
found to be more emotionally, financially, and functionally interconnected with their parents
29
while also favouring the notion of “absolute submission” to their parents (Dwairy et al.,
2006a) and internalizing their parents‟ beliefs across multiple domains (Dwairy et al., 2006b).
Although obedience and control are the cultural underpinnings of both Arab society and
families, Arab parents are typically caring and warm in the treatment of their children
(Abudabbeh, 1996). Thus, perceived parental rejection is not met as negatively compared to
Western families, where warmth and control are separate, mutually exclusive constructs
(Chao, 1994, 1995; Rudy & Grusec, 2006).
Despite evidence to suggest the compatibility of warmth and control in Arab families,
we currently lack an understanding of other aspects of parent-youth relationships, and how
they are associated with cultural discrepancies, intergenerational conflict, and ethnocultural
identity conflict. The cross-cultural and immigration literatures have suggested that strong
parent-youth relationships in Hispanic and Latino minority groups in the United States are
marked by honest, trust, respect, support, and communication (Crockett, Brown, Russell, &
Shen, 2007). Strong relationships, in turn, protect against acculturative stress (Bacallao &
Smowkowski, 2007) and are associated with an integration orientation and identity (Sullivan,
Schwartz, Prado, Huang, Pantin, & Szapocznik, 2007). The relevance of these aspects of
parent-youth relationships in immigrant Arab families was examined in Study 1, an
exploratory qualitative inquiry, designed to identify factors that may moderate the experience
of intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict as a function of perceived
cultural discrepancies.
Examining Mothers and Fathers Independently
It is important to note that this program of research examined the relation between
perceived cultural discrepancies and both intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity
conflict within mother- and father-youth dyads. The independent examination of youth‟s
perceptions of mothers and fathers builds on a historic bias in the literature where the term
30
“parent” had supplanted “mother” (for review, see Pleck & Pleck, 1997). This bias occurred
because early parenting theories were shaped by the dominant family structure, which from
1830 to 1970 characterized fathers as providers and mothers as homemakers (Bernard, 1981).
Moreover, fathers were viewed as distant and incompetent, whereas mothers were considered
to be the superior parents (LaRossa, Gordon, Wilson, Bairan, & Jaret, 1991).
Recently, however, shifts in family roles, structure, and dynamics have prompted
research to re-evaluate these conceptions. For example, increased women‟s labour force
participation has affected parental roles and patterns of economic provision within the family
(Lamb & Tamis-LeMonda, 2004; Pleck & Masciadrelli, 2004). Early parenting role
demarcations suggested that fathers would be superfluous in families where mothers did not
struggle economically. As many mothers contribute financially to their families, the
application of these theories has become less relevant (Videon, 2005). For this reason,
research over the last 50 years has examined the influence of fathers above and beyond their
economic contributions, demonstrating that they play an important role in their children‟s
lives and development (Lamb, Chuang, & Cabrera, 2003). For example, the extant literature
has consistently found that fathers play important roles in their older children‟s psychological
(e.g., Bulanda & Mujamdar, 2009; Flouri, 2004; Flouri & Buchanan, 2003a; Flouri &
Buchanan, 2003b), academic (Dotterer, Hoffman, Crouter, & McHale, 2008; Flouri &
Buchanan, 2003c), behavioural (e.g., Cookston & Finlay, 2006; Hoeve, Dubas, Eichelsheim,
Laan, Smeenk, & Gerris, 2009), and social adjustment (e.g., Stolz, Barber, & Olsen, 2005;
Updegraff, Delgado, & Wheeler, 2009).
Despite this progress, research has tended to focus on fathers of children under the
age of 6 (Lamb, 1997; Lewis, 1997; Phares, Fields, & Kamboukos, 2009; Pleck & Hofferth,
2008) and those from white, middle class, European American families (Cabrera, TamisLeMonda, Bradley, Hofferth, & Lamb, 2000). Many scholars have argued that cultural
31
diversity must be accounted for in fathering research (Chuang & Moreno, 2008; Parke,
Coltrane, Borthwick-Duffy, Powers, Adams, Fabricius, et al., 2004; Pleck, 2004). Indeed,
ethnic minority and immigrant fathers face their own unique challenges, such as securing
employment commensurate with their credentials and thereby fulfilling their role as the
patriarchal head of household (Day & Lamb, 2004; Este & Tachble, 2009; Lamb & Bougher,
2009; Qin, 2009). These issues may be particularly salient to immigrant Arab Canadians as
they are more likely to be unemployed and have low incomes than the general population,
particularly families with children under the age of 15 (40% versus 19% national average;
Statistics Canada, 2007).
There is a dearth of research, however, on Arab fathers living in the Middle East, or
on Arab immigrants elsewhere. The present studies addressed this gap by examining the
cultural discrepancies that immigrant Arab youth perceived between themselves and both
parents independently, and in relation to ethnocultural identity conflict and intergenerational
conflict. Further, this program of research investigated whether specific aspects of the fatherand mother-youth relationship moderated these associations.
Aims of the Present Studies
To date, research has paid very little attention to Arab immigration and settlement
issues, including cultural discrepancies, ethnocultural identity conflict, intergenerational
conflict, and parent-youth relationships (Beitin, Allen, & Bekheet, 2010; Britto, 2008). The
present program of research addressed this gap by investigating these issues in two studies,
using both qualitative and quantitative methods. In particular, this program of research
examined the differences that immigrant Arab Canadian youth perceive in their orientations
toward Arab and Canadian culture and personal values as compared to their parents, and in
relation to ethnocultural identity conflict and intergenerational conflict. Moreover, as some
research has suggested that an immigrant‟s family can be the source of stress and/or social
32
support (Phinney & Ong, 2007b; Ward, Fox, Wilson, Stuart, & Kus, 2010), this program of
research also identified factors that may promote or inhibit the experience of both
intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict as a function of perceived
cultural discrepancies. Thus, these studies had two broad aims:
Aim 1. To identify the extent to which youth perceive cultural discrepancies between
themselves and their parents, and how they relate to ethnocultural identity conflict and
intergenerational conflict.
Aim 2. To examine factors that moderate the association between perceived cultural
discrepancies on ethnocultural identity conflict and intergenerational conflict.
Overview of Studies 1 and 2
To address these aims and extend our understanding of immigrant Arab Canadian
youth and families, this program of research used a mixed methods approach. The first study
was an exploratory investigation of the cultural experiences of immigrant Arab youth in
Canada. Using narrative analysis, Study 1 examined the prevalence and salience of perceived
cultural discrepancies, and the processes through which they affect ethnocultural identity
conflict and intergenerational conflict. Thematic analysis was used to identify factors that
moderate the experience of ethnocultural identity conflict and intergenerational conflict as a
function of perceived cultural discrepancies. The research approach, methodology, and
findings of Study 1 are presented in Chapter 2.
Study 2 builds on the findings of Study 1 by testing a model of perceived cultural
discrepancies and conflict for immigrant Arab Canadian youth and families. These constructs
were probed using a series of questionnaires, which were then tested quantitatively. In
particular, moderated regression analyses were conducted to determine if aspects of the
parent-youth relationship moderated the relation between perceived cultural discrepancies
33
and both ethnocultural identity conflict and intergenerational conflict. The methodology and
results of Study 2 are presented in Chapter 3.
In Chapter 4, a general discussion and conclusion are presented, including some focus
on the limitations of the two studies, recommendations for future research, and social
implications.
34
CHAPTER 2: STUDY 1
Arabs in Canada are challenged to adapt to a settlement culture that has different
norms and beliefs (Hofstede, 2001) and espouses different values (Schwartz, 2006) than their
heritage culture. As a function of these significant differences, immigrants must negotiate
conflicting expectations that are placed on them by their family, religion, peers, school, and
the larger settlement society (Benet-Martínez & Haritatos, 2005; Hedegaard, 2005). These
incongruent expectations can contribute to cultural discrepancies between parents and their
children (e.g., Collie, Kindon, Liu, & Podsiadlowski, 2010), as immigrant youth tend to be
more oriented to their peers and the settlement society than their parents, who are more likely
to retain their heritage culture and religious beliefs (Kwak, 2003; Portes & Rumbaut, 2001).
In turn, these cultural discrepancies can trigger family discord (Tsai-Chae & Nagata, 2008)
and identity development (Phinney & Baldelomar, 2011). Despite the relevance and salience
of these issues, Arab scholarship and the broader acculturation and discrepancies literatures
have directed very little attention to Arab immigration and settlement (Beitin et al., 2010).
Study 1 addressed this gap by using a qualitative inquiry to discover, represent, and
interpret the experiences of immigrant Arab youth in Canada (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003). In
particular, this study used a narrative approach (Riessman, 1993; 2005) to identify the extent
to which immigrant Arab Canadian youth perceive cultural discrepancies between themselves
and their parents, and how these discrepancies are related to ethnocultural identity conflict
and intergenerational conflict (Aim 1). This study also examined factors that moderate the
relation between perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict (Aim 2). A qualitative inquiry
was used to investigate these questions as it provides a holistic representation of youth‟s
experiences, shifts the focus from outcome to process, and privileges the accounts of minority
youth (Li, 2009). For these reasons, Phinney (2010) recently stressed the importance of using
qualitative methodologies to advance our understanding of cultural discrepancies. Yet, no
35
studies to date have examined cultural discrepancies in immigrant Arab Canadian families
using a qualitative methodology.
36
Method
Participants
Participants in this study were 12 immigrant Arab youth who met the following
criteria: (1) first-generation immigrant who had moved to Canada from an Arab country
within the last 10 years; (2) self-categorized as “Arab” (or national identity; e.g., “Egyptian”)
or “Arab Canadian”; (3) came from an intact nuclear family who had all migrated to Canada
together; and (4) were unmarried. The first criterion was selected to ensure that participants
had sufficient exposure to both Arab and Canadian cultures. The second criterion was a
screening tool used to avoid sampling non-Arabs who had migrated to Canada from an Arab
country, such as repatriating Canadians. The third criterion was implemented to ensure that
participants could describe their experiences with both their fathers and mothers. The fourth
criterion was to ensure that the nucleus of the family had not shifted from parent to spouse.
Participant demographics, including the pseudonyms used in this chapter, are presented in
Table 3.
Participants were evenly distributed by gender (6 males, 6 females) and ranged in age
from 19 to 25 years old (M = 21.33, SD = 1.72). All participants were single and were either
enrolled (n = 9; 75%) or had recently graduated (n = 3; 25%) from a post-secondary
institution. Most participants identified themselves as Muslim (n = 8; 67%) or Christian (n =
3; 25%). Although born Muslim, Omar indicated that he had recently converted to Atheism.
Participants reported six different birth countries: Egypt (n = 4; 33%), Jordan (n = 2; 17%),
Kuwait (n = 1; 8%), Qatar (n = 2; 17%), Saudi Arabia (n = 2; 17%), and the United Arab
Emirates (n = 1; 8%).
Length of residence in Canada ranged from 5 to 10.42 years (M = 7.52, SD = 2.55).
Many youth indicated that one or more of their parents spent significant amounts of time each
year in the Middle East, but all mothers and many fathers (n = 5; 42%) lived in Canada full-
37
time. Most youth (n = 10; 83%) lived with their family full-time. Both exceptions, Reem and
Omar, attended university in a different city than the one in which their parents lived. Reem‟s
university was only 50 kilometres away from the family home, so she returned every
weekend. In contrast, Omar‟s university was 600 kilometres away, so he only returned during
university breaks.
Socioeconomic status in this sample was moderate to high, as many participants (n =
5; 56%) were full-time students who did not work and received financial support from their
parents, and those who did (n = 4; 44%) only worked part-time. Moreover, participants‟
parents were highly educated, with the majority of mothers (n = 7; 58%) and fathers (n = 9;
75%) holding a Bachelor‟s degree or higher. Some mothers (n = 4; 33%) and most fathers (n
= 11; 92%) worked full-time. Seven participants (58%) indicated that their parents owned
their home.
Procedure
Participants were recruited through university associations, settlement agencies and
service providers, community organizations, and snowball sampling. Key persons at various
organizations (i.e., members of the Executive Committees at university and community
organizations, Executive Directors at settlement agencies) were contacted and asked to invite
their members and/or clients to participate in this study. In some cases, the key persons
forwarded expressions of interest to the interviewer and in others, prospective participants
contacted the interviewer directly.
Once the interviewer screened each prospective participant to confirm that they met
the study criteria, they were invited to participate in a face-to-face semi-structured interview,
which lasted between 45 and 133 minutes (M = 83:02, SD = 21:51). Participants were asked
to recount their experiences as an immigrant of Arab origin in Canada, with questions
specifically formulated to capture perceived cultural discrepancies, intergenerational conflict,
38
ethnocultural identity conflict, and facets of the parent-youth relationship (see Appendix A
for interview guide). In exchange, participants were paid $20 for their time. Each interview
was digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Speech disfluencies including false starts
(i.e., incomplete utterances, as well as restarted and repetitive phrases and syllables) and
fillers (i.e., non-lexical utterances such as “um” and “you know”) were removed to improve
readability without compromising meaning.
Data Analysis
A typological approach was used to organize the data by themes. In particular, this
study followed Braun and Clarke‟s (2006) phases of thematic analysis: (1) familiarizing
yourself with the data; (2) generating initial codes; (3) searching for themes; (4) reviewing
themes; (5) defining themes; and (6) producing the report.
In the first stage, the interviews were transcribed and reviewed for accuracy. Each
transcript was read multiple times so that the interviewer could gain familiarity with the data.
The interviewer also wrote memos detailing overall impressions of each participant and
interview. The transcript and memos were reviewed throughout the process and as such, this
phase was ongoing.
In the second stage, initial codes were first generated using a theory-driven top-down
approach. For example, it was expected that youth would discuss perceived cultural
discrepancies when describing how their relationship with their parents had changed postmigration. These initial codes were built upon, modified, and refined using a data-driven
bottom-up process, based on the youth‟s experiences (Hill, Thompson, & Wilson, 1997). This
process was repeated until a preliminary coding system was created. The preliminary coding
system was then sent to two assistants, who along with the interviewer used it to code a
random transcript. The interviewer and two assistants compared their coding and discussed
all discrepancies until a consensus was reached. The interviewer and two assistants did not
39
believe that any further modifications were necessary and finalized the coding system (see
Appendix B).
Most codes were applied to data extracts that varied in length from one sentence to a
small paragraph, tending to be longer when a participant was describing a past experience. In
some cases, multiple codes were applied to one sentence. When this happened, the sentence
was broken into chunks that represented separate codes. Moreover, data extracts were coded
to denote the presence or absence of each code. For example, “Family RelationshipsCloseness” was coded when a participant was either close (e.g., “2a-f” represented closeness
with father) or not close to one or both of their parents (e.g., “2a-f-” reflected lack of
closeness with father).
In the third stage, the interviewer began searching for themes, which consisted of two
or more codes that could be woven together to form an overarching pattern. For example, one
recurrent theme was that perceived cultural discrepancies were associated with
intergenerational conflict, as many youth described fighting with their parents around issues
relating to different views. Once preliminary themes were identified, the interviewer
reviewed the transcripts searching for coded data extracts that supported each preliminary
theme. This phase was repeated until all coded data extracts had been identified for each
preliminary theme.
In the fourth stage, the interviewer assessed thematic vitality in a two-stage process.
First, the coded data extracts for each theme were read to ensure that they formed a clear
pattern. Second, each transcript was reread to assess the relevance and credibility of each
theme in relation to the data corpus, and also search for any additional non-coded data
extracts that were missed in previous coding phases. This phase was completed when all
themes had been reviewed.
40
In the fifth stage, the coded data extracts associated with each theme were reread.
These collated coded data extracts were then used to create an overall description of each
theme that was both coherent and credible, reflecting and capturing the essence of the data
corpus. The interviewer then considered the story that each theme was trying to tell, and
identified subthemes that could be used to disentangle some thematic complexities. For
example, two themes identified in the previous stage were that parent-youth relationships
played a role in the way that perceived cultural discrepancies were related to both
ethnocultural identity conflict (theme 1) and intergenerational conflict (theme 2). A closer
inspection of the coded data extracts supporting these patterns revealed that many youth who
described having strong relationships with their parents had more support and freedom to
explore their ethnocultural identity, resulting in less internal conflict (theme 3a) and also
tended to fight with them less (theme 4a). In contrast, youth with emotionally distant and
coercive relationships had less support and freedom for identity development, resulting in
more internal conflict (theme 3b) and increased intergenerational conflict (theme 4b). The
transcripts were then reread to confirm the relevance of the collated coded data extracts and
identify any non-coded data extracts that had been missing in the previous phases. This phase
was completed when the themes and subthemes were finalized.
The last phase involved conducting and writing up the final analysis. The themes and
subthemes are presented in the Main Findings section.
Validation
Consistent with Cresswell (2003), the present study‟s findings were validated in three
ways. First, themes were supported by thick and rich data extracts. Second, an external audit
was conducted with a random subset of the transcripts (50% of the dataset) using the
finalized coding system. The independent coder had been trained in thematic analysis but had
no prior knowledge of the data corpus. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by the agreement
41
between the primary and independent coders (it ranged from 85.7% to 95.2%; M = 91.6%,
SD = 3.2%) and using Cohen‟s (1960) kappa coefficient (κ = .90). Any coding discrepancies
were discussed until a consensus was reached, an approach that was consistent with previous
studies (e.g., Crockett et al., 2007; Lundell et al., 2008; Qin, 2009). Third, a member of the
Arab Canadian community was given a copy of these findings and asked to provide feedback
regarding both their quality and the way that they were interpreted. This person found both
the data and analysis to be sound, and also stated that it captured some of the issues that were
relevant to his/her experience as an immigrant Arab in Canada.
42
Results
The interviews elicited hundreds of pages of rich text and thus, it was imperative to
focus on key emergent themes. Therefore, the themes reported in this study are representative
of some salient experiences that youth described in their interviews and do not reflect the data
in its entirety (see Table 4 for codes used in this study, and the frequency with which they
appeared)
Descriptive Findings
All twelve youth in this study perceived cultural discrepancies with one or both of
their parents around a variety of issues, including but not limited to cross-gender friendships,
dating and marriage, choice of clothing, and adherence to religious teachings (see Table 5 for
perceived discrepancy issues and their frequency). In addition, two distinct forms of
perceived cultural discrepancies emerged in this study. In some cases, parents were perceived
to promote integration by encouraging their children to immerse themselves in Canadian
society. In others, parents promoted isolation by encouraging their children to maintain
behaviours and practices that could alienate them from their peers and the larger society. All
twelve youth in this study also experienced some form of intergenerational conflict and
ethnocultural identity conflict.
Main Findings
In this section, four themes are presented. The first two themes reflect the direct
relations between perceived cultural discrepancies and both intergenerational conflict and
ethnocultural identity conflict. In contrast, the third and fourth themes suggest that parentyouth relationships played a role in the associations between perceived cultural discrepancies
and both intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict (see Table 6 for themes
used in this study, and the frequency with which they appeared).
43
Theme 1: The relation between perceived cultural discrepancies and intergenerational
conflict
The first theme was that youth who perceived cultural discrepancies also experienced
intergenerational conflict. This theme emerged in almost all of the interviews (n = 11; 92%).
Overall, perceived cultural discrepancies were associated with intergenerational conflict
when parents were perceived to promote isolation.
This theme emerged very strongly with Karina4. At the beginning of the interview,
she stated that her relationship with her parents had become more open since moving to
Canada. Specifically, communication with her parents was more regular and inclusive, and at
least one of them had become less strict about several issues, including curfew, upholding
traditional gender role ideologies, and her clothing choices. However, it was clear that she
continued to view these issues, in addition to dating, as cultural discrepancies between herself
and her parents, particularly her mother.
The most salient conflict issue to emerge between Karina and her mother was that she
was in an exogamous relationship. Karina had been dating her Indian boyfriend for three
years without her parents‟ knowledge. One week before the interview, Karina had finally
broached the subject with her mother. Her disclosure, however, was partial. Instead of telling
her mother that she was in a relationship, she stated that she was interested in someone.
According to Karina, her mother conveyed disapproval of her daughter dating prior to
learning that he was non-Arab:
I told her I liked this guy, and I want to date him. She was arguing with me back and
forth that I shouldn‟t date right now because I‟m still too young for that. But I‟m like,
„Why? I‟m 21, I should start dating and discover myself‟ and she wouldn‟t understand
4
All participants names were changed.
44
that part cuz she‟s Arabic, she‟s like, „You need to marry him right away [laughs] if
you want to stay with him.
This data extract suggests that Karina and her mother have very different perspectives
on both the nature and function of a romantic relationship, extending beyond their
preferences for ingroup versus outgroup dating. Specifically, Karina‟s mother appeared to
view relationships as a brief prelude to marriage, whereas Karina considered them an
opportunity for self-exploration. Karina suggested that the perceived cultural discrepancy
around dating and marriage deepened when her mother learned that she was interested in a
non-Arab, “she just freaked out on me just because he‟s not Arabic. „No, no, no you can‟t do
that [laughs].” When asked about her response, Karina said that she told her mother that she
really liked her boyfriend, wanted to introduce him to the family, and hoped that one day,
they would get married. She said that she also tried to explain why she felt it was okay to date
someone who was not Arab:
I tried to explain to them that the guy doesn‟t have to be Arabic to actually treat me
right, there‟s a lot of bad people out there, it‟s not about the country, it‟s not about the
culture, it‟s about the actual person and how he is.
Karina described her mother‟s reaction to this assertion as a combination of confusion, shock,
and anger, which she both acknowledged and understood:
I totally understand where she‟s coming from cuz obviously if I was a mom and I was
from back home and I came here, I‟m still going to have the same mentality. So, I
wasn‟t shocked at all [laughs].
This data extract suggests that Karina perceives her mothers‟ beliefs to align strictly with
their Arab background, emphasizing obedience and respect. However, Karina stated that she
wished her mother would be more accepting of different perspectives. When Karina was
asked how she felt about conformity and whether it was important to her, she said:
45
It‟s really important. To be flexible too, she shouldn‟t always say, „No, no.‟ She
should be more open-minded. He doesn‟t have to be Arabic, he can be other than that
and he‟s still gonna respect me and respect my family.
Karina indicated that she told her mother she would not pursue her boyfriend out of
respect. However, Karina stated to the interviewer that she had been covertly disobedient and
continuing her relationship. She expressed hope that in time her parents would become more
accepting of her relationship choices. In the meantime, Karina described straddling two
cultural worlds: acknowledging and enjoying her relationship outside the home, but
pretending it does not exist inside the home.
Theme 2: The relation between perceived cultural discrepancies and ethnocultural
identity conflict
The second theme was that youth who perceived cultural discrepancies also
experienced ethnocultural identity conflict. This theme emerged in most interviews (n = 9;
75%). Overall, perceived cultural discrepancies were associated with more ethnocultural
identity conflict when parents were perceived to promote isolation.
This theme emerged very strongly for Ahmed. For example, Ahmed identified a
number of perceived cultural discrepancies between himself and his parents, most of which
concerned interpersonal relationships and maintaining his religious teachings. He described
feeling pressured by his parents to uphold his Islamic teachings without question, even in
situations where it caused him to feel isolated from his peers and the new environment.
Ahmed indicated that he felt torn between pleasing his parents and fitting into his new
sociocultural milieu. These feelings seemed to trigger ethnocultural identity conflict as
Ahmed tried to make sense of who he was within the context of both his family and the new
environment, which he described as having very different norms and expectations.
46
Ahmed came to Canada as an elementary school student (grade 5). Ahmed stated that
he befriended some local children, with whom he would play cards and other games in the
neighbourhood after school, upon moving to Canada. Ahmed noted some differences he
discerned between his parents and Canadian parents. He observed that his parents were
stricter and had more rigid expectations than his peers‟ parents. Further, he stated that his
parents did not support his desire to play with other children after school, and also forbade
him from participating in some school activities, such as a cross-gender swimming trip.
… that happened at a time where I just came to Canada. I was just getting into the
community and it was hard, not being able to do everything that the kids around you
were doing. But like I said, the first few years you come here, I guess you‟re more
rebellious to do different things that everyone is doing, but then you get over it. I got
over it at least.
It seemed that part of the reason Ahmed “got over it” was because his parents decided to take
him out of public school and enrolled him in a private, Islamic school in the Greater Toronto
Area. According to Ahmed, their motivation to do so was,
Because I guess I was becoming more like the Canadian kids. I guess at the time I
wasn‟t really obedient to my parents. And like I said, I was very rebellious when I
came. And also I wasn‟t doing good in school. And I guess my parents tried to use the
opportunity to keep my Islamic status more legitimate and proper.
During his tenure at the Islamic school, Ahmed stated that he had the opportunity to
socialize with peers who share his ethnocultural and religious background. He also indicated
that he was able to refocus his priorities to maintaining his Muslim beliefs, which he
perceived as central to his identity as a “Muslim first, and Egyptian [second].” As such,
Ahmed appeared to recommit to his ethnocultural identity as a Muslim Egyptian living in
47
Canada, which seemed to minimize the cultural discrepancies he perceived between himself
and his parents.
Theme 3: The relations among perceived cultural discrepancies, intergenerational
conflict, and parent-youth relationships
The third theme was that parent-youth relationships played a role in the association
between perceived cultural discrepancies and intergenerational conflict. In some cases, close
and supportive parent-youth relationships seemed to minimize the experience of
intergenerational conflict as a function of perceived cultural discrepancies (n = 8; 67%)
(theme 3a). In others, distant and disconnected parent-youth relationships appeared to
exacerbate the experience of intergenerational conflict as a function of perceived cultural
discrepancies (n = 3; 25%) (theme 3b). Theme 3a emerged clearly for five youth (63%) in
relation to both parents (Dina, Khaled, Layla, Mahmoud, and Omar), for two youth (25%) in
relation to their mother (Amani and Reem), and for one youth (13%) in relation to their father
(Lana). Theme 3b emerged clearly for two youth (67%) in relation to their father (Amani and
Iskandar) and for one youth (33%) in relation to their mother (Lana).
Theme 3a. Although all youth described experiencing some degree of conflict with
their parents at one time or another, strong parent-youth relationships seemed to aid them in
overcoming the challenges associated with perceived cultural discrepancies. For example,
Layla described a dramatic decrease in conflict with her parents that she attributed to an
improvement in their relationship. When Layla first moved to Canada, she recalled the
relationship strain that occurred when her mother and father found out that she had a
boyfriend. She recounted their anger with her for engaging in a behaviour that violated both
her cultural and religious teachings. From her perspective, Layla started dating because she
wanted some personal freedom like her Canadian peers. Layla stated that her active attempts
48
at showing her parents that she knew and respected her limits ultimately redressed this
perceived cultural discrepancy:
Because she knows that I preserve my values and my religion and she knows that I
know my limits and I wouldn‟t cross those limits. This is what made her change; there
is a lot of trust between us now5.
According to Layla, as her parents became more trusting of her, their relationship because
much stronger. As a result, Layla stated that she and her parents rarely fight and when they
do, it tends to be over “very minor” issues such as helping out around the house.
Reem and Omar, on the other hand, reported that conflict in their families was
resolved through authoritative family discussions, which were instigated and supported by
their strong relationships with their parents. Both youth stated that their families would
convene to address any disagreements or sources of tension. Omar described his family
meetings as very structured: each member would take a turn presenting their perspective,
notes were taken, and collated to inform an action plan. This conflict management strategy
was effective in his family because Omar and his parents seemed to communicate very
openly. He also described them as having been very supportive of his transition to
independence and life in Canada. In contrast, Reem described her family meetings as less
structured. According to Reem, her mother would identify a conflictual or tense situation
(typically occurring between her husband and one or more of her children) and gather the
family to speak about it informally. Reem described her mother‟s role as the family
peacekeeper, moderating the discussion until a solution was reached. Throughout the
interview, Reem described her relationship with her mother as extremely close, open, and
supportive, and characterized her as a calming force and peacemaker. As a result of these
5
Although this particular quote is about her mother, Layla made it clear throughout the
interview that her relationship with both parents improved and that they both trust her more
than they did in the first few years post-migration.
49
factors, Reem‟s mother seemed able to initiate and moderate the family meetings, which
ultimately resolved conflict and restored the family equilibrium.
In contrast, three other youth (Lana, Dina, and Amani) appeared to primarily
circumvent conflict by accepting and submitting to their parents‟ wishes and perspectives.
Overall, these youth stated that they were very close to their parents and as a result, wanted to
please them by submitting to their demands. However, youth described distinct individual
motivators. Lana, for example, stated that her and her father virtually never fight, due in part
to their close relationship (she was his self-anointed “favourite”), but also because he was a
transnational father. Thus, Lana only saw him a few months each year so there were fewer
opportunities for conflict, and when they arose, she said that she actively tried to avoid them.
Dina shared this perspective about her father, who was also transnational. With her mother,
however, Dina‟s primary motivation seemed to be empathy. For example, she reasoned that
some of her mother-youth conflicts (such as whether she was allowed to sleep over at a
girlfriend‟s house) were because her mother was lonely and bored, with three daughters who
were seldom home and a husband who lived primarily abroad. Mahmoud‟s interview
suggested that his main motivation for abiding by his parents‟ wishes was respect. Indeed,
Mahmoud spoke at length about the salience of mutual respect in the Arab culture broadly
and within his family in particular. Lastly, Amani‟s primary motivator seemed to be a desire
to maintain her increasingly strong relationship with her mother, who acted as her primary
confidante in Canada.
Khaled acknowledged that he and his parents had different, potentially irreconcilable
views on multiple issues. Thus, to reduce intergenerational conflict, Khaled described
selectively shared information with his parents. This information management technique was
not dissimilar to the strategy that Karina employed with her mother, when she hid having a
boyfriend for three years. The key difference, however, is that Khaled described a close
50
relationship with his parents that he seemed motivated to maintain, whereas Karina seemed to
be trying to avoid eliciting her mother‟s anger and subsequent punishment.
Theme 3b. In contrast to Amani, Dina, Khaled, Lana, Layla, Mahmoud, Omar, and
Reem, three youth seemed to experience more intergenerational conflict with their parents
when they lacked a strong and supportive bond. In these cases, intergenerational conflict
appeared to be driven by differences in perspectives, with parents promoting isolation, and
was typically unresolved.
According to these three youth, their perceived emotional distance was due to
incompatible worldviews. For example, Lana described a decline in her relationship with her
mother “because we have two different ways of thinking, two different mentalities, so it‟s
kind of hard now.” Similarly, Iskandar described his father as someone who was strict and
not open to Canadian culture, as he continues to “think like we‟re back home.” Lastly, Amani
expressed frustration with her father‟s view of social interaction. She stated that he did not
understand that it was an integral part of her life and sought to limit her contact with friends.
Generally, Amani and Iskandar described a number of ways in which they were able
to avoid conflictual situations. For example, Iskandar said that he was reluctant to share
information about his life and activities, for fear of angering his father. Similarly, Amani
stated that she tried to spend more time at home and less time with her friends when her
father was visiting Canada. Although Amani and Iskandar described success with these
strategies in some situations, they could not be used to prevent their fathers from initiating
conflict, which they seemed to do often. Iskandar recounted a recent incident when his father
sought his help with a personal task (obtaining insurance quotes for his car). Iskandar felt
unable to assist him as he was very tired from long days as a full-time student who also
worked long hours. Iskandar said that he tried to calmly explain his position to his father,
who would not accept his reasoning and continued to press him on the issue. According to
51
Iskandar, the conflict escalated when his father woke him up from his sleep to chastise him
for his unwillingness to help. Iskandar stated that his father‟s actions infuriated him, as they
suggested that he neither appreciated nor empathized with him. Amani also described a
situation when her father was unable to accept her perspective and coerced her to do what he
wanted by threatening to cut her off financially. She seemed dissatisfied with the solution and
resentful of her father.
In contrast to Amani and Iskandar, Lana appeared to instigate conflict with her
mother. She stated several times that she initiated conflict “just because I want to go against
her word.” Lana‟s portrayed her relationship with her mother was very combative. For
example, she described shouting at and outwardly disobeying her mother‟s wises, as well as
emotionally blackmailing her with the empty threat of moving back to Qatar. In light of the
data extract presented above, Lana‟s motivation to provoke most of this conflict seemed to be
her weak and distant relationship with her mother.
In sum, parent-youth relationships seemed to play a role in the association between
perceived cultural discrepancies and intergenerational conflict. Strong parent-youth
relationships that were marked by closeness, communication, and support, appeared to
minimize intergenerational conflict as a function of perceived cultural discrepancies. In
contrast, youth who characterized themselves and their parents as unable to see eye-to-eye
seemed to have weaker relationships and more intergenerational conflict as a function of
perceived cultural discrepancies.
Theme 4: The relations among perceived cultural discrepancies, ethnocultural identity
conflict, and parent-youth relationships
The fourth theme was that parent-youth relationships played a role in the association
between perceived cultural discrepancies and ethnocultural identity conflict. In some cases,
relationships marked by good communication, instrumental support, and shared activities
52
seemed to minimize the experience of ethnocultural identity conflict as a function of
perceived cultural discrepancies (n = 5; 42%) (theme 4a). In others, distant and strained
relationships appeared to exacerbate the experience of ethnocultural identity conflict as a
function of perceived cultural discrepancies (n = 1; 8%). Theme 4a emerged clearly for four
youth (80%) in relation to both parents (Dina, Khaled, Mahmoud, and Omar), and for one
youth (20%) in relation to their mother (Amani). Theme 4b emerged clearly for Mostafa in
relation to his parents.
Theme 4a. Although all youth in this study experienced some degree of ethnocultural
identity conflict, strong parent-youth relationships seemed to support some youth‟s identity
development and facilitate their commitment to an achieved identity. Overall, youth in this
subtheme seemed very comfortable with their ethnocultural identity, presenting themselves as
either having strongly retained their Arab identity (Amani and Mahmoud) or as bicultural
Arab Canadians (Dina, Khaled, and Omar).
Most youth stated that their parents encouraged them to retain aspects of their heritage
culture and religion, while also giving them some freedom to figure out who they were. The
parental closeness, communication, companionship, and support that Dina, Amani, and
Khaled described made them feel secure and confident enough to explore the world around
them. All three of these youth provided examples of how they seized Canadian opportunities
to act in ways that may have been less acceptable in the Middle East. For example, Amani
started dating, dressing less conservatively, and got two body piercings. Dina started going
out with friends more, including an unsupervised trip to Miami. She also became really
sensitive to gender-based stereotypes regarding domestic responsibilities versus career, and
endeavoured to become a hard-working and self-reliant woman. Khaled exercised his right to
choose a university that his parents did not approve of and accepted a work opportunity that
took him away from home for a week. In all of these cases, these youth indicated that their
53
parents were supportive of their decisions and subsequent identity development, which
seemed to ease their identity development to the extent that they each appeared to have a
strong sense of their ethnocultural identity.
Other parents appeared to encourage their children to integrate into their new cultural
environment and take the opportunity to grow. For example, Omar recalled his parents‟
advice to expand his social circle, by befriending non-Arabs and not just sticking to friends
from Jordan who had also moved to Canada for university. Their justification, according to
Omar, was “not because they just hated Arabs, just because they wanted us to try and think
differently. And see how other people think about things and what other things they know.”
Omar acknowledged that he did not heed their advice at first, as he sought comfort in the
familiarity of friends from home. It is possible that Omar‟s homesickness was compounded
by the fact that he attended university in a city that was over 600 kilometres away from where
his parents were living. Thus, he was likely confronted with adjusting to life in Canada, while
also learning to be self-reliant and independent. Omar stated that he experienced some initial
difficulty, but was able to overcome the challenge with the support of his parents, who
“helped me, but at the same time they had in mind that they wanted me to experience this so I
can actually get to change by myself. Without them telling me what‟s gonna happen.” In light
of this support, Omar felt more open to new experiences, which ultimately led to identity
development:
Since I moved here to Canada, it was also just spending some time and experience
with people from different parts of the world and especially Canada. They‟re very,
very into experiencing new things and new interests and they believe that just finding
more interests is going to help you figure out who you are. Like figure out what you
really like and how you think about things. So this is definitely something I‟ve
become more into in the past two years.
54
This and other extracts suggested that Omar committed to a bicultural identity. For example,
Omar stated that his experiences in Canada had caused him to question and re-evaluate some
of his beliefs and behaviours, but that he has concurrently preserved elements of his Arab
heritage:
I would definitely say I‟m less Arab… but I don‟t feel like I‟ve also forgotten who I
am or gave up my nationality or my identity. I‟m still proud of being Jordanian. I
would still talk to people about my country and everything. So it‟s not like they‟ve
really changed how I belong to my country. They‟ve really influenced how I‟ve
thought.
Further, Omar stated that “keeping both is definitely better than just switching to Canadian. I
mean, I‟ve spent 18 years in Jordan so I can‟t really just forget about those years, you know.”
In contrast, other parents seemed to encourage their children to strongly adhere to
their Arab heritage and never question their identity. For example, Mahmoud described his
parents‟ disdain for Arabs who migrated to Canada and abandoned their heritage:
All parents like sticking to their tradition and [my parents] believe that people have to
stick to everything they used to do, anywhere they go. They have to represent their
country, they have to represent their religion, wherever they go. And once [my father]
come here, he saw many wrongdoings and stuff. He was really upset about it.
Similarly, he described his mother as “against people changing, and giving freedom their
children compared to our society.” It appeared that Mahmoud‟s close relationships with his
mother and father facilitated the transmission and internalization of their views. Indeed, he
stated that Arab and Canadian cultural beliefs and values are irreconcilable, describing the
difference as “the complete opposite”. Yet, he did not seem to much experience ethnocultural
identity conflict because he was unwaveringly committed to his identity as a Palestinian.
Mahmoud stated that he still observed his cultural and religious traditions, and identified only
55
as a Palestinian or Arab because it is his “original” and “I don‟t think there‟s anything I do
that represent Canada or something [Mahmoud laughs].”
Theme 4b. In contrast to Amani, Dina, Khaled, Mahmoud, and Omar, Mostafa
seemed to experience more ethnocultural identity conflict because his relationship with his
parents lacked a strong and supportive bond, and because they discouraged him from
exploring his new environment. Overall, Mostafa stated that he did not feel comfortable
communicating with his parents or seeking their support as he underwent his identity
development. As a result, Mostafa appeared to suffer from prolonged identity conflict, which
left him feeling torn between his heritage and settlement cultures.
Mostafa stated that his relationship with his family became more distant since moving
to Canada. He described “some sort of gap [which] happened between me and my family that
actually I don‟t see them as much. Interact with them as much.” Further, Mostafa
characterized his father as a detached head-of-household. Their relationship seemed to center
around financial and instrumental support, with his father disseminating his views on
education and marriage. According to Mostafa, his relationship with his mother was solely
based on her domestic responsibilities. In fact, Mostafa stated that his mother “doesn‟t really
guide me with anything that has to do with my [future plans], or do I even consult her with
anything of that.” This and other data extracts indicated that Mostafa was dismissive of his
mother and did not seem to view her as a legitimate authority figure.
Mostafa expressed tremendous difficulty reconciling his desire to uphold his
traditional beliefs and values with his life in Canada, which was exacerbated by his inability
to talk to his parents about his struggle, and their promotion of isolation. For example,
Mostafa stated that he was dissatisfied with the fact that he had become less religious since
moving to Canada. However, his displeasure seemed to be rooted in his inability to meet his
parents‟ expectations rather than a desire to fulfil his religious commitments. He stated that
56
his parents knew that he was no longer a “perfect Muslim” and his father tried to motivate
him to resume his Islamic duties by reminding him of his religious obligations. However,
Mostafa noted that his father neither acknowledged nor understood that his main concern was
that he did not know how to reconcile these expectations with his new life in Canada as a
busy university student. Mostafa expressed feeling like he could not talk openly with his
parents about his concerns, and that they would be either unable or unwilling to listen and
support him. As a result, his internal struggle appeared to be unresolved.
In sum, parent-youth relationships played a role in the association between perceived
cultural discrepancies and ethnocultural identity conflict. Strong parent-youth relationships
that were marked by closeness, open communication, and support appeared to minimize
ethnocultural identity conflict as a function of perceived cultural discrepancies. In contrast,
youth who characterized their relationships as distant and restrictive seemed to experience
more ethnocultural identity conflict as a function of perceived cultural discrepancies.
Examining Mothers and Fathers Independently
It is important to note that youth in this study generally characterized their
relationship with both their mothers and fathers as strong. For example, of the nine youth
who characterized their parent-child relationship as close, three (33%) did not distinguish
between their mothers and fathers, whereas eight (89%) and six (67%) specifically identified
maternal and paternal closeness, respectively. Similarly, of the eleven youth who stated that
they openly communicate with their parents, four (36%) did not distinguish between their
mothers and fathers, whereas nine (82%) and five (45%) specifically identified maternal and
paternal closeness, respectively. Lastly, of the eleven youth who indicated that their parents
provided instrumental support, seven (70%) did not distinguish between their mothers and
fathers, whereas five (45%) and six (55%) attributed support to their mothers and fathers,
respectively.
57
Moreover, an examination of the main findings indicated that thematic prevalence for
mothers and fathers was very similar. For example, theme 3a (i.e., strong parent-youth
relationships played a role in the association between perceived cultural discrepancies and
intergenerational conflict) emerged for eight mothers, and eight fathers, theme 3b (i.e., weak
parent-youth relationships played a role in the association between perceived cultural
discrepancies and intergenerational conflict) emerged for 1 mother and 2 fathers. Similarly,
theme 4a (i.e., strong parent-youth relationships played a role in the association between
perceived cultural discrepancies and ethnocultural identity conflict) emerged for five mothers
and four fathers, and theme 4b (i.e., weak parent-youth relationships played a role in the
association between perceived cultural discrepancies and ethnocultural identity conflict)
emerged for one mother and one father.
The descriptive findings noted above coupled with youth‟s interviews suggest that
immigrant Arab Canadian youth‟s relationships with their mothers and fathers are similar in a
number of ways. Indeed, parental closeness, communication, and support emerged in
comparable proportions and to similar extents. Therefore, this study identified mother- and
father-youth relationships as moderators of the association between perceived cultural
discrepancies and both intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict.
58
Discussion
Immigrant Arab youth in this study provided insight into their life experiences by
discussing the challenges they faced in Canada, as well as the strategies they have used to
overcome them. Twelve youth in the current study described the difficulties that they and
their parents encountered acclimating to a country whose normative cultural behaviours and
values differed considerably to their country of origin. Youth in this study seemed to be more
oriented toward Canadian culture and values than their parents, which created cultural
discrepancies between them that, in many cases, led to intergenerational conflict and
ethnocultural identity conflict. However, despite perceiving different perspectives around a
host of attitudes, behaviours, and values, most of these youth characterized their relationship
with their parents as strong. Indeed, the presence of a close bond, open communication, and
support seemed to make youth to feel comfortable and safe while exploring their identities
and new environment. As a result, youth who described strong parent-youth relationships
seemed to experience decreased intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict.
All youth in this study described the culture shock that they experienced when they
first moved to Canada, and attributed it to the significant differences between Arab and
Canadian culture. They discussed their transition from a conservative and interdependent
society, to one that is liberal and independent (Hofstede, 2001). In their country of origin, the
cultural values of embeddedness and hierarchy were prioritized, and autonomy was rejected.
These normative cultural values are consistent with the personal values of tradition,
conformity, and security, which comprise the higher-order conservation values dimension
(Schwartz, 1992). To reinforce these values, youth were socialized to be obedient;
imagination and exploration were discouraged. When youth and their families arrived in
Canada, they were confronted by a culture that emphasizes autonomy, egalitarianism, and
mastery. In contrast to Arab culture, Canadian cultural values are consistent with the personal
59
values of self-direction, stimulation, and hedonism, which constitute the higher-order
openness to change values dimension (Schwartz, 2006). Youth contrasted their socialization
to their Canadian peers, who were encouraged to express themselves and explore their
environment, generating their own ideas and making their own choices (Hofstede, 2001).
All youth, at least initially, gravitated towards openness to change values, as they
sought increased autonomy and personal freedom. Their parents, on the other hand, largely
maintained their conservation values, and encouraged their children to do the same. As a
result, they perceived discrepancies between themselves and their parents around a variety of
issues, including activities, clothing, dating and marriage, education and career, family rules,
heritage culture maintenance, social interaction, social status, and tolerance of different
people and novel situations. Although the vast majority of conflict occurred around personal
issues, youth and parents‟ perceived them differently. Specifically, youth perceived all
conflict with their parents as issues of personal freedom and therefore outside of their
parents‟ jurisdiction, whereas parents were described as using social conventional and moral
justifications when trying to enforce parental authority. This finding is consistent with many
previous studies (e.g., Smetana, Crean, & Campione-Barr, 2005; Smetana, Daddis, &
Chuang, 2003). The qualitative approach offered greater insight into the conflict process.
Throughout the interviews, it appeared that for immigrant Arab parents in this study, personal
issues were conflated with their children‟s increased orientation to the settlement society and
culture. Therefore, it appears that the settlement process adds a layer of complexity to the
developmental issue regarding personal freedom and intergenerational conflict.
For many youth in this study, perceived cultural discrepancies appeared to lead to
intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. This pattern seemed to emerge
when youth became more oriented to Canadian culture and values, and their parents
interpreted this shift to signify an abandonment of Arab heritage and values. To many
60
parents, youth‟s autonomy-seeking and movement towards openness to change values was
considered negative and immoral. For example, some youth described intergenerational
conflict that arose from their desire to date, a behaviour that their parents viewed as a clear
violation of their cultural and religious beliefs, consistent with previous research (e.g., Uskul
et al., 2011). Similarly, some youth indicated that they experienced difficulty reconciling the
incompatible demands of their different cultural and social environments (i.e., inside and
outside the home), particularly when they identified with both of them. Youth who were
attached to both cultures appeared to have a less clear and coherent self-concept, which is
associated with ethnocultural identity conflict (e.g., Ward, 2008; Ward et al., 2011).
However, perceived cultural discrepancies were not always associated with
intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. Indeed, whether each type of
conflict occurred was largely dependent on how parents and youth reacted to perceived
cultural discrepancies, and was further qualified by the nature and strength of the parentyouth relationship.
The findings of this study revealed a continuum of parent and youth responses and
outcomes to perceived cultural discrepancies. On one end, some families confronted
discrepancies by openly discussing and negotiating them. In these cases, parents explained
their position, but granted their children some autonomy in the decision-making process, and
supported them irrespective of the path that they chose. This strategy was effective in
reducing conflict if parents communicated regularly with their children, provided them with
instrumental, emotional, and social support, and encouraged them to interact with the
settlement society. On the other end, some families sought to stifle discrepancies, with
parents trying to control – often successfully – their children. In these cases, parents
continued to enforce rules and monitor their children‟s behaviour to minimize the chance that
they become oriented toward Canadian behaviours and peers. Parents were much more likely
61
to instil a rigid adherence to their Arab heritage in their children if they also had a close bond
and spent significant amounts of time together. This strategy was effective in reducing
intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict because parents and youth saw
eye-to-eye on most things. Alternatively, youth were less willing to accept and internalize
their parents‟ values and wishes if they were transmitted in the context of an emotionally
distant and strained relationship. In these cases, youth were more likely to experience both
types of conflict.
Generally, youth in this study were less likely to experience intergenerational conflict
and ethnocultural identity conflict if their relationship with their parents was marked by trust,
open communication, and support, and if their parents encouraged them to explore their new
sociocultural environment by granting them personal freedom. This overarching multiplecase narrative is consistent with previous research suggesting that the negative effects of
cultural discrepancies can be mitigated by strong and positive parent-youth relationships
(e.g., Kim & Park, 2011; Weaver & Kim, 2008). Indeed, youth are more likely to be
receptive to parental influence (Steinberg, 2001), including socialization of heritage beliefs
(Cheng & Kuo, 2000), and value transmission (Rudy & Grusec, 2001) if it occurs in the
context of warmth and responsiveness. Moreover, previous studies have found that
communication, trust, and support, are particularly important aspects of the immigrant parentyouth relationship (e.g., Crockett, Brown, Iturbide, Russell, & Wilkinson-Lee, 2009; Crockett
et al., 2007). These relational qualities foster an emotional bond between family members
(Qin, 2006; Tseng & Fuligni, 2000) that protects against acculturative stress (Bacallao &
Smowkoski, 2007) and intergenerational conflict (Phinney, Kim-Jo, Osorio, &
Vilhjalmsdottir, 2005), and is also associated with increased well-being (Arends-Tóth & van
de Vijver, 2008), and a more coherent self-concept (Walsh, Shulman, Feldman, & Maurer,
2005).
62
Consistent with its aims, this study identified the extent to which youth perceive
cultural discrepancies between themselves and their parents, and how they relate to
ethnocultural identity conflict and intergenerational conflict. Moreover, this study identified
parent-youth relationships as a moderator of the association between perceived cultural
discrepancies and both intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. Next,
these associations are tested empirically using quantitative data in Study 2.
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CHAPTER 3: STUDY 2
In the previous chapter, it was found that all twelve youth perceived cultural
discrepancies between themselves and their parents, and also experienced both ethnocultural
identity conflict and intergenerational conflict. In some cases, these paths were direct but in
others, moderators were suggested. Study 1 found support for the proposed conceptual model
(see Figure 1), as parent-youth relationships were found to moderate the association between
perceived cultural discrepancies and both intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity
conflict. In Study 2, this model is tested using a quantitative approach.
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were tested to assess the extent of perceived cultural
discrepancies, their association with conflict, and the moderating role of parent-youth
relationships in immigrant Arab Canadian families.
Hypothesis 1. Youth will be significantly more oriented toward Canadian culture and
openness to change values, and significantly less oriented toward Arab culture and
conservation values than they perceive their parents to be.
Hypothesis 2. Greater perceived parent-youth Arab and Canadian orientation
discrepancies will be associated with more intergenerational conflict.
Hypothesis 3. Greater perceived parent-youth Arab and Canadian orientation
discrepancies will be associated with more ethnocultural identity conflict.
Hypothesis 4. Greater perceived parent-youth openness to change and conservation
values discrepancies will be associated with more intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural
identity conflict.
Hypothesis 5. Parent-youth relationships will moderate the association between
perceived parent-youth cultural discrepancies and both intergenerational conflict and
ethnocultural identity conflict.
64
Hypotheses 1 through 4 will identify the extent to which youth perceive cultural
discrepancies between themselves and their parents, and how they relate to ethnocultural
identity conflict and intergenerational conflict (Aim 1). Hypothesis 5 will examine factors
that moderate the association between perceived cultural discrepancies and ethnocultural
identity conflict and intergenerational conflict (Aim 2).
65
Method
Participants
Similar to Study 1, participants in this study were 119 immigrant Arab youth who met
the following criteria: (1) first-generation immigrants who had moved to Canada from an
Arab country; (2) self-categorized as “Arab” (or national identity; e.g., “Egyptian”) or “Arab
Canadian”; and (3) migrated to Canada with their parents. These criteria were selected to
ensure that participants had sufficient exposure to both Arab and Canadian cultures, to avoid
sampling non-Arabs who have migrated to Canada from an Arab country (e.g., repatriating
Canadians), and so that youth could provide relevant ratings for mothers and fathers. Key
demographics are summarized in Table 7.
Participants were relatively evenly distributed by gender (59.5% female), and ranged
in age from 16 to 25 years old (M = 20.33, SD = 2.09). Almost all of the participants were
single (95.0%), a few were engaged (1.7%), and some (3.4%) were civilly married, but not
living with their spouses at the time of data collection. Most participants indicated that they
were either Muslim (76.5%) or Christian (14.3%). The remaining participants reported either
no (3.4%) or other religious affiliation (3.2%; i.e., Christian and Muslim, Muslim and
Agnostic, Druze, or Yazidi). The five primary birth countries were Egypt (21.0%), the United
Arab Emirates (15.1%), Iraq (13.4%), Saudi Arabia (11.8%), and Jordan (8.4%).
Length of residence in Canada ranged from 6 months to 24 years (M = 8.8 years, SD =
5.48); however, 67.2% of participants had lived in Canada for 10 years or less. The average
age of arrival was 11.75 years old (SD = 5.43). The vast majority of participants (89.1%)
immigrated to Canada with both parents. In some cases, however, the father came before his
family to obtain work and housing, or stayed behind in the Middle East, working to support
his family in Canada. Many participants indicated that their parents spent significant amounts
of time each year in the Middle East, but most mothers (79.8%) and fathers (63.0%) lived in
66
Canada full-time. The majority of participants (85.7%) indicated that they lived with at least
one family member.
Socioeconomic status in this sample was fairly high, as most participants (60.5%)
were full-time students who did not work and received financial support from their parents in
the form of food and rent (91.6%), tuition and education costs (53.8%), and pocket money
(62.2%). Moreover, participant‟s parents were highly educated, with the majority of mothers
and fathers holding Bachelor‟s (68.9% and 60.5%, respectively) or post-graduate degrees
(13.4% and 21.8%, respectively). Some mothers (43.7%) and most fathers (82.4%) worked
full-time. Most participants reported that their parents owned their own home (63.9%) and
were married (89.1%); all but one participant who indicated their parents‟ marital status as
“other” stated that their mothers were widowed.
Procedure
Participants were recruited through various university associations, settlement
agencies and services, and community organizations. Participants were also recruited through
personal contacts and snowball sampling using a variety of media. To minimize bias, close
contacts were not recruited, but were rather used as gatekeepers to groups of Arab Canadian
youth who were eligible to participate. Advertisements for this study were posted on
university campuses, community and settlement organization bulletin boards, and online
forums targeting Arabs in Canada on the Internet and Facebook (i.e., “Arabs in Canada”,
“Egyptians in Toronto”). Participants were entered into a draw to win one of two $250 cash
prizes upon completion of the questionnaire.
Measures
Demographics. Participants were asked to report their age, gender, country of
residence, marital status, birth country (self, father, mother), religious affiliation (self, father,
mother), year of arrival to Canada, whether they arrived with both parents and if both parents
67
were still living in Canada, student (none, high school, university) and employment (jobs held
and hours worked per week) status, who they live with, and their parents‟ education and
employment status (see Appendix C).
Perceived cultural discrepancies. Perceived cultural discrepancies were assessed
using separate measures of Arab and Canadian culture orientation, as well as personal values,
rated separately by youth for themselves, their fathers, and their mothers.
Arab and Canadian culture orientation. Birman, Trickett, and Vonokurov‟s (2002)
Language, Identity, and Behavioral Acculturation Scale (LIB) is a 44-item self-report
instrument that measures heritage and settlement culture orientation (see Appendix D). The
LIB was originally developed for use with former Soviet refugees, but is designed to be
easily adaptable to other sample populations. For this study, the reference cultures were
changed from “Russian” to “Arab” and “American” to “Canadian”.
The LIB was preferred to other measures of culture orientation because it is
bidimensional and samples attitudinal, behavioural, and cognitive aspects of culture
orientation. The LIB was preferred to other measures such as the General Ethnicity
Questionnaire (GEQ; Tsai, Ying, & Lee, 2000) because it has separate subscales (language,
cultural identity, and cultural participation) and reduced measurement burden (44 as opposed
to 74 items, rated 3 times). Previous research has used the LIB with diverse samples, and has
generally reported excellent subscale reliability, as well as moderate correlations among the
subscales on each dimension, which suggests that they are distinct, but interrelated (e.g.,
Birman, 2006a; Ho & Birman, 2010; Trickett & Jones, 2007).
The LIB consisted of two scales (Arab and Canadian culture orientation) that
contained items relating to: (1) language: 9 parallel items regarding ability to speak and
understand English and Arabic; (2) cultural identity: 4 parallel items regarding pride and
68
identification with Canadian and Arab culture; and (3) cultural participation: 9 parallel items
regarding social and behavioural involvement with Canadian and Arab culture.
Language items were rated on a scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very well, like a
native), while cultural identity and cultural participation items were rated on a scale ranging
from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much). To increase meaningful responding, “Not Applicable”
was added as a response option (see Rudmin, 2003). Participants rated each item three times,
indicating their personal response, as well as how they perceived their father and mother.
Cronbach‟s alpha coefficients for Arab orientation were .90 for youth, .91 for youth‟s
perceptions of their fathers, and .94 for youth‟s perceptions of their mothers. The Cronbach‟s
alpha coefficients for Canadian orientation were .85 for youth, .92 for youth‟s perceptions of
their fathers, and .93 for youth‟s perceptions of their mothers. Arab and Canadian Orientation
scores (Youth, Perceived Father, Perceived Mother) were obtained by averaging the
respective scale items. Higher values reflected stronger orientation to Arab and Canadian
culture.
Personal values. Schwartz, Melech, Lehman, Burgess, Harris, and Owen‟s (2001)
Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) is a 40-item self-report instrument that measures values
based on Schwartz‟s (1992) personal values theory (see Appendix E). Schwartz and
colleagues developed the PVQ as an alternative to the Schwartz Values Survey for younger
populations, as the items are less abstract and cognitively complex.
Participants were presented with vignettes describing a person‟s goals, aspirations, or
wishes, and asked to indicate, “How much like you or unlike you is this person?” on a scale
ranging from 1 (very much like me) to 6 (not like me at all). To measure perceived parental
values, participants indicated, “How much like or unlike your father/mother is this person?”
using a modified rating scale. All items on the PVQ were reverse-coded so that higher scores
reflected a stronger endorsement of values. Each vignette reflected one of Schwartz‟s (1992)
69
value types, including those underlying the openness to change (i.e., hedonism, stimulation,
and self-direction) and conservation (i.e., tradition, conformity, and security) dimensions.
Cronbach‟s alpha coefficients for Conservation Values were .91 for youth, .94 for
youth‟s perceptions of their fathers, and .95 for youth‟s perceptions of their mothers. The
Cronbach‟s alpha coefficients for Openness to Change Values were .89 for youth, .86 for
youth‟s perceptions of their fathers, and .88 for youth‟s perceptions of their mothers.
Conservation and Openness to Change Values scores (Youth, Perceived Father, Perceived
Mother) were obtained by averaging the respective scale items for the value types underlying
each dimension. Higher values reflected strong endorsement of Conservation and Openness
to Change Values.
It is important to note that values were calculated differently in this study as compared
to many other studies using the PVQ. Given that people have a tendency to report all values
as being more or less important (Knafo & Schwartz, 2009), scores on the PVQ are typically
centred to allow higher scores to reflect greater relative importance. However, this study was
primarily interested in the extent to which youth endorsed conservation and openness to
change values for themselves relative to their perception of their father‟s and mother‟s values.
In this case, ipsatizing the scores creates unnecessary circularity by providing information
regarding the extent to which youth endorsed conservation and openness to change values
relative to self-transcendence and self-enhancement values, compared to the extent to which
parents were perceived to endorse openness to change and conservation values relative to
self-transcendence and self-enhancement values. Essentially, this provides a score indicating
relative rankings, which may obscure parent-youth similarity or differences in their level of
endorsement of these values. Therefore, raw scores on the openness to change and
conservation values dimensions were used.
70
Intergenerational conflict. Chung‟s (2001) Intergenerational Conflict Inventory
(ICI) is a 24-item self-report instrument that measures intergenerational conflict in three
domains: family expectations, education and career, and dating and marriage (see Appendix
F). An item about religiosity was added to this measure, to reflect a recurrent theme in Study
1. This item replaced one about time spent practicing music, an issue that is not salient to
immigrant Arab youth in Canada. Another item was modified for increased clarity and flow
between the item and introductory statement (i.e., “Lack of communication with your
father/mother” was changed to “How often we talk”). An additional item about dating and
marriage was also added to this measure (i.e., “Staying overnight with my dating partner”).
Participants rated each item on a scale ranging from 1 (no conflict over this issue) to 6 (a lot
of conflict over this issue) for their fathers and mothers. Previous research has found the ICI
to be a reliable and valid measure (for details, see Chung; see also Ahn et al., 2008). The
Cronbach‟s alpha coefficient for intergenerational conflict was .93 and .94 for mothers and
fathers, respectively. A total score for Intergenerational Conflict for father and mother were
calculated by averaging the scores for each conflict issue. Higher scores reflected increased
intergenerational conflict.
Ethnocultural identity conflict. Ward and colleagues‟ (2011) Ethnocultural Identity
Conflict Scale (EIC-S) is a 20-item self-report instrument that measures ethnocultural identity
conflict (see Appendix G). Participants rated each item on a scale ranging from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Previous research with diverse samples suggests that the EICS is a reliable and valid measure (for details, see Stuart & Ward, 2011; Ward, 2008;Ward et
al.). The Cronbach‟s alpha coefficient for ethnocultural identity conflict was .92. A total
score for Ethnocultural Identity Conflict was obtained by averaging the scale items
(negatively-worded items were reverse-coded first), with higher scores representing more
ethnocultural identity conflict.
71
Parent-youth relationships. The 25-item revised version of Armsden and
Greenberg‟s (1987) Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) was used to measure the
strength of father- and mother-youth relationships (see Appendix H). Items on this measure
reflected parental trust, communication, and alienation and were rated on a scale ranging
from 1 (almost never or never true) to 5 (almost always or always true). Cronbach‟s alpha
coefficients for father- and mother-youth relationships were .95 and .94, respectively,
suggesting that these measures were internally consistent.
The IPPA is a well-established and extensively used measure. Although developed
and validated with 16 to 20 year olds, it has been used with college-attending youth of
immigrant backgrounds (e.g., Han & Lee, 2011; Ying, Lee, & Tsai, 2007). These studies
reported high internal consistency. This measure was preferred to the FACES IV (Olson,
2011), Family Assessment Device (FAD; Ryan, Epstein, Keitner, Miller, & Bishop, 2005),
and the Self-Report Family Inventory (SFI; Beavers, Hapson, & Hulgus, 1985) because the
IPPA assesses dyadic parent-youth relationships as opposed to family systemic functioning.
The IPPA was also preferred to the Adolescent Family Process measure (AFP; Vazsonyi,
Hibbert, & Snider, 2003) because it had more clearly established psychometric properties in
part due to more extensive use. A total score for Relationship with Father and Relationship
with Mother was computed by summing the individual item scores (negatively-worded items
were reverse-coded first). Higher scores reflected stronger father and mother-youth
relationships.
72
Results
Preliminary Analyses
Descriptive statistics for the study variables and intercorrelations among scales are
presented in Tables 8 and 9, respectively. Preliminary data analyses consisted of five stages.
First, descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, and normality probability plots were
examined to assess the normality and linearity of the study‟s variables. Third, scale
frequencies were checked for missing or miscoded data. Fourth, univariate outliers were
identified with boxplots, and their multivariate influence was assessed using the Cook‟s
distance statistic (Field, 2005). Fifth, potential control variables were examined. Sixth, the
risk of inflating Type I error was assessed.
Normal probability plots indicated that the data were linear. The histograms suggested
that some variables were significantly skewed, so additional tests were conducted. First, the
Shapiro-Wilks‟ test was used to identify significantly non-normal distributions. The
following variables were significantly non-normal: Youth Canadian Orientation (W (111) =
.94, p = .00), Youth Arab Orientation (W (111) = .95, p = .00), Perceived Father Arab
Orientation (W (111) = .65, p = .00), Perceived Mother Arab Orientation (W (111) = .61, p =
.00), Youth Conservation Values (W (111) = .93, p = .00), Perceived Father Conservation
Values (W (111) = .95, p = .00), Perceived Mother Conservation Values (W (111) = .98, p =
.05), Perceived Mother Openness to Change Values (W (111) = .98, p = .04), Ethnocultural
Identity Conflict (W (111) = .94, p = .00), Relationship with Father (W (111) = .96, p = .00),
Relationship with Mother (W (111) = .94, p = .00), Intergenerational Conflict with Father (W
(111) = .93, p = .00), and Intergenerational Conflict with Mother (W (111) = .92, p = .00).
Given that the Shapiro-Wilks‟ test is conservative, the skewness and kurtosis statistics
were divided by their standard errors. The cut-off for acceptable skewness and kurtosis was ±
3.29 (Field, 2005). Based on this test, the following variables were still significantly non-
73
normal: Canadian Orientation (Youth), Arab Orientation (Perceived Father, Perceived
Mother), Conservation Values (Youth, Perceived Father, Perceived Mother), Youth
Religiosity, Ethnocultural Identity Conflict, and Intergenerational Conflict (Father, Mother). 6
Frequency tables indicated that there was very little missing data in the dataset. The
percentage of missing values for each scale ranged from 1.7% to 6.7% (M = 4.43, SD = 2.03).
Cook‟s distance statistics were used in the main analyses to identify multivariate outliers that
may exert an undue influence. No multivariate outliers were found and thus all participants
were retained for the following analyses.
To examine the possible need for inclusion of control variables in the main analyses,
correlations between three demographic variables (age, gender, and years in Canada) and the
outcome variables were examined. Following the recommendations of Rosenthal and
colleagues (e.g., Rosenthal, 1991; Rosenthal & DiMatteo, 2001), Pearson‟s r coefficients
were used to quantify effect sizes. Potential control variables were correlated with outcome
variables (Intergenerational Conflict with Father, Intergenerational Conflict with Mother,
Ethnocultural Identity Conflict). Of the nine correlations, only one was significant. Years in
Canada was associated with Ethnocultural Identity Conflict (r = .18, p = .05, η2 = .03). This
finding was interesting in its own right; however, given the overall negative findings,
subsequently analyses did not include any control variables.
To explore the possibility of reducing the overall number of analyses and risk
inflating Type I error, measures for which there were separate father and mother ratings (e.g.,
Relationship with Father, Relationship with Mother) were correlated. Table 9 reports
correlations among the predictor variables. Pearson‟s r correlation coefficients revealed that
father and mother measures were very highly correlated. Correlations between parents ranged
6
These variables were transformed using Osborne‟s (2002) transformation procedures. No
important differences emerged between original and transformed variables with respect to
Pearson‟s r correlation coefficients or regression analyses used in this study. Therefore, the
original scores were retained for hypothesis testing.
74
from r = .54 (Perceived Canadian Orientation) to r = .92 (Perceived Conservation Values),
with an average of r = .70 (SD = .14) (all ps = .000). Given the similarity between parentyouth relationships individual measures were aggregated and used in the subsequent analyses.
Analytic Strategies
Hypothesis 1. To assess the extent of perceived cultural discrepancies, a series of four
3 (Family: Youth, Perceived Father, Perceived Mother) ANOVAs were conducted for each
cultural orientation (Arab, Canadian) and values (Openness to Change, Conservation).
Hypotheses 2, 3, and 4. To examine the relation between perceived cultural
discrepancies and conflict, a series of eight hierarchical regressions were conducted across
two outcome variables (intergenerational conflict, ethnocultural identity conflict) regressed
on four predictor variables (Arab orientation, Canadian orientation, conservation values,
openness to change values). Following Hayes and Matthes (2009) recommendation, variables
were not mean-centered7.
Youth and perceived parent cultural orientation and values were entered as main
effects at Step 1, and the interaction term was entered at Step 2. All significant and trending
interactions were probed in two stages. First, simple slopes were plotted to illustrate the
relation between parents‟ perceived cultural orientation or values scores at “high” (+1 SD),
mean, and “low” (-1 SD) levels of youth‟s cultural orientation or values score (Aiken &
West, 1991). Second, the Johnson-Neyman technique was used to identify the specific
point(s) at which the conditional effect of the moderator variable transitions from significance
to non-significance, beyond the arbitrary cut-off points of ± 1 SD. The transition point(s)
identified by the Johnson-Neyman technique were also plotted if they extended beyond ± 1
SD of youth‟s cultural orientation or values score.
7
All analyses were re-run and probed using mean-centered data, and with the exception of
one slight difference in a main effect slope, results were identical to those presented here.
75
This study used the interaction term method to assess the relation between perceived
cultural discrepancies and both types of conflict as opposed to simply computing difference
scores because the interaction term method considers three key factors: (1) youth‟s cultural
orientation and values; (2) parent‟s perceived cultural orientation and values; and (3) the
interaction between youth‟s and perceived parents‟ cultural orientation and values (for
review, see Birman, 2006b). Thus, this approach allows researchers to disentangle the
individual and combined contributions of youth‟s and perceived parents‟ cultural orientation
and values scores on the outcome measures.
Hypothesis 5. To test the moderating effect of parent-youth relationships, a series of
eight hierarchical regressions were conducted across two outcome variables
(intergenerational conflict, ethnocultural identity conflict) regressed on four predictor
variables (perceived parent-youth Arab orientation discrepancy, perceived parent-youth
Canadian orientation discrepancy, perceived parent-youth conservation values discrepancy,
perceived openness to change values discrepancy). Perceived parent-youth cultural
discrepancies and parent-youth relationships were entered as main effects at Step 1, and the
3-way interaction term was entered at Step 2. The relevant 2-way interaction terms were not
included for two reasons: to focus on the interactions of interest as opposed to wholesale
testing of all possible interactions (Keith, 2006), and to avoid increasing the difficulty
detecting significant 3-way interactions that is also exacerbated by power issues related to the
current study‟s sample size8. Significant and trending 3-way interactions were probed using
simple slope analysis (Aiken & West, 1991) and the Johnson-Neyman technique (Hayes &
Matthes, 2009). The interaction term method was also used to test this hypothesis for the
reasons outlined above.
8
All analyses were re-run including the relevant 2-way interaction term (perceived parent X youth cultural
orientation OR values), and the beta weights did not change.
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Main Analyses
Hypothesis 1. For Arab Orientation, while not significantly different from one
another, fathers and mothers were both perceived to be more oriented to Arab culture than
their youth, Pillai‟s Trace = .43, F (2, 111) = 41.12, p = .00, η2 = .43 (see Table 8). In
contrast, youth were significantly more oriented to Canadian culture than they perceived their
fathers to be, who were in turn significantly more oriented to Canadian culture than
perceptions of their mothers, Pillai‟s Trace = .76, F (2, 110) = 176.20, p = .00, η2 = .76.
For Conservation, mothers were perceived to endorse conservation values
significantly more than were fathers and youth, Pillai‟s Trace = .18, F (2, 113) = 12.60, p =
.00, η2 = .18. In contrast, youth were significantly more likely to endorse openness to change
values than their perception of their father‟s and mother‟s values, Pillai‟s Trace = .11, F (2,
113) = 7.03, p = .00, η2 = .11. With the exception of a non-significant youth-father
conservation values difference, these results provided support for hypothesis 1.
Hypothesis 2. It was hypothesized that parent-youth cultural orientation discrepancies
would predict intergenerational conflict.
Perceived Arab orientation discrepancy and intergenerational conflict. The zeroorder correlations indicated that neither perceived parent nor youth Arab orientation were
significantly correlated with intergenerational conflict (see Table 10). In the hierarchical
regression, main effects entered in Step 1 accounted for a nonsignificant 0.4% of the
variance. The interaction term entered in Step 2 accounted for an additional 6.1% of the
explained variance. Results showed a significant perceived parent X youth Arab orientation
interaction.
Simple slope analysis revealed that the relation between perceived parent Arab
orientation and intergenerational conflict was significant and negative at high levels of youth
Arab orientation (b = -1.17, SE = .48, t = -2.46, p = .02), trending and negative at mean levels
77
of youth Arab orientation (b = -.59, SE = .31, t = -1.90, p = .06), and not significant at low
levels of youth Arab orientation (b = -.01, SE = .25, t = -.03, p = .98). To fully explore the
nature of the interaction, the Johnson-Neyman technique was applied to identify specific
transition points of youth Arab orientation at which the relation between perceived parent
Arab orientation and intergenerational conflict became significant. The conditional effect of
youth Arab orientation transitioned at 1.93 (low condition; b = .85, SE = .43, t = 1.98, p =
.05) and 3.23 (high condition; b = -.64, SE = .32, t = -1.98, p = .05). Scores below the 1.93
threshold and above the 3.23 threshold significantly moderated the effect of perceived parent
Arab orientation on intergenerational conflict.
Figure 5 illustrates that when youth Arab orientation was high (slightly above mean
levels and higher, as denoted by “J-N high” line), intergenerational conflict increased as
perceived parent Arab orientation decreased. Further, when youth Arab orientation was very
low (-2.5 SDs below the mean and lower, as denoted by “J-N low” line), intergenerational
conflict increased as perceived parent Arab orientation increased. These results provide
support for hypothesis 2 as they indicate that high youth Arab orientation combined with low
perceived parent Arab orientation, as well as very low youth Arab orientation combined with
high perceived parent Arab orientation, are associated with increased intergenerational
conflict.
Perceived Canadian orientation discrepancy and intergenerational conflict. The zeroorder correlations showed that perceived parent Canadian orientation was significantly
negatively associated with intergenerational conflict, whereas youth Canadian orientation was
not related to intergenerational conflict (see Table 10). In the hierarchical regression, main
effects entered at Step 1 predicted 8.8% of the variance. The interaction term entered in Step
2 accounted for an additional nonsignificant 2.8% of the explained variance. Results showed
a main effect for perceived parent Canadian orientation. As perceived parent Arab orientation
78
increased there was less intergenerational conflict. The perceived parent X youth Canadian
orientation discrepancy was trending.
As indicated above and given the difficulty in confirming interactions (Aiken & West,
1991), a follow-up simple slope analysis was examined. This analysis revealed that the
relation between perceived parent Canadian orientation and intergenerational conflict was
significant and negative at low and mean levels of youth Canadian orientation (bs = -1.00, .65, SEs = .27, .22, ts = -3.73, -3.03, ps = .000, .003, respectively), but not significant at high
levels of youth Canadian orientation (b = -.30, SE = .30, t = -1.00, p = .32). The JohnsonNeyman technique indicated that the conditional effect of youth Canadian orientation
transitioned at 3.51 (b = -.48, SE = .24, t = -1.98, p = .05). Scores above this threshold were
nonsignificant, whereas lower youth Canadian orientation scores significantly moderated the
effect of perceived parent Canadian orientation on intergenerational conflict.
Figure 6 illustrates that when youth Canadian orientation was high (.5 SDs and above,
as denoted by “J-N”) intergenerational conflict increased as perceived parent Canadian
orientation decreased. This result provides partial support for hypothesis 2, as high youth
Canadian orientation combined with low perceived parent Canadian orientation was
associated with increased intergenerational conflict.
Hypothesis 3. It was hypothesized that parent-youth cultural orientation discrepancies
would predict ethnocultural identity conflict.
Perceived Arab orientation discrepancy and ethnocultural identity conflict. The zeroorder correlations demonstrated that perceived parent Arab orientation was significantly and
negatively associated with ethnocultural identity conflict, whereas youth Arab orientation
was not related to ethnocultural identity conflict (see Table 11). In the hierarchical regression,
main effects entered at Step 1 predicted a nonsignificant 2.6% of the variance. The interaction
term entered in Step 2 accounted for an additional 10.7% of the predicted variance. Results
79
showed significant main effects for perceived parent and youth Arab orientation. Youth‟s
ethnocultural identity conflict increased as both perceived parent and youth levels of Arab
orientation increase. Of greatest interest was the significant perceived parent X youth Arab
orientation interaction.
Simple slope analysis indicated that the relation between perceived parent Arab
orientation and ethnocultural identity conflict was not significant at low levels of youth Arab
orientation (b = -.03, SE = .10, t = -.26, p = .79), but significant and negative at mean and
high levels of youth Arab orientation (bs = -.36, -.69, SEs = .13, .20, ts = -2.81, -3.52, ps =
.01, .00, respectively). The Johnson-Neyman technique found that the conditional effect of
youth Arab orientation transitioned at 2.22 (low condition; b = .27, SE = .14, t = 1.98, p =
.05) and 2.96 (high condition; b = -.21, SE = .11, t= -1.98, p= .05). Scores below the 2.22
threshold and above the 2.96 threshold significantly moderated the effect of perceived parent
Arab orientation on ethnocultural identity conflict.
Figure 7 indicates that when youth Arab orientation was high (-.5 SDs below the
mean and higher, as denoted by “J-N high” line), ethnocultural identity conflict increased as
perceived parent Arab orientation decreased. Further, when youth Arab orientation was very
low (-2 SDs below the mean and lower, as denoted by “J-N low” line), ethnocultural identity
conflict increased as perceived parent Arab orientation increased. These results provide
support for hypothesis 3 as they demonstrate that high youth Arab orientation combined with
low perceived parent Arab orientation, as well as very low youth Arab orientation combined
with high perceived parent Arab orientation, are associated with increased ethnocultural
identity conflict.
Perceived Canadian orientation discrepancy and ethnocultural identity conflict.
Neither perceived parent Canadian orientation nor youth Canadian orientation were
associated with ethnocultural identity conflict (see Table 11 for zero-order correlations). In
80
the hierarchical regression, main effects entered in Step 1 accounted for a nonsignificant
2.1% of the variance. The interaction term entered in Step 2 accounted for a nonsignificant
2.7% of the explained variance. Therefore, the interaction was not probed any further.
Hypothesis 4. It was hypothesized that parent-youth values discrepancies would
predict intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict.
Perceived conservation values discrepancy and intergenerational conflict. The zeroorder correlations showed that perceived parent conservation values was significantly
negatively associated with intergenerational conflict whereas youth conservation values was
not related to intergenerational conflict (see Table 12). In the hierarchical regression, main
effects entered at Step 1 predicted a nonsignificant 5.1% of the variance. The interaction term
entered in Step 2 accounted for an additional 7.0% of the predicted variance. Results showed
a significant main effect for youth conservation values and a main effect trend for perceived
parent conservation values. Intergenerational conflict increased as perceived parent
conservation values decreased and youth conservation values increased. Qualifying this result
was a significant perceived parent X youth conservation values interaction.
Simple slope analysis indicated that the relation between perceived parent
conservation values and intergenerational conflict was significant and negative at low, mean,
and high levels of youth conservation values (bs = -.27, -.47, -.67, SEs = .11, .14, .18, ts = 2.42, -3.43, -3.63, ps = .02, .001, .000, respectively). The Johnson-Neyman technique
demonstrated that the conditional effect of youth conservation values transitioned at 3.55 (b =
-.22, SE = .11, t = -1.98, p = .05). Scores above this threshold significantly moderated the
effect of perceived parent conservation values on intergenerational conflict.
Figure 8 indicates that when youth conservation values were high, intergenerational
conflict increased as perceived parent conservation values decreased. These results provide
some support for hypothesis 4 as they indicate that high youth conservation values combined
81
with lower perceived parent conservation values are associated with increased
intergenerational conflict.
Perceived openness to change values discrepancy and intergenerational conflict. The
zero-order correlations showed that perceived parent openness to change values was
significantly negatively associated with intergenerational conflict whereas youth openness to
change values was not related to intergenerational conflict (see Table 12). In the hierarchical
regression, main effects entered at Step 1 predicted a nonsignificant 4.8% of the variance.
The interaction term entered in Step 2 accounted for an additional 3.3% of the predicted
variance. Main effects were not significant; however, results showed a significant perceived
parent X youth openness to change values interaction.
Simple slope analysis demonstrated that the relation between perceived parent
openness to change values and intergenerational conflict was not significant at low levels of
youth openness to change values (b = -.07, SE = .13, t = -.52, p = .60), but significant and
negative at mean and high levels of youth openness to change values (bs = -.23, -.39, SEs =
.11, .13, ts = -2.02, -2.64, p = .05, .01, respectively). The Johnson-Neyman indicated that the
conditional effect of youth openness to change values transitioned at 4.68 (b = -.23, SE = .11,
t = -1.98, p = .05). Scores above this threshold significantly moderated the effect of perceived
parent openness to change values on intergenerational conflict.
Figure 9 illustrates that when youth openness to change values were high,
intergenerational conflict increased as perceived parent openness to change values decreased.
These results provide some support for hypothesis 4 as they indicate that high youth openness
to change values combined with low perceived parent openness to change values were
associated with increased intergenerational conflict.
Perceived conservation values discrepancy and ethnocultural identity conflict. As
seen in the zero-order correlations, neither perceived parent conservation values nor youth
82
conservation values were associated with ethnocultural identity conflict (see Table 13). In the
hierarchical regression, main effects entered at Step 1 predicted a nonsignificant 2.4% of the
variance. The interaction term entered in Step 2 accounted for an additional 4.5% of the
explained variance. Results showed a main effect trend for perceived parent and youth
conservation values. Ethnocultural identity conflict increased as both youth and perceived
parent conservation values increased. Of greatest interest was a significant perceived parent
X youth conservation values interaction.
Simple slope analysis revealed that the relation between perceived parent
conservation values and ethnocultural identity conflict was not significant at low levels of
youth conservation values (b = -.05, SE = .05, t = -.98, p = .33), trending and negative at
mean levels of youth conservation values (b = -.12, SE = .06, t = -1.94, p = .06), and
significant and negative at high levels of youth conservation values (b = -.19, SE = .08, t = 2.28, p = .02). The Johnson-Neyman technique indicated that the conditional effect of youth
conservation values transitioned at 4.82 (b = -.13, SE = .06, t = -1.98, p = .05). Scores above
this threshold significantly moderated the effect of perceived conservation values on
ethnocultural identity conflict.
Figure 10 illustrates that when youth conservation values are high, ethnocultural
identity conflict increases as perceived parent conservation values decrease. These results
provide some support for hypothesis 4 as they indicate that high youth conservation values
combined with low perceived parent conservation values are associated with increased
ethnocultural identity conflict.
Perceived openness to change values discrepancy and ethnocultural identity conflict.
Neither perceived parent openness to change values nor youth openness to change values
were associated with ethnocultural identity conflict (see Table 13 for zero-order correlations).
In the hierarchical regression, main effects entered at Step 1 accounted for a nonsignificant
83
1.8% of the variance. The interaction term entered in Step 2 accounted for a nonsignificant
0.4% of the explained variance. Therefore, the interaction was not probed any further.
Hypothesis 5. Strong parent-youth relationships were expected to moderate the
associations between perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict.
Perceived Arab orientation discrepancies and intergenerational conflict. Parent-youth
relationship was significantly negatively associated with intergenerational conflict, whereas
perceived parent and youth Arab orientation were not related to intergenerational conflict (see
Table 14). In the hierarchical regression, main effects entered at Step 1 accounted for 27.3%
of the variance. The interaction term entered in Step 2 accounted for an additional 5.5% of
the explained variance. Results showed significant main effects for perceived parent and
youth Arab orientation. Intergenerational conflict increases as both perceived parent and
youth Arab orientation increases. Qualifying these results was a significant perceived parent
X youth Arab orientation X parent-youth relationship interaction.
Simple slope analysis indicated that the relation between perceived Arab orientation
discrepancy (i.e., perceived parent X youth Arab orientation) and intergenerational conflict
was trending and negative at low levels of parent-youth relationship (b = .08, SE = .05, t =
1.79, p = .08), but nonsignificant at mean and high levels of parent-youth relationship (bs =
.00, -.09, SEs = .04, .06, ts = -.06, -1.54, ps = .95, .13, respectively). The Johnson-Neyman
technique indicated that the conditional effect of parent-youth relationships transitioned at
143.01 (b = .10, SE = .05, t = 1.98, p = .05). Scores above this threshold were nonsignificant,
whereas lower parent-youth relationship scores significantly moderated the effect of
perceived Arab orientation discrepancy on intergenerational conflict. Figure 11 illustrates
that intergenerational conflict as a function of perceived parent Arab orientation discrepancy
increases when the parent-youth relationship is weak, providing some support for hypothesis
5.
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Perceived Canadian orientation discrepancy and intergenerational conflict. The zeroorder correlations showed that perceived parent Canadian orientation and parent-youth
relationships were significantly and negatively associated with intergenerational conflict,
whereas youth Canadian orientation was not related to intergenerational conflict (see Table
14). In the hierarchical regression, main effects entered at Step 1 accounted for 29.2% of the
variance. The interaction term entered in Step 2 accounted for an additional nonsignificant
0.8% of the explained variance. Results showed significant main effects for parent-youth
relationships. Intergenerational conflict decreased as strong parent-youth relationships
increased.
Perceived conservation values discrepancy and intergenerational conflict. The zeroorder correlations showed that parent-youth relationships and perceived parent conservation
values were significantly negatively associated with intergenerational conflict, whereas youth
conservation values were not related to intergenerational conflict (see Table 15). In the
hierarchical regression, main effects entered at Step 1 accounted for 24.2% of the variance.
The interaction term entered in Step 2 accounted for an additional 4.4% of the explained
variance. Results showed a significant main effect for youth conservation values, with
intergenerational conflict increasing as youth conservation values increase. Of greatest
interest and qualifying this result was a significant perceived parent X youth conservation
values X parent-youth relationship interaction.
Simple slope analysis revealed that the relation between perceived conservation
values discrepancy (i.e., perceived parent X youth conservation values) and intergenerational
conflict was not significant at low and mean levels of parent-youth relationship (bs = .01, .01, SEs = .02, .01, ts = .49, -1.25, ps = .63, .21, respectively), but significant and negative at
high levels of parent-youth relationship (b = -.04, SE = .02, t = -2.30, p = .02). The JohnsonNeyman technique showed that the conditional effect of parent-youth relationships
85
transitioned at 202.01 (b = -.02, SE = .01, t = -1.98, p = .05). Scores below this threshold
were nonsignificant, whereas higher parent-youth relationship scores significantly moderated
the effect of perceived conservation values discrepancy on intergenerational conflict. Figure
12 illustrates that intergenerational conflict decreases as a function of perceived conservation
values discrepancy when the parent-youth relationship is strong, providing some support for
hypothesis 5.
Perceived openness to change values discrepancy and intergenerational conflict.
Perceived parent openness to change values and parent-youth relationships were significantly
and negatively associated with intergenerational conflict, whereas youth openness to change
values were not related to intergenerational conflict (see Table 15 for zero-order
correlations). In the hierarchical regression, main effects entered at Step 1 accounted for
24.7% of the variance. The interaction entered in Step 2 accounted for an additional
nonsignificant 0.5% of the explained variance. Results showed a significant main effect for
parent-youth relationships. Intergenerational conflict decreased as strong parent-youth
relationships increased.
Perceived Arab orientation discrepancy and ethnocultural identity conflict. The zeroorder correlations indicated that parent-youth relationships was significantly associated with
ethnocultural identity conflict, whereas perceived parent and youth Arab orientation were not
related to ethnocultural identity conflict (see Table 16). In the hierarchical regression, main
effects entered at Step 1 accounted for 15.7% of the variance. The interaction entered in Step
2 accounted for an additional 4.5% of the predicted variance. Results showed a main effect
for youth Arab orientation and a main effect trend for perceived parent Arab orientation.
Ethnocultural identity conflict increased as youth Arab orientation increases. Qualifying these
results was a significant perceived parent youth Arab orientation X parent-youth relationship
interaction.
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Simple slope analysis showed that the relation between perceived Arab orientation
discrepancy (i.e., perceived parent X youth Arab orientation) and ethnocultural identity
conflict was not significant at low and mean levels of parent-youth relationship (bs = .00, .02, SEs = .02, 02, ts = -.11, -1.43, ps = .91, .16, respectively), but trending and negative at
high levels of parent-youth relationship (b = -.05, SE = .03, t = -1.77, p = .08). The JohnsonNeyman technique was unable to identify a specific point at which parent-youth relationship
moderated the effect of perceived Arab orientation discrepancy on ethnocultural identity
conflict, as the conditional effect only approached significance at 220.65 (b = -.05, SE = .03, t
= -1.77, p = .08). Figure 13 indicates that ethnocultural identity conflict decreased as a
function of perceived Arab orientation discrepancy when the parent-youth relationship was
strong, providing some directional support for hypothesis 5.
Perceived Canadian orientation discrepancy and ethnocultural identity conflict. From
the zero-order correlations, it can be seen that parent-youth relationships were significantly
negatively associated with ethnocultural identity conflict whereas perceived parent Canadian
orientation and youth Canadian orientation were not related to ethnocultural identity conflict
(see Table 16). In the hierarchical regression, main effects entered at Step 1 accounted for
18.2% of the variance. The interaction term entered in Step 2 accounted for nonsignificant
0.3% of the explained variance. Results showed a main effect for parent-youth relationships.
Ethnocultural identity conflict decreased as strong parent-youth relationships increased.
Perceived conservation values discrepancy and ethnocultural identity conflict. The
zero-order correlations show that parent-youth relationships were significantly and negatively
associated with ethnocultural identity conflict whereas perceived parent conservation values
and youth conservation values were not related to ethnocultural identity conflict (see Table
17). In the hierarchical regression, main effects entered at Step 1 accounted for 14.8% of the
variance. The interaction term entered at Step 2 accounted for no further variance. Results
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showed a significant main effect for parent-youth relationships. Ethnocultural identity
conflict decreased as strong parent-youth relationships increased.
Perceived openness to change values discrepancy and ethnocultural identity conflict.
Parent-youth relationships were significantly and negatively associated with ethnocultural
identity conflict whereas perceived parent and youth openness to change values were not
related to ethnocultural identity conflict (see zero-order correlations in Table 17). In the
hierarchical regression, main effects entered at Step 1 accounted for 14.6% of the variance.
The interaction term entered in Step 2 accounted for an additional nonsignificant 0.3% of the
explained variance. Results showed a significant main effect for parent-youth relationships.
Ethnocultural identity conflict decreased as strong parent-youth relationships increased.
Results Summary
The results of this study provided broad support for hypotheses 1 through 4 (see Table
18). First, youth perceived themselves to be significantly more oriented toward Canadian
culture and openness to change values than both parents, and significantly less oriented
toward Arab culture and conservation values than both parents (father-youth discrepancy was
directionally but not statistically supported).
Hypothesis 2 was largely supported, as two types of perceived Arab orientation
discrepancies were found to predict intergenerational conflict: high youth Arab orientation
combined with low perceived parent Arab orientation, as well as very low youth Arab
orientation combined with high perceived parent Arab orientation. Further, one type of
perceived Canadian orientation discrepancy significantly predicted intergenerational conflict:
high youth Canadian orientation combined with low perceived parent Canadian orientation.
Hypothesis 3 also received some support, as two types of perceived Arab orientation
discrepancies were found to predict ethnocultural identity conflict: high youth Arab
orientation combined with lower perceived parent Arab orientation, as well as very low youth
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Arab orientation combined with high perceived parent Arab orientation. Contrary to
expectations, perceived Canadian orientation discrepancy did not predict ethnocultural
identity conflict.
Hypothesis 4 received broad support, as one type of perceived conservation values
discrepancy and perceived openness to change values discrepancy predicted intergenerational
conflict: high youth conservation values combined with low perceived parent conservation
values, as well as high youth openness to change values combined with low perceived parent
openness to change values. Further, one type of perceived conservation discrepancy
significantly predicted ethnocultural identity conflict: high youth conservation values
combined with low perceived parent conservation values. Contrary to expectations, perceived
openness to change values discrepancy did not predict ethnocultural identity conflict.
Hypothesis 5 received some support, as parent-youth relationships moderated the
association between two types of perceived cultural discrepancies and intergenerational
conflict. Specifically, intergenerational conflict increased as a function of perceived Arab
orientation discrepancy when the parent-youth relationship was weak, but decreased as a
function of perceived conservation values discrepancy when the parent-youth relationship
was strong. Contrary to expectations, parent-youth relationships did not moderate the
association between perceived Canadian orientation discrepancy and perceived openness to
change values discrepancy. Hypothesis 5 received further support as ethnocultural identity
conflict marginally decreased as a function of perceived Arab orientation discrepancy when
the parent-youth relationship was strong. Contrary to expectations, parent-youth relationships
did moderate the association between perceived Canadian orientation discrepancy, perceived
openness to change values discrepancy, and perceived conservation values discrepancy.
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Discussion
In Study 1, immigrant Arab youth in Canada provided rich descriptions of their life
experiences in Canada. Many of their stories were related to their perception of parent-youth
cultural discrepancies and their association with conflict. The findings from the qualitative
inquiry provided support for a conceptual model positing that perceived cultural
discrepancies were associated with more intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity
conflict, but that this association was moderated by parent-youth relationships.
In Study 2, this model was quantitatively tested. The results generally confirmed that
youth perceived discrepancies between their parents in relation to their Arab and Canadian
culture orientation, as well as their conservation and openness to change values. These
discrepancies, in turn, were broadly associated with increased conflict. In some cases,
however, strong parent-youth relationships were associated with less conflict as a function of
perceived cultural discrepancies, whereas in others, weak parent-youth relationships were
associated with more conflict as a function of perceived cultural discrepancies. Overall, this
study achieved its aims by largely confirming the findings in Study 1 using a quantitative
method.
Consistent with hypothesis 1, youth were significantly less oriented toward Arab
culture and more oriented toward Canadian culture than they perceived their parents to be.
Similarly, youth‟s endorsement of conservation values (mothers only) was significantly
weaker than their perceptions of their parents‟ values, whereas youth‟s endorsement of
openness to change values was significantly stronger than their perception of their parents‟
values. Although youth‟s conservation values did not differ significantly from their
perception of their father‟s conservation values, this hypothesis was directionally supported.
Overall, these findings provide support for the first assumption of the acculturation gapdistress model, which is consistent with Study 1 and many previous studies suggesting that
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youth are more aligned to the settlement culture and values than their parents, who are more
aligned with the heritage culture and values (for review, see Kwak, 2003; Costigan & Dokis,
2006b).
Generally, immigrant parents are more oriented toward the heritage culture because
they were fully socialized and reached maturity in their country of origin (Costigan & Dokis,
2006b). Immigrant youth, on the other hand, are socialized in two cultural environments by a
number of agents, including parents, peers, and teachers (Schönpflug, 2001a; 2001b), who
may emphasize conflicting behaviours and values (Phinney et al., 2000). For example, youth
may spend the first part of their lives in their country of origin, where their parents, peers, and
teachers are likely to have congruent behavioural repertoires and personal values systems.
Post-migration (particularly when moving to a culturally-distant settlement country), peers
and teachers may transmit different behaviours and values than parents. Concurrently,
immigrant parents are challenged to balance their desire to prepare children for life in the
new culture, which may require emphasizing values that are inconsistent with their own (Tam
& Lee, 2010), as they also undergo their individual acculturation process (Bornstein & Cote,
2006). As a result, parental messages are less clear and consistent in immigrant families,
which compromises heritage culture socialization (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2006) and value
transmission (Grusec & Goodnow, 1994; Knafo & Schwartz, 2001), creating an opportunity
for parents and youth to experience discrepancies with respect to their cultural orientation and
values.
Many perceived cultural discrepancies, in turn, were associated with significantly
more intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict, consistent with hypotheses
2 through 4 (refer to Table 18). As demonstrated in Study 1, perceived cultural discrepancies
signify conflicting perspectives, which can hinder parent‟s and youth‟s ability to relate to one
another, trigger intergenerational conflict (Ahn et al., 2008; Tsai-Chae & Nagata, 2008) and
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complicate identity development (Schwartz, Montgomery, & Briones, 2006; Stuart & Ward,
2011). Although some scholars have argued that cultural discrepancies are associated with
poorer outcomes by way of a weakened bond (e.g., Choi et al., 2008), very few studies have
tested relational aspects of parent-youth dyads as a moderator (for exception, see Kim &
Park, 2011; Schofield et al., 2008; Weaver & Kim, 2008).
The present study built on this idea by testing parent-youth relationships as a
moderator of the association between perceived cultural discrepancies and both
intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. Consistent with hypothesis 5,
this study found that when the parent-youth relationship was weak, perceived Arab
orientation discrepancies were associated with more intergenerational conflict, and when the
parent-youth relationship was strong, perceived conservation values discrepancies were
associated with less intergenerational conflict. Further, ethnocultural identity conflict
decreases marginally as a function of perceived Arab orientation discrepancy when the
parent-youth relationship is strong. These findings suggest that the parent-youth relationship
may have two different functions in immigrant families faced with perceived discrepancies:
risk or protective factors.
First, perceived cultural discrepancies may weaken the parent-youth bond, making it
difficult to relate to one another, and leading to poorer outcomes including conflict (e.g.,
Crockett et al., 2007). Alternatively, perceived cultural discrepancies may be more likely to
occur in a context lacking parental warmth (e.g., Kim, Chen, Li, Huang, & Moon, 2009). This
idea is consistent with previous research suggesting that parental warmth is associated with
increased cultural orientation (e.g., Costigan & Dokis, 2006a) and value similarity (e.g., Rudy
& Grusec, 2001; Schönpflug, 2001a, 2001b).
Second, strong parent-youth relationships may protect against the negative effects of
perceived cultural discrepancies. Indeed, this theme emerged strongly in Study 1, as youth
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who characterized their relationship with their parents as strong, marked by closeness,
communication, and support were less likely to experience conflict. This idea is also
consistent with Stuart, Ward, Jose, and Narayanan‟s (2010) recent qualitative study, in which
African, Middle Eastern, and Asian parents and youth in New Zealand noted that despite
some differing viewpoints, their families endeavoured to support one another through the
challenges of acculturation. Overall, these two findings support the previously suggested idea
that immigrant families can be the source of both stress and support (Phinney & Ong, 2007a;
Ward et al., 2010).
It is important to note that many of the perceived cultural discrepancies reported in
this study occurred in unexpected directions. Specifically, intergenerational conflict was
predicted by perceived Arab cultural orientation discrepancies when youth were strongly
oriented to the Arab culture and perceived their parents to be weakly oriented to the Arab
culture. However, intergenerational conflict was also heightened when youth were very
weakly oriented to the Arab culture and perceived their parents to be strongly oriented to the
Arab culture, indicating that with respect to Arab orientation predicting intergenerational
conflict, discrepancies in both directions were problematic. Intergenerational conflict was
also predicted by perceived conservation values discrepancies when youth strongly endorsed
conservation values and perceived their parents to weakly endorse conservation values.
Similarly, ethnocultural identity conflict was predicted by perceived Arab cultural orientation
discrepancies when youth were strongly oriented to the Arab culture and perceived their
parents to be weakly oriented to the Arab culture. In this case, both types of discrepancies
were associated with increased ethnocultural identity conflict. Ethnocultural identity conflict
was also predicted by perceived conservation values discrepancies when youth strongly
endorsed conservation values and perceived their parents to weakly endorse conservation
values. Taken together, these results suggest that the second assumption of the acculturation
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gap-distress model is not limited to discrepancies in the expected direction, and underscores
the importance of examining all four possible discrepancies (Telzer, 2010). Moreover, these
findings suggest that perhaps unexpected discrepancies are also problematic, which has also
been found in recent investigations (e.g., Lim et al., 2009).
The present study initially intended to examine perceived cultural discrepancies,
intergenerational conflict, and parent-youth relationships independently for mothers and
fathers. However, the very high intercorrelations in Study 2 necessitated the formation of
aggregate parent variables. Although perceived cultural discrepancies, intergenerational
conflict, and parent-youth relationships appeared to be very similar for mothers and fathers
across both studies, future research is needed to further evaluate this finding.
In sum and consistent with its aims, Study 2 found that youth perceived cultural
discrepancies between themselves and their parents, which were in turn related to
intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict (Aim 1). Moreover, parent-youth
relationships were found to moderate the associations between perceived cultural
discrepancies and intergenerational conflict (Aim 2).
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CHAPTER 4: GENERAL DISCUSSION
This program of research was the first to comprehensively examine the cultural
experiences of immigrant Arab Canadian youth using a mixed-methods research approach. In
particular, these studies were guided by two aims. First, the extent to which youth perceived
cultural discrepancies between themselves and their parents, as well as how they relate to
intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict, was examined. Second, factors
that moderate the associations between perceived cultural discrepancies and both types of
conflict were examined. This chapter is framed within these aims, and is divided into several
sections, discussing the prevalence of perceived cultural discrepancies, their relation to
conflict, and the role of parent-youth relationships. Implications, limitations, future
directions, and conclusions follow this discussion.
Studies 1 and 2 Summary
In both studies, immigrant Arab Canadian youth perceived cultural discrepancies
between themselves and their parents. Overall, youth were more oriented toward Canadian
culture and openness to change values, and less oriented toward Arab culture and
conservation values than they perceived their parents to be.
Perceived cultural discrepancies, in turn, were associated with more intergenerational
conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict in both studies, but to varying degrees. In Study 1,
perceived cultural discrepancies with both parents were related to intergenerational conflict
and ethnocultural identity conflict. In Study 2, however, ethnocultural identity conflict was
predicted by perceived Arab orientation and conservation values discrepancies with parents,
whereas intergenerational conflict was predicted by openness to change and conservation
values discrepancies with their parents. It is important to note that not all perceived cultural
discrepancies were associated with increased conflict (i.e.., neither perceived Canadian
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orientation discrepancies nor perceived openness to change values discrepancies predicted
ethnocultural identity conflict).
Both studies found that parent-youth relationships moderated the association between
perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict. In Study 1, parent-youth relationships
functioned as either a protective or a risk factor. Specifically, parent-youth relationships that
were marked by openness, communication, and support protected against the experience of
conflict as a function of perceived cultural discrepancies, whereas weak and distant
relationships exacerbated the effect of perceived cultural discrepancies on conflict. Support in
Study 2 was more limited, as parent-youth relationships only moderated the associations
between perceived Arab orientation and conservation values discrepancies and
intergenerational conflict.
Testing the Acculturation Gap-Distress Hypothesis
The acculturation gap-distress hypothesis is predicated on two assumptions that were
evaluated by the present studies. First, discrepancies exist between parents and youth, to the
extent that parents are more likely to be oriented to the heritage culture and values than
youth, who are more likely to be oriented to the settlement culture and values. Second,
discrepancies are associated with poorer individual and familial outcomes. This program of
research found that perceived cultural discrepancies exist in immigrant Arab Canadian
families, and that they are associated with increased intergenerational conflict and
ethnocultural identity conflict.
These studies addressed Aim 1 by examining the extent to which perceived cultural
discrepancies exist in immigrant Arab Canadian families. Using a mixed-methods approach,
this program of research demonstrated that immigrant Arab youth perceive discrepancies
between themselves and their parents both in relation to heritage and settlement culture
orientation as well as values. One of the primary benefits of multiple-case narrative studies is
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that they elicit thick and rich accounts of individual‟s life experiences (Riessman, 2005).
Using this method, Study 1 was able to identify specific attitudes, behaviours, and values
around which youth perceived cultural discrepancies between themselves and their parents.
These included clothing, conceptions of fun, dating and marriage, education and career,
family rules, heritage culture maintenance, social interaction, social status, and tolerance of
others (refer to Table 5). Overall, these findings are consistent with many previous
investigations which have found that youth are more oriented toward the settlement culture
and values than their parents, who are more oriented toward the heritage culture and values
than their children (e.g., Birman, 2006a; Birman, 2006b; Buki, Ma, Strom, & Strom, 2003;
Costigan & Dokis, 2006b; Crane, Ngai, Larsen, & Hafen, 2005).
The relation between perceived cultural discrepancies and both intergenerational
conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict is broadly consistent with previous research
reporting that discrepancies negatively affect individual and familial adjustment (see TardifWilliams & Fisher, 2009; Telzer, 2010). For example, in a study of immigrant Chinese
mother-child dyads in Canada, intergenerational conflict occurred more frequently and
around issues that were more emotionally intense when there was a settlement orientation
discrepancy in the expected direction. Similarly, Farver, Narang, and Bhadha (2002) found
that less intergenerational conflict occurred when Asian Indian American parents and
adolescents held similar heritage and settlement culture orientations.
Some research has also stressed that identity development is complicated by cultural
discrepancies. For example, in South Asian immigrant families in New Zealand, Stuart and
Ward (2011) found that increased “acculturative conflict” (i.e., discrepant views around
issues relating to migration) were associated with heightened ethnocultural identity conflict.
Similarly, Schwartz and colleagues (2006) argued that youth‟s personal identity development
(defined as the “goals, values, and beliefs that an individual adopts and holds” p. 6) is more
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challenging when parents are less oriented to the settlement society than were their youth
(and by extension, more oriented to the heritage culture) as their ability to provide guidance
on how to navigate the new environment is limited. Schwartz and colleagues noted that these
issues are particularly relevant for non-Western collectivist families in Western individualist
societies, such as Arabs in Canada.
In sum, the present program of research provided support for the acculturation gapdistress model, in that youth were generally more oriented toward settlement culture and
values than their perception of their parents, who were in turn more oriented toward heritage
culture and values than their children. Moreover, perceived cultural discrepancies were
associated with increased intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict.
Extending the Literature: Personal Values and Conflict
To date, the broader acculturation literature and cultural discrepancies research have
focused on attitudes and behaviours, with much less attention to personal values. Specifically,
the vast majority of measures used in these fields are dominated by cultural practices, and to
a lesser extent, cultural identification, with very few measures containing items around values
(and even fewer with issues relating to personal as opposed to cultural values) (for review,
see Celenk & van de Vijver, 2011; refer to Table 1). Addressing this limitation, the present
program of research was one of the first studies to explicitly examine whether perceived
personal values discrepancies along the openness to change versus conservation values
dimension were associated with increased intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural
identity conflict.
It is important to consider perceived values discrepancies in addition to perceived
cultural orientation discrepancies because immigrants tend to modify their behaviours (i.e.,
public domain) more readily than their identity or values (i.e., private domain) (van de Vijver
& Phalet, 2004). As a result, many immigrants prefer integration in the public domain and
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separation in the private domain (Arends-Tóth & van de Vijver, 2003; Snauwert, Soenens,
Vanbeselaere, & Boen, 2003). Although the LIB and other measures of acculturation contain
items relating to identity – which constitutes one aspect of the private domain – these
measures tend to include a few broad items. To overcome these limitations, this program of
research examined personal values in addition to behaviours and attitudes to provide a more
comprehensive overview of the acculturation process. Further, Study 2 used an extensive and
well-established values measure that examining personal values that are consistent with both
heritage and settlement cultural norms, providing a theoretical parallel to acculturation
theory. In addition, immigrants can use cultural frame switching to shift between heritage and
settlement culture skill sets in response to cultural cues, as a way of managing their
sociocultural environments (Benet- Martínez et al., 2002; Cheng et al., 2006; Hong et al.,
2000; Nguyen & Benet- Martínez, 2007). For example, immigrant youth can emphasize
autonomy at school and relatedness within their families to minimize conflict and ensure
success in these contexts (Ko et al., 2009). Values, on the other hand, are intrinsic, broad life
goals that cannot be alternated, as they are changed through repeated priming or repeated reevaluation of a target message across a range of different situations (Bardi & Goodwin,
2011).
According to Grusec and Goodnow‟s (1994) influential value transmission model,
value transmission successfully occurs when youth accurately perceive and accept their
parents‟ values. Thus, values discrepancies may arise from inaccurate perception and/or
rejection of parental value messages. In non-immigrant families, youth are more likely to
accurately perceive their parents‟ values given their increased consistency with normative
cultural values. As a result, internalizing their parents‟ values is likely to equip them for
success in their sociocultural environment. In immigrant families, however, parents‟ value
messages are often less clear and consistent (Bornstein & Cote, 2006; Knafo & Schwartz,
99
2001) as parents undergo their own acculturation process (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2006) and
struggle with whether to transmit heritage culture values that may be less adaptive in the
settlement society or emphasize settlement culture values that may conflict with their own
personal values (Tam & Lee, 2010). Similarly, immigrant youth may have more difficulty
interpreting their parents‟ values and be more reluctant to adopt them if these values hinder
their own acculturation process, particularly as they become more acclimated to the
settlement society (Phinney et al., 2000).
The associations between perceived values discrepancies and conflict are broadly
consistent with previous studies that have found that parent-youth value incongruence is
associated with more intergenerational conflict (e.g., Ahn et al., 2008; Tsai-Chae & Nagata,
2008). Overall, values discrepancies are associated with conflicting perspectives, which may
hinder parent‟s and youth‟s ability to relate to one another and contributes to
intergenerational conflict.
In contrast to intergenerational conflict, few studies have examined the association
between perceived values discrepancies and ethnocultural identity conflict (for exception, see
Ward, 2008). When the heritage and settlement cultures are distant, the family is likely to
espouse values that compete with those espoused by the school and peers. As a result, youth
will have difficulty reconciling competing belief systems as a function of their “divided
loyalties” (Hernandez, Montgomery, & Kurtines, 2006). Indeed, neo-Eriksonian identity
theorists have argued that an individual‟s personal and social identity is developed through
the negotiation of their personal and social contexts (Schwartz et al., 2006). Developing an
achieved identity also becomes more difficult when youth perceive values discrepancies
between themselves and their parents, as they have to reconcile discrepancies within their
family context, as well as between their family and other dominant contexts.
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The relation between perceived values discrepancies and both intergenerational
conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict demonstrated in Studies 1 and 2 is especially
significant because it was grounded in personal as opposed to cultural values. Cultural values
reflect the average normative values across society, and are not representative of all
individuals within a society. In contrast, personal values account for individual differences by
examining the principles and broad life goals that guide an individual‟s life. Although
cultural values rated individually do assess personal values, they are limited to ratings of the
types of values identified as important at the cultural level, and therefore may not represent
all salient values. For example, many studies examined value congruence in immigrant
families with only measures of Asian values in East Asian samples (e.g., Ahn et al., 2008;
Choi et al., 2008). In contrast, these studies used a near-universal personal values theory and
structure (Schwartz, 2011) to examine perceived discrepancies on values dimensions that are
consistent both with immigrant Arab Canadian‟s heritage culture values (i.e., conservation,
and its underlying tradition, conformity, and security values) as well as the settlement culture
values (i.e., openness to change, and its underlying stimulation, self-direction, and hedonism
values). The inclusion of both dimensions is important because it parallels acculturation
theory by emphasizing the independence and salience of both heritage and settlement
dimensions, but also because both sets of values discrepancies were found to relate to conflict
across both studies.
Overall, this program of research demonstrated that immigrant Arab youth in Canada
perceive discrepancies between themselves and their parents which are, in turn, associated
with increased intergenerational conflict and heightened ethnocultural identity conflict.
Therefore, these studies largely confirmed the two assumptions of the acculturation gapdistress model using cultural orientations but also extended into the realm of personal values.
In contrast to the vast majority of cultural discrepancies research, these studies also explored
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and tested moderators of the association between cultural discrepancies and conflict.
Consistent with some previous studies (e.g., Kim & Park, 2011; Schofield et al., 2008;
Weaver & Kim, 2008), parent-youth relationships were identified as a moderator of this
association in Study 1 and tested using quantitative data in Study 2.
Parent-Youth Relationships in Immigrant Arab Canadian Families
The second aim of this program of research was to examine factors that moderate the
association between perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict. This was achieved in two
stages. First, specific facets of the parent-youth relationship that may mitigate or exacerbate
the effect of perceived cultural discrepancies on both intergenerational conflict and
ethnocultural identity conflict were examined. The results of Study 1 suggested that parental
warmth and control were compatible, as large proportions of youth characterized their
relationship with one or more of their parents as strict and emphasized the importance of
obedience within their family, but also described their relationship with their parents as
strong, marked by open communication, instrumental support, and closeness. Moreover,
youth who described a close, supportive, and communicative bond were less likely to
experience conflict, even when faced with perceived cultural discrepancies. Second, these
aspects of parent-youth relationships were tested as moderators in Study 2; a finding that was
confirmed to an extent.
Overall, the results of this program of research indicated that parent-youth
relationships moderated the association between perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict
in two ways. Specifically, strong parent-youth relationships protected against the experience
of intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict as a function of perceived
cultural discrepancies, whereas weak parent-youth relationships exacerbated the effects of
perceived cultural discrepancies on conflict.
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This finding is consistent with previous research suggesting that immigrant families
may be the source of both stress and support (see Phinney & Ong, 2007c; Ward et al., 2010).
In the case of immigrant youth, parents may be stressors to the extent that they respond to
cultural change by imposing strict boundaries which ultimately make it difficult for parents
and youth to relate to one another and impede adjustment. For example, in a qualitative study
of Hispanic mothers and youth living in the United States, Wagner, Ritt-Olson, Soto,
Rodriguez, Baezconde-Garbanati, and Ungar (2008) found that mothers and youth had
different ideas around freedom and independence. Specifically, youth believed that their
parents were stricter than American parents and did not understand the pressures that they
were under to fit into the new environment. Discrepancies in parental and youth perceptions
of appropriate levels of strictness and autonomy promotion, in turn, were associated with
poorer individual (i.e., depressive symptoms; Sher-Censor, Parke, & Coltrane, 2011) and
familial outcomes (i.e., intergenerational conflict; Bacallao & Smokowski, 2007).
However, the association between perceived cultural discrepancies, parental control,
and negative outcomes is qualified by the nature and quality of the parent-youth relationship.
For example, in a study of immigrant Chinese triads (mother, father, child) living in Canada,
Costigan and Dokis (2006a) found that acculturation discrepancies occurred to a larger extent
in families characterized by lower levels of parental warmth. This is consistent with other
research which has found that cultural discrepancies are associated with decreased family
cohesion (Ho & Birman, 2010; Smokowski et al., 2008).
Further, perceived cultural discrepancies may not be associated with poorer outcomes
if youth have positive perceptions of parental control. For example, in a qualitative study of
immigrant Mexican American families, many youth equated parental control with care and
concern (Crockett et al., 2007). This is consistent with the idea that youth may be more
receptive to parental influence, rules, and values if they occur within a supportive and warm
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environment (e.g., Kim et al., 2009). Importantly, this idea also supports previous literature
that has argued that parental warmth and control can be compatible in non-Western families.
As Chao (1994) argued, authoritarianism and control were maladaptive for European
American but not Chinese or Chinese American families. Chao then explored other important
aspects of Chinese parenting that had been overlooked by Western researchers. Focusing on
the cultural context of Chinese families, Chao found that parenting also included a warmth
dimension, referred to as guan (“training”). In European American families, behaviours on
the training dimension were considered controlling. However, because training in Chinese
and immigrant Chinese families is accompanied by warmth, it is not only adaptive but also
conducive to Chinese youth‟s adjustment.
The present findings found that intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity
conflict were less likely to occur as a function of perceived cultural discrepancies when
parent-youth relationships were strong. Alternatively, perceived cultural discrepancies were
more likely to relate to conflict when parent-youth relationships were weak. Across both
studies, strong relationships were characterized by closeness and communication. The
findings of Study 1 also indicated that parental warmth and control may be compatible in
immigrant Arab families, which is consistent with previous research (e.g., Rasmi et al., 2012;
Rudy & Grusec, 2006).
Social and Policy Implications
Despite the tremendous strengths and resources that many immigrant families
possess, the acculturation process can be strenuous. Immigrants encounter formidable barriers
such as language difficulties, discrimination and racism, and changes in family dynamics and
relationships, as they reconstruct their social world in the settlement society (Suárez-Orozco
& Suárez-Orozco, 2001). Immigrant-service agencies as well as non-settlement, communitybased organizations have attempted to provide effective programs and services to attenuate
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the adjustment of immigrant youth and families in Canada (Chuang et al., 2011). Although
some acculturation-specific issues are difficult to address, service provider organizations can
offer assistance in developing and promoting protective factors. The results of this program
of research provided evidence that parent-youth relationships may play a key role in the
experience of intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict as a function of
perceived cultural discrepancies. By developing our knowledge of these issues, settlement
programs and services that provide newcomer youth and families with the appropriate skills
and tools to navigate their experience of cultural discrepancies (actual or perceived), conflict,
and subsequent adjustment can be designed, implemented, and evaluated. This program of
research suggest that there are two avenues for us to accomplish this goal: reducing cultural
discrepancies and/or improving parent-youth relationships. To accomplish this, we must build
collaborative efforts with various stakeholders (academics, service providers, policy makers)
to move towards a more systematic and effective research and action agenda in dealing with
the challenges and barriers of immigration and settlement facing immigrant youth and
families.
To date, the deficit perspective has guided most immigration research, and as a result,
researchers and practitioners have focused their attention on treatment strategies and riskbased prevention programs (Park, 2004), as opposed to strengths-based programs and
services that could facilitate immigrant youth and families‟ positive adjustment in Canada. As
found in these two studies, immigrant Arab Canadian youth generally viewed their
relationship with their parents as strong, marked by communication and closeness. Further,
strong parent-youth relationships in this program of research buffered the experience of
intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict as a function of perceived
cultural discrepancies, whereas weak parent-youth relationships exacerbated the experience
of conflict as a function of perceived discrepancies. Thus, these studies underscores the
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necessity of developing initiatives and services that decrease cultural orientation and values
discrepancies between parents and youth, and suggests that fostering adaptive family
relationships may attenuate the experience of conflict.
The results of this program of research suggest that it would be beneficial to develop a
program that fosters strong parent-youth relationships to protect against negative
acculturation outcomes. An exemplar of such a program is Familias Unidas (“United
Families”), a family-centered intervention developed in the United States to reduce and
prevent problem behaviour among Hispanic adolescents (Coatsworth, Pantin, & Szapocznik,
2002). Familias Unidas is a multilevel intervention targeting parents, and seeks to improve
family cohesion (i.e., close bond, communication, and shared activities), as well as family
structure (i.e., setting and enforcing clear rules and expectations). In particular, Familias
Unidas teaches specific parenting skills that relate to behavioural control and improving the
emotional quality of the relationships, which in turn are expected to protect against the
experience of intergenerational conflict as a function of cultural discrepancies. One of the
central tenets of Familias Unidas is that it is grounded in an eco-developmental model, and
recognizes that fostering strong parent-youth relationships will have spill over effects into
other dominant social contexts (i.e., peers and school). For example, increasing family
cohesion and strengthening family structure will likely lead to increased parental investment
in academic achievement, and supervision of their children‟s peer relationships. Moreover,
Familias Unidas endeavours to create a support network among parents in the program, to
help them cope with the challenges of raising a child in the society of settlement, and to fill
the void of leaving their extended families behind. Overall, Familias Unidas has been found
to be a successful intervention, particularly in the area of improving parent-youth
relationships and increasing parental investment, which in turn protects against problem
behaviours (Pantin, Coatsworth, Feaster, Newman, Briones, Prados et al., 2003).
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The results of these studies suggest that developing a program similar to Familias
Unidas for immigrant Arab families may be conducive to their adjustment. Similar to
Familias Unidas, this program should be directed towards parents, as they are the most
powerful socializing agent and interact with other agents to influence their children‟s
developmental and adjustment outcomes.
If such a program is developed within the realm of cultural relativism, the program
would be consistent with the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, which aims to “recognize and
promote the understanding that multiculturalism reflects the cultural and racial diversity of
Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of all members of Canadian society to
preserve, enhance, and share their cultural heritage” (Department of Canadian Heritage,
2006). Moreover, it would be consistent with the aims of this act, which are to ensure
equality, inclusivity, and understanding for all Canadians.
Importantly, such a program could be effective in improving youth and familial
adjustment for immigrant Arab Canadians, who may be at increased risk for maladjustment,
which is predicted by cultural dissimilarity (Suanet & van de Vijver, 2009) and post-9/11
discrimination (Khalema & Wannas-Jones, 2003). Moreover, increased adjustment may be
associated with higher naturalization rates. Finally, from a cost-benefits perspective, the costs
of developing and delivering such a program could outweigh the costs of addressing
maladjustment, as well as the burden of a less healthy society.
Limitations
As with all research, this program of research is not without its limitations. The
primary limitations across Studies 1 and 2 is that it used a single informant, contained a
heterogeneous sample, and used biased sampling procedures. Two additional limitations
emerged with respect to procedure. In Study 1, the interviews were not blind, particularly
given my own personal biases as someone who has migrated between Canada and an Arab
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country three times in my life. In Study 2, measures of parental perceptions were not
counterbalanced with measures of participants‟ own cultural orientations and values.
Single informant. These studies examined perceived as opposed to actual cultural
discrepancies. The primary issue with this approach is that youth may have either under- or
overestimated their parents‟ level of heritage and settlement culture orientation and values.
For example, in a study of 50 Hispanic refugee parent-adolescent dyads, Merali (2002) found
that the majority of youth and parents inaccurately perceived one another‟s levels of
acculturation. Misrepresentation of parents‟ cultural orientation and values, in turn, affects
the degree of the discrepancy, which can ultimately skew studies examining the relation
between discrepancies and outcomes. On the other hand, the perceived discrepancy may be
more relevant as previous research has suggested that perceptions are more strongly related to
poorer outcomes than actual differences (see Sher-Censor et al., 2011). Future research
should address this limitation by examining actual and perceived cultural discrepancies in
relation to intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict.
Heterogeneous sample. Arab countries are heterogeneous with intracultural
variations in family structure and marriage practices. For example, Bedouin people, who are
nomadic Arab desert dwellers, reside within large networks of people. Their extended
families (hamail) make up tribes (’ashir), which constitute a network, or “nation” (qabilah).
Marriages in these communities are arranged, and encourage the union of patrilineal parallelcousins (daughter and son of two brothers)(Jones, 2006). Polygyny is also common in
Bedouin communities (Al-Krenawi & Slonim-Nevo, 2008). In contrast, middle- and upperclass urban families tend to live in single-family dwellings that may be either proximal or
distal to members of their extended families. In these communities, marriage for love is more
accepted, particularly for educated families in more liberal countries such as Egypt and
Lebanon. Moreover, although polygyny is sanctioned by Shariah (Islamic law) (Diaalmy,
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2010), it is increasingly frowned upon in middle- and upper-class communities, urban
settings, and countries such as Egypt and Lebanon, as well as Tunisia, where it is illegal.
Although there is intracultural variation within the Arab group, this program of
research treated “Arab Canadians” as a homogeneous group for four reasons. First, these
studies focused on Arab youth and families. The extant literature clearly notes the salience
and centrality of the family unit across Arab cultures (e.g., Britto & Amer, 2007). Second,
Arabs across the region, at home and abroad, are united by their shared self-identity,
language, and cultural traditions (Barakat, 1993). Therefore, the differences within Arab
culture are much smaller than between Arab and Canadian culture, which differ considerably
(Hofstede, 2001; Schwartz, 2006). Third, more than half of the Arabs in Canada originate
from Lebanon and Egypt (53%) and nearly half are Christian (44%), suggesting that the
family and marriage variations described above are not particularly relevant to immigrant
Arab Canadians. Fourth, many government agencies, including Statistics Canada, aggregate
data from the Arab region. Given our limited understanding of Arab Canadians (Rasmi et al.,
2012), their shared cultural attributes, and the fact that they are grouped by government
agencies, it may be useful to first build our knowledge of Arabs as a group, before exploring
subgroup differences.
Length of residence. The sample used in Study 2 was also heterogeneous in the extent
of their exposure to mainstream Canadian society. Specifically, length of residence in Canada
ranged widely, from 6 months to 24 years. Therefore, for some youth, a short length of time
in Canada may violate the assumption that differences with respect to parent and youth
socialization (i.e., proportion of stay and socialization in heritage versus settlement country)
are associated with increase perceived cultural discrepancies.
Biased sampling procedures. The recruitment procedures used in this program of
research were associated with self-selection and healthy user sampling biases. Members of
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university associations or community organizations are likely to have a strong sense of their
Arab identity. Moreover, those who attend (or graduated from) university are likely to be
better adjusted than those who did not, given their ability to apply, get accepted, attend,
and/or graduate from university. However, these sampling biases are to an extent
commensurate with population characteristics, as Arab Canadians tend to have a strong
heritage identity and are more than twice as likely as Canadians to have completed university
(Statistics Canada, 2007).
Combining parents for Study 2 analyses. The present studies intended to examine
the association between perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict, as well as the
moderating role of parent-youth relationships independently for mothers and fathers.
Although Study 2 results revealed very strong intercorrelations between mother and father
youth variables, the extant literature and Study 1 findings have suggested important
differences between parents.
Future Directions
The present program of research provided some insight into the degree of perceived
cultural discrepancies between immigrant Arab Canadian youth and their parents, and how
they relate to intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict using a mixedmethods research approach. Further, these studies were among the first to examine factors
that moderate the association between cultural discrepancies (actual or perceived) and
outcomes. Building on the results of this program of research, future research should examine
other potential moderators such as youth religiosity, autonomy-granting and support, and
information management. Further, future studies should investigate cultural discrepancies
that occur in an unexpected direction, and how they relate to outcomes as compared to
discrepancies that occur in the expected direction. In addition to examining intergenerational
conflict frequency and intensity, future research should explore conflict management, and
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how different strategies affect youth and family outcomes. Finally, future research should
consider additional relational aspects of the family system, endeavouring to disentangle
father- and mother-youth differences.
Youth religiosity. Religion is a salient aspect of personal (Saroglou & Galand, 2004)
and social (Ysseldyk, Matheson, & Anisman, 2010) identity development, to the extent that it
is cognitive, emotional, moral, and social (Saroglou, 2011). Indeed, a core aspect of religion
is that it provides a set of guiding beliefs and principles that can be used to make sense of
one‟s life experiences (Park, 2007). Moreover, these belief systems provide group
membership, which according to social identity theory, protect against threats to one‟s selfesteem and well-being (Tajfel & Turner, 1986).
There is some evidence to suggest that religiosity can be adaptive for immigrants. For
example, Hirschman (2004) identified three key benefits of religious institutions to
immigrants. First, they provide refuge in the form of cultural continuity, by allowing
immigrants to engage in behaviours that are familiar and protect against outside threats.
Second, religious institutions provide respectability, in the form of their own parallel
institutions that allow increased opportunities for social mobility and status recognition.
Third, they provide resources, in the form of social and economic services such as assistance
locating jobs and housing, as well as opportunities to engage with others from similar
religious and/or ethnocultural backgrounds.
Current evidence suggests that religiosity can mitigate individual, familial, and
acculturative stress for minority and immigrant Arab populations. For example, in a study of
first- and second-generation Arab American high school students, Ahmed, Kia-Keating, and
Tsai (2011) found that religious support and coping protected against psychological distress.
Similarly, Amer and Hovey (2007) found that strongly religious second-generation Arab
111
American Muslims were better adapted psychologically and within their families than those
who were less religious.
At the same time, Arabs have experienced pervasive group misunderstanding and
misrepresentation that has been exacerbated by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 (Abu-Ras, 2007).
Arabs have reported post-9/11 discrimination all over the world, including but not limited to
Canada (Khalema & Wannas-Jones, 2003), Australia and the United Kingdom (Poynting &
Mason, 2007), and Western Europe (Saroglou, Lamkaddem, Pachterbeke, & Buxant, 2009).
Although this discrimination is rooted in Islamophobia, which refers to a fear of Islam, it has
been directed indiscriminately at Muslim and Christian Arabs (Awad, 2010). However,
Muslims must deal with the added challenge of migrating from a nation in which they were
the religious majority to one in which they are the religious minority. To cope with these
challenges, some immigrants become more religious post-migration, as a way to deepen their
ties with their ethnocultural and religious community (e.g., Peek, 2005).
It is likely that youth who are more religious experienced fewer perceived cultural
discrepancies. For example, there is evidence to suggest that religiosity is positively
associated with conservation values and negatively associated with openness to change
values (Saroglou, Delpierre, & Dermelle, 2004), a personal values profile that is consistent
with normative Arab cultural values. Thus, youth and parents who are both highly religious
are more likely to have similar values, which may reduce their experience of
intergenerational conflict. Moreover, religiosity is a key component of identity (Erikson,
1968; Marcia, 1980) to the extent that strongly religious youth are more likely to have an
achieved or foreclosed identity (Saroglou & Galand, 2004) and therefore less likely to
experience ethnocultural identity conflict.
In sum, youth religiosity may moderate the association between perceived cultural
discrepancies and both intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. Future
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research should evaluate these relations in diverse samples, but pay particular attention to
immigrant Arab and Muslim groups.
Autonomy granting and support. Autonomy and individuation is a salient
developmental task of adolescence and young adulthood (Steinberg & Silk, 2002) and is
related to intergenerational conflict. Past research has suggested that in Western families,
youth who seek autonomy can create disruptions in the family system. However, these
disruptions are attenuated by positive parental responses, which include increasing youth
involvement in the decision-making process, reasoning with them, or granting the autonomy
that youth desire (Sorkhabi, 2010). In non-Western families, however, youth may be less
likely to desire autonomy because they tend to conform to parental wishes and authority
(Ghazarian, Supple, & Plunkett, 2008; Kağitçibaşi, 2005) and internalize collectivistic values
(Phalet & Schönpflug, 2001).
Our understanding of autonomy in immigrant families is less extensive, although
there is evidence to suggest that parents and youth may have different preferences for
autonomy, with youth desiring more autonomy at an earlier age than parents are willing to
grant, which is ultimately associated with poorer outcomes (e.g., Juang & Nguyen, 2009).
The findings of Study 1 provided some support for this relation, as some youth desired more
autonomy than their parents were comfortable with. For example, Ahmed wanted more social
interaction and personal freedom than his parents allowed him. The differences he discerned
between his parents‟ lack of autonomy granting compared to his non-immigrant friends‟
parents prompted ethnocultural identity conflict. Future research should examine the extent to
which youth desire autonomy compared to their parents‟ willingness to grant autonomy, and
whether a discrepancy in autonomy promotion is associated with cultural discrepancies,
poorer outcomes, and parent-youth relationships.
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Information management. The current scholarship has consistently argued that
information management is related to autonomy (e.g., Daddis & Randolph, 2010; Smetana,
1989), and intergenerational conflict. Two constructs underlie information management:
secrecy and disclosure. Whereas secrecy refers to deliberately concealing information,
disclosure refers to the sharing of unsolicited information. Although similar, disclosure and
secrecy are conceptually and statistically distinct (Frijns, Keijsers, Branje, & Meeus, 2010).
Some research has found that secrecy is associated with poorer family relationships and more
problem behaviour (Smetana, Villalobos, Rogge, & Tasopolous-Chan, 2010), whereas
disclosure is associated with stronger family relationships and less problem behaviour
(Tasopolous-Chan, Smetana, & Yau, 2009).
Current evidence suggests that there are differences in the ways in which youth
manage information for their mothers as compared to their fathers (e.g., Tasopolous-Chan et
al., 2009). Generally, youth disclose more to their mothers, particularly regarding personal
issues (Smetana, Metzger, Gettman, & Campione-Barr, 2006). In contrast to studies
examining gender differences (parents as well as youth) in relation to information
management, few studies have examined cross-cultural differences. Indeed, most research
has focused on European and European American families (Smetana et al., 2010) at the
expense of other groups, including immigrant families. Yet, information management within
immigrant Arab families may be particularly important given the cultural differences between
their heritage and settlement cultures which may contribute to discrepant perspectives on a
variety of issues. For some youth, such as Amani, Karina, and Khaled, information
management represented a viable strategy through which to reduce intergenerational conflict
borne out of perceived cultural discrepancies. Future research should address this issue by
examining how information management affects individual and familial adjustment in
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immigrant Arab Canadian families, both independently and in conjunction with autonomygranting and support.
Unexpected discrepancies. This program of research found evidence to suggest that
perceived cultural discrepancies in both the expected and unexpected directions are
associated with increased intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. To
date, most research has focused on cultural discrepancies (actual or perceived) in which
parents are more oriented to the heritage culture and values, whereas youth are more oriented
to the settlement culture and values. Far fewer studies have examined discrepancies that
occur in the opposite direction, despite mounting evidence to suggest that they are also
associated with poorer individual and familial outcomes (e.g., Lim et al., 2009; Telzer, 2010).
Future research should examine the extent to which unexpected discrepancies occur, as well
as their antecedents and consequences.
Conflict management. Conflict management styles, defined as “the different
strategies that people may use in dealing with others in potentially adversarial social or
business situations” (Kleinman, Palmon, & Lee, 2003) are key concepts used to characterize
how people respond within conflict situations. The idea that conflict management choices are
guided by one‟s concern for personal outcomes balanced with concern for the other party‟s
outcomes has informed several conflict management style frameworks (see Blake & Mouton,
1964; Pruitt, 1983; Putnam & Wilson, 1982; Rahim & Bonoma, 1979; Thomas, 1976).
Support for this broad conflict management style framework has been found across a wide
range of fields and contexts, including management (van de Vliert, Euwema, & Huismans,
1995), consumer behaviour (e.g., Daly, Lee, Soutar, & Rasmi, 2010), teaching (e.g., MorrisRothschild & Brassard, 2006), substance abuse (e.g., Colsman & Wulfert, 2002), and
personal relationships (e.g., Greeff & De Bruyne, 2000).
115
Of the aforementioned schema, Rahim‟s (1983) is the most widely used, and has the
benefit of using parsimonious nomenclature. According to Rahim, conflict management
consists of five conflict styles (oblige, avoid, dominate, integrate, and compromise) derived
from two underlying dimensions (concern for self and concern for other). Briefly, the oblige
style involves a low concern for self and high concern for other and is associated with giving
into the other person‟s views or demands. The avoid style is characterized by a low concern
for self and low concern for other, emphasizing the prevention of conflict, ignoring potential
or actual contentious situations, and postponing conflict situations. The dominate style is
characterized by a high concern for self and a low concern for other, resulting in attempts to
satisfy one‟s own concerns at the expense of the other‟s concerns by finding a win-lose
solution, often through the use of assertive or aggressive tactics. On the other hand, integrate
is the result of a high concern for self and a high concern for other, characterized by attempts
to fully satisfy each party‟s concerns by finding a win-win solution, often through
cooperation and information sharing (Thomas, Thomas, & Schaubhut, 2008). Finally,
compromise is similar to integrate, however, with only a moderate concern for self and a
moderate concern for other, this style is associated with attempting to partially satisfy each
party‟s concerns by finding a middle-ground solution (for full review, see Rahim, 2002;
Thomas et al., 2008). This theory has been validated in East Asian cultures, such as China,
South Korea, Japan (e.g., Kim, Wang, Kondo, & Kim, 2007), Vietnam, Thailand, and Hong
Kong (e.g., Onishi & Bliss, 2006), as well as Mexico (e.g., Posthuma, White, Dworkin,
Yanez, & Swift, 2006), Portugal (e.g., Rahim, Psenicka, Polychroniou, Zhao, Yu, Chan, et
al., 2002), and India (e.g., Croucher, Holody, Hicks, Oomen, & DeMaris, 2011).
Despite the relevance and applicability of this theory to cross-cultural, developmental,
and family psychology, there is a dearth of research examining the way in which immigrants
and other biculturals handle interpersonal conflict (Kim-Jo, Benet-Martínez, & Ozer, 2010).
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Although many investigations of intergenerational conflict have used relatively ad-hoc
conflict management ideas, these studies have overlooked conflict management research,
resulting in a missed opportunity for drawing from or incorporating the comparatively welldeveloped theoretically frameworks. In fact, two recent studies (Phinney et al., 2005;
Sugimura, Yamazaki, Phinney, & Takeo, 2009) outlined an idea similar to the dual-concerns
model, by using levels of concern for family (i.e., concern for other) and self-interest (i.e.,
concern for self), and related this to the contextually-derived conflict management styles
including compliance (approximates to oblige in the dual-concerns model), negotiation
(combines aspects of integrate and compromise), self-assertion (dominate), and
deviousness/deceit (no true approximate but contains significant elements of avoid).
Similarly, Smetana and Gaines (1999) identified five styles of conflict resolution from the
youth‟s points of view: parent concedes (dominate), youth concedes (oblige), punishment (no
approximate), compromise (integrate and compromise), and no resolution (avoid). These
studies and others (e.g., Haar & Krahé, 1999) represent a significant amount of effort going
into “reinventing the wheel”. Future research should apply conflict handling theory to
investigations of intergenerational conflict, to enhance our ability to integrate and synthesize
cross-cultural, developmental, family, and conflict management literatures.
Father and mother differences. Future research should seek to disentangle
differences in the nature, quality, and strength of parent-youth relationships in immigrant
families, as well as how these differences relate to perceived cultural discrepancies and their
associated outcomes.
Conclusions
This program of research has a number of significant contributions to the crosscultural, developmental, and family psychology literatures. The primary contribution is that it
provided a comprehensive investigation of the cultural experiences of immigrant Arab youth
117
in Canada – a relatively understudied and increasingly important population – using a mixedmethods approach. In contrast to most Arab scholarship, these studies examined immigration
and settlement issues, by investigating the differences that youth perceive between
themselves and their parents, and in relation to intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural
identity conflict, as well as aspects of the parent-youth relationships that moderate these
associations.
Consistent with previous research, this program of research found that immigrant
Arab youth in Canada perceived discrepancies between themselves and their parents in
relation to their Arab and Canadian cultural orientation and personal values. These perceived
discrepancies, in turn, were associated with increased intergenerational conflict and
ethnocultural identity conflict. Further, strong parent-youth relationships protected against the
experience of conflict as a function of perceived cultural discrepancies, whereas weak parentyouth relationships exacerbated the experience of conflict related to perceived cultural
discrepancies.
A significant strength of this program of research was that immigration and settlement
issues were examined while building on current conceptual and methodological limitations of
the broader acculturation and cultural discrepancies literatures. First, Berry‟s (1997)
influential and widely established model of acculturation was used, which is preferred to
unidimensional models of acculturation (Ryder et al., 2000) that many studies still apply
(Berry, 2003). Second, acculturation discrepancies were assessed using separate measures of
Arab and Canadian cultural orientation that included behavioural and cognitive domains (i.e.,
language, identity, and cultural participation), an approach that is preferred to measuring one
domain of acculturation using a single index derived from proxy-measures (Arends-Tóth &
van de Vijver, 2006). Third, most cultural discrepancies studies have focused on differences
in cultural orientation and very few have examined values. Moreover, values discrepancy
118
studies have focused on cultural values as opposed to personal values. These studies extended
the literature by examining personal values in addition to heritage and settlement orientation
because they are intrinsic and slower to change, yet affected by significant life events (Bardi
et al., 2009), and reflect individual principles and goals as opposed to normative cultural
values.
This program of research was also one of the first to examine the association between
perceived cultural discrepancies and intergenerational conflict. Similarly, in addition to
examining intrapsychic conflict (ethnocultural identity conflict), it also extended the literature
by investigating the moderating role of parent-youth relationships. To the best of my
knowledge, it is among the first studies to address these issues in an immigrant Arab
Canadian population.
It is imperative that a proactive research program is undertaken to build our
knowledge of Arab immigration and settlement, in light of the sizeable Arab Canadian
population, and in anticipation of its continued growth. Indeed, the number of migrants in
Canada will likely continue growing in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Beginning in
December 2010, uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen were successful in ousting
their long-standing, tyrannical rules from power. Each of these countries is currently in a
transitional phase, facing major challenges that require significant reform, economic and
otherwise (Amin, Assaad, al-Baharna, Desai, Dillon, Galal, et al., 2012). Moreover, there is
continued unrest throughout the region, in the form of civil uprisings in Syria and Bahrain,
and protests in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and to a lesser extent, Lebanon and
Saudi Arabia. It is possible, if not likely, that these events will trigger a significant surge in
Arab immigration, similar to the wave that followed the 1975 Lebanese civil war (AbuLaban, 1980). Although the Canadian government has released no official statistics to date,
some countries have already started to experience an influx of Arab asylum seekers,
119
including Italy (Nascimbene & Di Pascale, 2011) and the United Kingdom (Whitehead,
2011).
This program of research was the first to explicitly examine the cultural experiences
of immigrant Arab youth in Canada following the Arab Spring. The results of these studies
indicated that although immigrant Arab youth in Canada are doing well, many perceive
cultural discrepancies between themselves and their parents, which are associated with
increased intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. However, the family
unit is a salient aspect of Arab culture and as a result, the association between perceived
cultural discrepancies and conflict was moderated by parent-youth relationships in many
cases. When perceived cultural discrepancies arise and youth reported feeling close and
having open communication with their parents, they were more likely to feel safe in
exploring their environment and identity, decreasing their experience of both
intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. In contrast, youth who perceived
weak and distant relationships with their parents were unable to see eye-to-eye and negotiate
different attitudes and behaviours, leading to increased intergenerational conflict and
ethnocultural identity conflict. Therefore, the results of this program of research clearly
indicated that perceived cultural discrepancies, intergenerational conflict, and ethnocultural
identity conflict are salient to the experiences of immigrant Arab Canadian youth, and are
affected by parent-youth relationships.
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Table 1
Acculturation Measures of Cultural Practices, Identification, and Values
Measure
Authors
Number
of
Citations
Cultural
Practice
Items
Cultural
Identity
Items
Cultural
Values
Items
The African American Acculturation Scale
Landrine and Klonoff, 1994
164
X
-
-
Asian American Multidimensional Acculturation Scale
Chung, Kim, and Abreu, 2004
103
X
X
-
A Children‟s Hispanic Background Scale
Martinez, Norman, and Delaney,
1984
24
X
-
-
Acculturation, Habits and Interests Multicultural Scale for
Adolescents
Unger, Gallagher, Shakib, RittOlson, Palmer, and Johnson (2002)
96
-
-
A Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics
Marín et al. (1987)
Acculturative Hassles
1077
X
-
-
Vinokurov, Trickett, and Birman
(2002)
30
X
-
-
Abbreviated Multidimensional Acculturation Scale
Zea, Asner-Self, Birman, and Buki
(2003)
140
X
X
-
American Puerto Rican Acculturation Scale
Cortés, Deren, Andía, Colon,
Robles, and Kang (2003)
16
X
X
X
Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans
Cuellar, Harris, and Jasso (1980)
990
X
X
-
Acculturation Scale
Ghuman (1997)
58
X
-
-
162
Acculturation Scale for Vietnamese Adolescents
Nguyen and von Eye (2002)
48
X
-
X
An Acculturation Scale for Mexican-Americans
Deyo, Diehl, Hazuda, and Stern
(1985)
163
X
-
-
An Acculturation Scale for Mexican-Americans II
Cuellar, Arnold, and Maldonado
(1995)
953
X
X
X
Bidimensional Acculturation Scale for Hispanics
Marin and Gamba (1996)
377
X
-
-
Bicultural Involvement Questionnaire
Szapocznik, Kurtines, and
Fernandez (1980)
344
X
-
-
Cultural Lifestyle Inventory
Mendoza (1989)
238
X
X
-
General Ethnicity Questionnaire
Tsai et al. (2000)
260
X
X
-
Internal-External Ethnic Identity Measure
Kwan and Sodowsky (1997)
65
X
-
X
Italian Ethnic Identity Measure
Laroche, Kim, Tomiuk, and Belisle
(2005)
17
X
-
-
Language, Identity, Behaviour Scale
Vinokurov et al. (2002)
30
X
X
-
Native American Acculturation Scale
Garrett and Pichette (2000)
128
X
X
-
Scale of Acculturation
Rissel (1997)
60
X
X
-
Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanic Youth
Barona and Miller (1994)
87
X
-
Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale
Stephenson (2000)
156
X
-
Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale
Suinn, Ahuna, and Khoo (1992)
367
X
X
-
163
The Acculturation Index
Ward and Rana-Deuba (1999)
305
X
Vancouver Index of Acculturation
Ryder et al. (2000)
554
X
Note. Bolded measures contain items covering all three dimensions.
X
X
X
164
Table 2
Schwartz’s (1992) Personal Values and Items Used as Markers
Dimensions
Values Types
Value Type Definitions (Value Items)
Self-Enhancement
Power
Social status and prestige, control or dominance
over people and resources (authority, social power,
wealth, preserving public image)
Achievement
Personal
success
through
demonstrating
competence according to social standards
(ambitious, successful, capable, influential)
Hedonisma
Pleasure or sensuous gratification for oneself
(pleasure, enjoying life, self-indulgent)
Stimulation
Excitement, novelty, and challenge in life (daring, a
varied life, an exciting life)
Self-Direction
Independent thought and action; choosing, creating,
and exploring (creativity, freedom, independence,
choosing own goals, curiosity)
Universalism
Understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and
protection for the welfare of all people and for
nature
(equality,
social
justice,
wisdom,
broadmindedness, protecting the environment, unity
with nature, a world of beauty)
Benevolence
Preservation and enhancement of the welfare of
people with whom one is in frequent personal
contact (helpful, honest, forgiving, loyal,
responsible)
Tradition
Respect, commitment, and acceptance of the
customs and ideas that traditional culture or religion
provide (devout, respect for tradition, humble,
moderate)
Conformity
Restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses
likely to upset or harm others and violate social
expectations or norms (self-discipline, politeness,
honouring parents and elders, obedience)
Security
Safety, harmony, and stability of relationships, and
self (family security, national security, social order,
cleanliness, reciprocity)
Openness to Change
Self-Transcendence
Conservation
Note. a Hedonism shares elements of both Self-Enhancement and Openness to Change
165
Table 3
Demographic Information for Study 1
Namea
Sex
Age
Years
Origin
Religion
Mother
Headscarf
Father‟s
Education
Father‟s
Employment
Mother‟s
Education
Mother‟s
Employment
Omar
M
21
4.00
Jordan
Atheist
No
BA
Part-time
BA
Full-time
Karina
F
22
9.75
Qatarb
Catholic
-
Some college
Full-timec
HS
-
Lana
F
25
9.75
Qatarb
Catholic
-
Some college
Full-timec
HS
-
Iskandar
M
21
7.83
Egypt
Coptic
-
?
?
?
-
Ahmed
M
19
9.75
Egypt
Muslim
Yes
BA
Full-time
MA
Full-time
Khaled
M
20
9.00
UAEb
Muslim
Yes
BA
Full-time
BA
Full-time
Mostafa
M
21
4.83
UAEb
Muslim
Yes
MA
Full-timec
HS
-
Mahmoud
M
23
4.83
Jordan
Muslim
Yes
BA
Full-timec
BA
-
c
Layla
F
21
10.42
Kuwait
Reem
F
19
10.00
Amani
F
23
Dina
F
21
b
Muslim
No
BA
Full-time
BA
-
Egypt
Muslim
Yes
BA
Full-time
MA
Full-time
5.00
UAEb
Muslim
Yes
BA
Full-timec
BA
-
5.00
UAEb
Muslim
Yes
BA
Full-timec
BA
-
Note. a Names were pseudonyms b Family moved from an Arab country that was not their heritage country c Father works in home country, not
living in Canada
166
Table 4
Codes, Subcodes, and Descriptive Findings
Codes and Subcodes
Perceived Cultural
Discrepancies
Integration
Isolation
Family Relationships
Closeness
Open communication
Instrumental support
Financial support
Shared activities
Parental strictness
(Canadian)
Parental strictness
(Arab)
Overt obedience
Covert disobedience
Transnational father
Peer Relationships
Ingroup peers
Outgroup peers
(Positive)
Outgroup peers
(Negative)
Conflict Issues
Personal
Social conventional
Prudential
Youth Perspectives of Conflict
Personal
Parent Perspectives of Conflict
Social conventional
Identity
Arab identity
Canadian identity
Ethnocultural identity
conflict
‟Aib
Respect
Status/Reputation
Dating and Marriage
Future Plans
Across
Transcripts
Within
Transcripts
Mother
Father
Parents
12
8
7
7
4
11
3
6
1
6
2
2
9
11
11
8
8
4
9
9
5
4
1
8
6
7
6
5
-
3
4
7
2
3
3
9
3
7
5
7
9
7
3
6
-
1
1
-
4
3
-
11
7
-
-
-
4
-
-
-
12
4
5
9
1
3
6
2
-
5
1
2
12
6
4
4
11
9
5
5
12
11
12
-
-
-
8
8
4
8
1
-
2
2
-
167
Table 5
Perceived Discrepancy Issues and Frequency
Issue
Clothing choices
Preferences for more versus less revealing clothing
Conceptions of fun
Preferences for adventure and spontaneity versus familial
activities
Curfew and going out
Amount of social interaction; Time to come home
Dating and marriage
Preferences for exogamous versus endogamous relationships;
Being allowed to date
Education and career
Preferences for social sciences and the arts versus business,
science, and engineering; Career aspirations; Achievement
Family relationships
Allowing younger siblings personal freedom
Family rules
Preferences for fewer rules versus strict rule enforcement and
monitoring
Heritage culture maintenance
Preferences for some settlement culture acquisition versus
complete heritage culture retention; Religiosity; Conservatism and
traditionalism
Openness to new experiences
Preferences for embracing changes in Canadian society and
stimulating experiences
Social interaction
Preferences for cross-gender friendships versus same-gender
friendships; Who to be friends with
Social status
Preferences for openness to experiences and people irrespective of
their position in society versus limiting relationships and
experiences to maintain social status and prestige
Tolerance of others
Preferences for accepting versus rejecting people who are
different
Frequency
4
4
8
6
3
2
3
6
8
7
4
2
168
Table 6
Main Findings
Themes and Subthemes
Across
Transcripts
Mother Father
1. Perceived cultural discrepancies were associated with intergenerational
conflict
10
10
2. Perceived cultural discrepancies were associated with ethnocultural
identity conflict
9
8
3. Parent-youth relationships played a role in the association between
perceived cultural discrepancies and intergenerational conflict
8
8
3a. Strong parent-youth relationships
7
6
3b. Weak parent-youth relationships
1
2
6
5
4a. Strong parent-youth relationships
5
4
4b. Weak parent-youth relationships
1
1
4. Strong parent-youth relationships played a role in the association
between perceived cultural discrepancies and ethnocultural identity
conflict
169
Table 7
Demographic Information for Study 2
Demographic Variable
Gender
% of Participants
M (SD)
39.2% Males (n = 47)
58.3% Females (n = 70)
2.5% Did not specify (n = 3)
Age
20.33 (2.09)
Religion
76.5% Muslim (n = 91)
14.3% Christian (n = 17)
3.4% None (n = 4)
3.2% Other (n = 7)a
Marital Status
95.0% Single (n = 113)
1.7% Engaged (n = 2)
3.4% Married (n = 4)
Years in Canada
8.80 (5.48)
Birth Country
21.0% Egypt (n = 25)
15.1% United Arab Emirates (n = 18)
13.4% Iraq (n = 16)
11.8% Saudi Arabia (n = 14)
8.4% Jordan (n = 10)
31.1% Other countries (n = 36)b
a
Note. Christian-Muslim, Druze, Muslim/Agnostic, Yazidi, or Missing b Kuwait, Lebanon,
Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Turkey,
Ukraine, USA, and Yemen.
170
Table 8
Descriptive Statistics for Study 2
Variable
Mean (SD)
Youth
Perceived Father
Perceived Mother
Arab orientation
3.33(.39)a
2.55(.54)b
2.40(.57)c
Canadian orientation
3.18(.51)a
3.66(.39)b
3.62(.51)b
Conservation values
4.75(.96)a
4.92(1.16)a
5.08(1.4)b
Openness to change values
4.70(.96)a
4.33(.98)b
4.39(.99)b
Parent-youth relationship
-
89.49(22.83)a
95.93(19.32)b
Intergenerational conflict
-
2.34(1.09)a
2.41(1.09)a
2.50(.92)
-
-
Ethnocultural identity conflict
Note. Superscripts are used to denote significant differences. Variables with the same
superscript on each line did not differ significantly from one another, whereas variables with
different superscripts did.
171
Table 9
Intercorrelations among Scales
2.
3.
4.
Cultural Orientations
**
*
1. Arab-Father
.64
.23 -.05
**
2. Arab-Mother
.30 -.02
3. Arab-Youth
.02
4. Canadian-Father
5. Canadian -Mother
6. Canadian -Youth
Personal Values
7. Conservation-Father
8. Conservation-Mother
9. Conservation-Youth
10. Openness-Father
11. Openness -Mother
12. Openness -Youth
Parent Relationships
13. With Mother
14 With Father
5.
6.
.05
.13
-.14
.07
-.05 -.32**
**
**
.54
.37
.37**
7.
8.
9.
.02
.05
.10
*
.21
.14
.00
.04
.01
.09
.18
.20*
.04
.02
-.01
.10
.03
.06
-.10
.92**
.65**
.67**
10.
11.
.04 -.04
-.02 -.07
.17
.08
**
.31
.29**
*
.20
.26**
.01
.11
.52**
.52**
.42**
.53**
.49**
.32**
.73**
Intergenerational Conflict
15. With Mother
16. With Father
17. Ethnocultural Identity Conflict
Note. Correlations between the above variables and conflict can be found in regression tables below.
* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
.01
.00
.06
.09
.15
.06
.07
.18
.16
.22*
.25**
.16
.09
.17
.24*
.35**
.14
.07
.01
-.06
-.08
-.22*
-.25**
-.01
.01
-.05
-.07
-.16
-.02
-.21*
-.24* -.01
-.19* .03
-.01
.14
.61**
.63**
.55**
.38**
.45**
.23*
.21*
.18*
.14
.22*
.08
.27**
.14
.10
.26**
.20*
.03
-.27**
-.26**
-.20*
-.23*
-.18
-.15
-.16
-.12
-.03
-.13
-.16
-.10
-.17
-.11
-.15
-.15
-.04
.03
.58** -.53** -.28** -.33**
-.39** -.40** -.35**
.78**
.35**
.35**
172
Table 10
Discrepancies in Parent-Youth Cultural Orientation Predicting Intergenerational Conflict
Variables
ΔR2
F change
β
r
Step 1. Arab Orient‟n-Parents
Arab Orient‟n-Youth
.00
.21
1.96
1.21
-.05
-.05
Step 2. Parents X Youth
.06
7.05**
-2.66**
-.08
Step 1. Canadian Orient‟n-Parents
Canadian Orient‟n-Youth
.09
5.27**
-1.69*
-.61
-.27**
.00
Step 2. Parents X Youth
.03
3.40
1.82
-.19*
Note. * p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
173
Table 11
Discrepancies in Parent-Youth Cultural Orientation Predicting Ethnocultural Identity
Conflict
Variables
ΔR2
F change
β
r
Step 1. Arab Orient‟n-Parents
Arab Orient‟n-Youth
.03
1.49
1.59***
2.54***
-.10
-.15*
Step 2. Parents X Youth
.11
13.52***
-3.54***
-.19*
Step 1. Canadian Orient‟n-Parents
Canadian Orient‟n-Youth
.02
1.18
-.14*
-.58
-.03
.12
Step 2. Parents X Youth
.03
3.07
Note. * p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
-1.79
.04
174
Table 12
Discrepancies in Parent-Youth Values Predicting Intergenerational Conflict
Variables
ΔR2
F change
Step 1. Conservation-Parents
Conservation-Youth
.05
3.01
Step 2. Parents X Youth
.07
8.91**
Step 1. Openness-Parents
Openness-Youth
.05
Step 2. Parents X Youth
.03
Note. * p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
β
r
.57
.99**
-.22*
-.13
-1.65**
-.23*
2.84
.50
.59
-.21*
-.15
3.94*
-1.15*
-.24**
175
Table 13
Discrepancies in Parent-Youth Values Predicting Ethnocultural Identity Conflict
Variables
ΔR2
F change
β
r
Step 1. Conservation-Parents
Conservation-Youth
.02
1.38
.58
.68
-.14
-.14
Step 2. Parents X Youth
.05
5.42*
-1.32*
-.19*
Step 1. Openness-Parents
Openness-Youth
.02
1.02
.08
.32
-.09
.04
Step 2. Parents X Youth
.00
.40
-.38
-.06
Note. * p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
176
Table 14
Parent-Youth Cultural Orientation Discrepancies Predicting Intergenerational Conflict
Moderated by Parent Relationship
Variables
ΔR2
Step 1. Arab Orient‟n-Parents
Arab Orient‟n -Youth
Parent Relatnship
.27
13.53***
Step 2. (Youth X Parents) X Parent Relatnship
.06
8.72**
Step 1. Canadian Orient‟n-Parents
Canadian Orient‟n-Youth
Parent Relatnship
.29
14.69***
Step 2. (Youth X Parents) X Parent Relatnship
.01
1.19
F change
β1
β2
.01
.05
-.53***
.46**
.81**
.41
-1.52**
-.16
-.43
.13
-.02
-.48*** -.75**
.51
Note. ΔR2 and F change are reported for the full moderated model; β1 = standardized
betas for the main effects model; β2 = standardized betas for the full moderated model.
* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
177
Table 15
Parent-Youth Value Discrepancies Predicting Intergenerational Conflict Moderated by
Parent Relationship
Variables
ΔR2
Step 1. Conservation-Parents
Conservation-Youth
Parent Relatnship
.24
11.68***
Step 2. (Youth X Parents) X Parent Relatnship
.04
6.79**
Step 1. Openness-Parents
Openness-Youth
Parent Relatnship
.25
12.01***
Step 2. (Youth X Parents) X Parent Relatnship
.01
.77
F change
β1
-.13
.02
-.45***
β2
.36
.60*
.20
-1.30**
-.07
.12
-.09
.09
-.46*** -.25
-.41
Note. ΔR2 and F change are reported for the full moderated model; β1 = standardized
betas for the main effects model; β2 = standardized betas for the full moderated model.
* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
178
Table 16
Parent-Youth Cultural Orientation Discrepancies Predicting Ethnocultural Identity
Conflict Moderated by Parent Relationship
Variables
ΔR2
F change
***
Step 1. Arab Orient‟n-Parents
Arab Orient‟n -Youth
Parent Relatnship
Step 2. (Youth X Parents) X Parent Relatnship
.16
6.71
.05
6.06*
Step 1. Canadian Orient‟n-Parents
Canadian Orient‟n-Youth
Parent Relatnship
Step 2. (Youth X Parents) X Parent Relatnship
.18
7.93***
.00
.37
β1
β2
-.04
-.06
-.37***
.37
.63*
.48
-1.38*
.06
.14
-.43***
-.11
.05
-.59*
.31
Note. ΔR2 and F change are reported for the full moderated model; β1 = standardized
betas for the main effects model; β2 = standardized betas for the full moderated model.
* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
179
Table 17
Parent-Youth Values Discrepancies Predicting Ethnocultural Identity Conflict Moderated
by Parent Relationship
Variables
ΔR2
Step 1. Conservation-Parents
Conservation-Youth
Parent Relatnship
Step 2. (Youth X Parents) X Parent Relatnship
.15
6.36***
.00
.06
Step 1. Openness-Parents
Openness-Youth
Parent Relatnship
Step 2. (Youth X Parents) X Parent Relatnship
.15
6.26***
.00
.00
F change
β1
β2
.01
-.09
-.36***
-.04
-.15
-.43
.13
-.04
.08
-.37***
-.03
.09
-.36
-.03
Note. ΔR2 and F change are reported for the full moderated model; β1 = standardized
betas for the main effects model; β2 = standardized betas for the full moderated model.
* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
180
Table 18
Study 2 Results Summary
Expected
Discrepancy
Unexpected
Discrepancy
Total
H2: Perceived Arab Discrepancy 
Intergenerational conflict


2
H2: Perceived Canadian Discrepancy 
Intergenerational conflict

H3: Perceived Arab Discrepancy 
Ethnocultural identity conflict

H4: Perceived Conservation Discrepancy
 Intergenerational conflict
H4: Perceived Openness Discrepancy 
Intergenerational conflict

2

1

H4: Perceived Conservation Discrepancy
 Ethnocultural identity conflict
Total
1
4
1

1
4
8
181
Intergenerational
Conflict
Perceived Cultural
Discrepancies
Parent-Youth
Relationships
Figure 1. Conceptual model for perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict.
Ethnocultural Identity
Conflict
182
100
90
80
70
60
50
Arab Countries
40
Canada
30
20
10
0
Power Distance
Uncertainty
Avoidance
Individualism
Figure 2. Arab and Canadian cultures ranked on Hofstede‟s (2001) dimensions.
183
Figure 3. Berry‟s (1997) orthogonal model of psychological acculturation.
184
Figure 4. Schwartz‟s (1992) personal values theory modified quasi-circumplex structure.
185
Intergenerational Conflict
12
10
Youth Arab
Orientation
8
1.93 (J-N low)
2.68 (-1 SD)
6
3.18 (Mean)
4
3.23 (J-N high)
2
3.69 (+1 SD)
0
0
2
4
6
8
10
Perceived Parent Arab Orientation
Figure 5. The relation between perceived parent Arab orientation and intergenerational
conflict at three levels of youth Arab orientation.
186
Intergenerational Conflict
7
6
5
Youth Canadian
Orientation
4
2.93 (-1 SD)
3
3.33 (Mean)
3.51 (J-N)
2
3.72 (+1 SD)
1
0
0
2
4
6
8
Perceived Parent Canadian Orientation
10
Figure 6. The relation between perceived parent Canadian orientation and intergenerational
conflict at three levels of youth Canadian orientation.
187
Ethnocultural Identity Conflict
7
6
Youth Arab
Orientation
2.22 (J-N low)
5
4
2.68 (-1 SD)
3
2.96 (J-N high)
2
3.18 (Mean)
1
3.69 (+1 SD)
0
0
2
4
6
8
10
Perceived Parent Arab Orientation
Figure 7. The relation between perceived parent Arab orientation and ethnocultural identity
conflict at three levels of youth Arab orientation.
188
Intergenerational Conflict
12
10
Youth
Conservation
Values
3.55 (J-N)
8
6
3.79 (-1 SD)
4
4.75 (Mean)
5.71 (+1 SD)
2
0
0
5
10
Perceived Parent Conservation Values
15
Figure 8. The relation between perceived conservation values and intergenerational conflict
at three levels of youth conservation values.
189
8
Intergenerational Conflict
7
Youth
Openness to
Change Values
3.74 (-1 SD)
6
5
4
4.68 (J-N)
3
4.70 (Mean)
2
5.67 (+1 SD)
1
0
0
5
10
15
Perceived Parent Openness to Change Values
Figure 9. The relation between perceived parent openness to change values and
intergenerational conflict at three levels of youth openness to change values.
190
Ethnocultural Identity Conflict
4.5
4
2.5
Youth
Conservation
Values
3.79 (-1 SD)
2
4.75 (Mean)
3.5
3
1.5
4.82 (J-N)
1
5.71 (+1 SD)
0.5
0
0
5
10
15
Perceived Parent Conservation Values
Figure 10. The relation between perceived parent conservation values and ethnocultural
identity conflict at three levels of youth conservation values.
191
8
Intergenerational Conflict
7
6
Parent-Youth
Relationships
143.01 (J-N)
5
4
151.50 (-1 SD)
3
187.08 (Mean)
2
222.66 (+1 SD)
1
0
0
10
20
30
40
Perceived Arab Orientation Discrepancy
Figure 11. The relation between perceived Arab orientation discrepancy and
intergenerational conflict at three levels of parent-youth relationships.
192
Intergenerational Conflict
7
6
Parent-Youth
Relationships
5
4
148.38 (-1 SD)
3
185.26 (Mean)
202.01 (J-N)
2
222.15 (+1 SD)
1
0
0
20
40
60
80
Perceived Conservation Values Discrepancy
Figure 12. The relation between perceived conservation values discrepancy and
intergenerational conflict at three levels of parent-youth relationships.
193
Ethnocultural Identity Conflict
3.5
3
Parent-Youth
Relationships
2.5
2
151.50 (-1 SD)
1.5
187.08 (Mean)
1
222.66 (+1 SD)
0.5
0
0
10
20
30
40
Perceived Arab Orientation Discrepancy
Figure 13. The relation between perceived Arab orientation discrepancy and ethnocultural
identity conflict at three levels of parent-youth relationships.
194
APPENDIX A
Interview Guide for Study One
Introductory Script
Hello, my name is Sarah Rasmi and I am a graduate student in the Department of Psychology
at the University of Guelph. I have invited you here today to participate in a study that I am
conducting about the cultural experiences of immigrant Arab youth in Canada. Currently,
there are many Arabs in Canada and coming to Canada, but the research community does not
know much about their experiences. I am really interested in this topic because I spent 10
years of my life living in Egypt and 13 years living in Canada. I moved from Egypt to
Canada at age 7, back to Egypt at age 14, and finally back to Canada at age 22. Today, I
would like to hear about your experience moving from [country] to Canada. I have written
some questions that I would like you to answer with examples and stories from your own life.
Please feel free to tell me your thoughts and feelings. There are no right or wrong answers to
any of the questions. Everybody‟s experience is different and important. Before we begin, do
you have any questions? [If „yes‟, I will answer them. If „no‟, I will attain verbal and written
consent and proceed.] If at any point you are not clear about what I am asking, please let me
know.
Interview Questions
1. What was the year and month when you moved to Canada?
2. What was it like for you when you first arrived in Canada from [country]?
3. What do you like about living here?
4. What don‟t you like?
5. How is it different from living in [country]?
6. Families in Canada can be similar or different from families in [country]. What have
you noticed about the ways that Canadian people your age relate to their mother and
195
father compared to how [nationality] people your age relate to their mother and
father?
7. Have any aspects of the ways that you relate to your mother and father changed
since moving to Canada?
8. Have any aspects stayed the same?
9. Has moving to Canada contributed to any tension between you and your mother and
father, and if so, how?
10. Parents and their children do not always see eye-to-eye. Are there any issues that you
and your mother and father tend to disagree about?
11. Can you recall the last major disagreement you had with your mother and father.
When was it? What was it all about?
12. What was your position on the issue? Did your mother and father see your point of
view?
13. What was your mother‟s and father‟s position on the issue? Did you see his/her
point of view?
14. How did you and your mother and father deal with this disagreement?
Values Script: Next, I would like to ask you a few questions about your values, as well
as your mother‟s and father‟s values. When I say “values”, I am referring to your
judgment of what is important in life, such as your principles and standards. Here is a
sheet of ten values and their descriptions (see page 5). Let‟s review them together and
then discuss how important or unimportant they are to you and to your mother and
father. [I will then go through each value and its description with the interviewee,
clarifying any confusion should it arise]
15. Which values are most important to you and why? Please choose no more than three.
196
16. How important are [list specific values the interviewee named] to your mother and
father?
17. Are there any values on this list that you and your mother and father feel really
differently about? Which ones and why?
18. Are there any values or important principles in your life that you would like to discuss
that are not on this list?
19. Identity Script: People are often described as belonging to a particular group or
ethnic background, but terms such as “Canadian” and “Arab” can mean different
things to different people. First, I‟m going to ask you to tell me what these terms
mean to you, and then we are going to talk about the term or terms you would apply
to yourself.
20. What does being [nationality] mean to you?
21. What does being Canadian mean to you?
22. What term or terms would have best described you during your first six months in
Canada?
23. What term or terms would best describe you now?
24. How has your experience as someone of [nationality] origin living in Canada created
difficulties or problems for you? For example, at home, with people your age, at
school, or in the community?
25. Please tell me about a situation you were in when you didn‟t know whether to behave
like a(n) [nationality] or a Canadian.
26. Thank you so much for being here today. That was my last question. Before we end
the interview, I would like to know if there is anything else you would like to share
that I did not ask about.
27. Do you have any questions for me?
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Closing Script
Thank you for taking the time to participate in my study. I really appreciate your participation
because without volunteers like you, it is difficult for the research community to understand
the Arab Canadian population. It is important to learn about different communities so that
programs and services can be tailored to meet their needs. If you are interested in learning
about the results of this study, or have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free
to contact myself or either of my two advisors. Here is a list of our contact information [as I
give participants the list]. Any contact you make will be kept confidential. Thank you again.
Values Descriptions

Achievement: Being ambitious and successful

Benevolence: Being helpful, honest, trustworthy, and loyal

Conformity: Being polite, respectful, obedient, and following rules

Hedonism: Having fun, enjoying life, pleasuring and spoiling yourself

Power: Having social status and prestige, controlling or dominating other people and
resources

Security: Safety, harmony, and stability of society, relationships, and self

Self-Direction: Being creative, curious, independent, and free

Stimulation: Experiencing new things, excitement, and being adventurous

Tradition: Maintaining traditional customs and beliefs

Universalism: Being understanding, appreciative, tolerant, and protecting the welfare
of all people and nature
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APPENDIX B
Study 1 Coding System
Instructions: Please use the numbers in the first column when coding the transcripts. To
differentiate between mothers and fathers, please add “M” or “F” to the code. For
example, Generational/Cultural Discrepancies with the mother promoting integration
would be coded as “1a-M”.
Num Themes and Subthemes
Definition
1
Generational/Cultural
Discrepancies
Differences youth perceive between themselves and their
parents, which can be attributed to generational and/or
cultural issues
1a
Integration
Parents promoting integration
1b
Isolation
Parents promoting isolation
2
Family Relationships
Aspects of the parent-child relationship, such as:
2a
Closeness
A close bond, parental involvement and interest in their
child‟s life, and parental trust
2b
Open communication
Sharing information, as well as talking and listening to
one another
2c
Instrumental support
Giving advice and supporting the child‟s decisionmaking, as well as expending time and effort to assist the
child (e.g., cleaning, driving)
2d
Financial support
Financial dependence on their parents, which can be
interpreted as demonstrating care, or constraining
participants‟ freedom
2e
Shared activities
Companionship
2f
Parental strictness
(Canadian)
Rule-enforcement perceived as either strict or harsh, as
compared to European Canadian families
2g
Parental strictness (Arab)
Rule-enforcement perceived as strict or harsh, as
compared to Arab Canadian families
2h
Overt obedience
Compliance with parental wishes or orders and/or
acknowledgment of their authority
2i
Covert disobedience
Appearing to but not actually complying with parental
199
wishes or orders and/or acknowledgment of their
authority
2j
Parental prudence
Seeking to protect child from danger and threat
2k
Transnational father
Father who travels between Canada and an Arab country
3
Peer Relationships
Selecting peer groups comprised of:
3a
Ingroup peers
Choosing culturally and religiously similar friends to
buttress their Arab identity and protect group membership
3b
Outgroup peers (Positive)
Being open to establishing friendships with people who
are culturally and religiously dissimilar to integrate
themselves into Canadian society
3c
Outgroup peers (Negative)
Avoiding culturally and religiously dissimilar friends who
pose a threat to the maintenance of their Arab identity and
group membership
4
Religion
Issues relating to Islam or Christianity, such as:
4a
Religiosity
Participants identifying themselves and/or their families
as religious
4b
Religion as an inhibitor
Aspects of religion that limit participants‟ behaviour
and/or identity development
4c
Religion as a protector
Aspects of religion that are self-expressive and/or protect
participants from threat
5
Conflict Issues
Issues around which participants argue or disagree with
their parents, such as:
5a
Personal
Personal preferences, including privacy, choice of
activities, and friendships (same- and cross-gender
relationships)
5b
Social conventional
Norms that guide social interaction, and uphold social
structure, social conventions, and social institutions
5c
Prudential
Protecting individual health, safety, and comfort
6
Youth Perspectives of
Conflict
How participants interpret the nature of their conflict with
their parents
6a
Personal
Personal preferences, including privacy, choice of
activities, and friendships (same- and cross-gender
200
relationships)
6b
Social conventional
Norms that guide social interaction, and uphold social
structure, social conventions, and social institutions
6c
Prudential
Protecting individual health, safety, and comfort
7
Parent Perspectives of
Conflict
How participants‟ parents are perceived to interpret the
nature of their conflict with their children
7a
Personal
Personal preferences, including privacy, choice of
activities, and friendships (same- and cross-gender
relationships)
7b
Social conventional
Norms that guide social interaction, and uphold social
structure, social conventions, and social institutions
7c
Prudential
Protecting individual health, safety, and comfort
8
Identity
Participants‟ self-concept, as defined by their
ethnocultural affiliation
8a
Arab identity
Self-categorization, commitment and attachment, and
behavioural involvement with Arab culture
8b
Canadian identity
Self-categorization, commitment and attachment, and
behavioural involvement with Canadian culture
8c
Ethnocultural identity
conflict
Difficulty reconciling their Arab and Canadian selfconcepts
9
„Aib
Actions that are morally and socially unacceptable and
bring shame to the individual and/or their family,
organized around two dimensions:
9a
Respect
Respecting one‟s self, peers, parents, and culture
9b
Status/Reputation
Being respected by one‟s self, parents, peers, and culture
10
Dating and Marriage
Issues relating to courtship and marriage
11
Future Plans
Issues relating to education and career
12
Civic Participation
Arab community involvement and political activism
13
Discrimination
Unjust or prejudicial treatment based on Arab and/or
Muslim background
201
Appendix C
Demographic Profile
Instructions: Family structure may vary from family to family. In terms of most relevance to
your life, please choose the parents that you consider as “mother” and “father”.
Items:
1. How old are you?
2. Are you male or female?
3. What country do you live in?
4. What is your marital status?
5. In what country were you born?
6. In what country was your father born?
7. In what country was your mother born?
8. Which religion (if any) do you identify with?
9. How important are your religious beliefs to you?
10. Which religion (if any) does your mother identify with?
11. How important are your religious beliefs to your mother?
12. Which religion (if any) does your father identify with?
13. How important are your religious beliefs to your father?
14. What year and month did you come to Canada?
15. Did you, your mother, and your father immigrate to Canada at the same time?
16. Does your mother live in Canada full-time?
17. Does your father live in Canada full-time?
18. What is the name of your high school or university?
19. What jobs do you currently hold?
20. How many hours do you work per week?
202
21. People are often described as belonging to a particular racial group or ethnic
background. To which group(s) do you think you belong?
22. Please list all the people you currently live with (i.e., father, brother, roommate, etc.).
23. Do your parents rent or own their home?
24. Are your parents (marital status)
25. Does your mother work? If yes, what is her job?
26. Does your father work? If yes, what is his job?
27. What is your mother‟s highest level of education?
28. What is your father‟s highest level of education?
29. Do your parents provide your food and rent?
30. Do your parents pay your tuition and education costs?
31. Do your parents give you pocket money?
203
Appendix D
The Language, Identity, and Behavior Acculturation Measure (LIB)
Instructions: For the following statements, please mark one of the four possible answers.
Scale Anchors: 1 (Not at all), 2, 3, 4 (Very well, like a native), Not Applicable
Items:
Language Subscale
How would you rate your ability to speak English:
1. at school/work
2. with Canadian friends
3. on the phone
4. with strangers
5. overall
How well do you understand English:
6. on TV or at the movies
7. in newspapers or in magazines
8. in songs
9. overall
How would you rate your ability to speak Arabic:
10. with family
11. with Arab friends
12. on the phone
13. with strangers
14. overall
How well do you understand Arabic:
15. on TV or at the movies
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16. in newspapers or in magazines
17. in songs
18. overall
Cultural Identity Subscale
Instructions: In the following questions we would like to know the extent to which you
consider yourself Canadian and Arab. The term “Arab” is used to describe immigrants from
the Middle East and North Africa who speak the Arabic language. We use the term “Arab”
here to represent ALL national origins from this region (e.g., Egyptian, Lebanese,
Palestinian).
Scale Anchors: 1 (Not at all), 2, 3, 4 (Very much)
To what extent are the following statements true of you?
19. I think of myself as being Canadian.
20. I feel good about being Canadian.
21. I have a strong sense of being Canadian.
22. I am proud of being Canadian.
23. I think of myself as being Arab.
24. I feel good about being Arab.
25. I have a strong sense of being Arab.
26. I am proud that I am Arab.
Cultural Participation (“Behavioral Acculturation”) Subscale
Instructions: To what extent are the following statements true about the things that you do?
Scale Anchors: 1 (Not at all), 2, 3, 4 (Very much)
How much do you speak English:
27. at home?
28. at school?
205
29. with friends?
How much do you:
30. read Canadian books, newspapers, or magazines?
31. listen to Canadian songs?
32. watch Canadian movies (on TV, VCR, etc)?
33. eat Canadian food?
34. have Canadian friends?
35. attend Canadian clubs or parties?
How much do you speak Arabic:
36. at home?
37. at school?
38. with friends?
How much do you:
39. read Arabic books, newspapers, or magazines?
40. listen to Arabic songs?
41. watch Arabic movies (on TV, VCR, etc.)?
42. eat Arab food?
43. have Arab friends?
44. attend Arab clubs or parties?
206
Appendix E
Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ)
Instructions: Here we briefly describe some people. Please read each description and indicate
how much each person is or is not like you, your father, and your mother.
Rating Scale: 1 (Very much like me), 2 (Like me), 3 (Somewhat like me), 4 (A little like me), 5
(Not like me), and 6 (Not like me at all)
Subscales: Conformity (CO), self-direction (SD), achievement (AC), tradition (TR),
universalism (UN), stimulation (ST), security (SE), benevolence (BE), power (PO),
and hedonism (HE).
Items:
1. It is important to him/her to be polite to other people all the time. S/he believes s/he
should always show respect to his/her parents and to older people (CO).
2. Thinking up new ideas and being creative is important to him/her. S/he likes to do
things in an original way (SD).
3. Being very successful is important to him/her. S/he likes to impress other people
(AC).
4. S/he thinks it is important to do things the way s/he learned from his/her family. S/he
wants to follow their customs and traditions (TR).
5. S/he thinks it is important that every person in the world be treated equally. S/he
believes everyone should have equal opportunities in life (UN).
6. S/he thinks it is important to do lots of different things in life. S/he is always looking
for new things to try (ST).
7. The safety of his/her country is very important to him/her. S/he wants his/her country
to be safe from enemies (SE).
207
8. It‟s very important to him/her to help other people. S/he wants to work for the benefit
of those around him/her (BE).
9. S/he likes to tell others what to do. Being in charge is important to him/her (PO).
10. S/he really wants to enjoy life. Having a good time is very important to him/her (HE).
11. S/he likes to make his/her own decisions about what s/he does. It is important to
him/her to be free to choose his/her activities for him/herself (SD).
12. S/he thinks it‟s important not to ask for more than what you have. S/he believes that
people should be satisfied with what they have (TR).
13. S/he strongly believes that people should care for nature. Looking after the
environment is important to him/her (UN).
14. S/he believes that people should do what they‟re told. S/he thinks people should
follow rules at all times, even when no-one is watching (CO).
15. S/he believes s/he must always be sincere and honest with his/her friends. Telling the
truth is very important to him/her (BE).
16. It‟s important to him/her that everything is clean and in order. S/he doesn‟t want
things to be a mess (SE).
17. S/he seeks every chance s/he can to have fun. It is important to him/her to do things
that give him/her pleasure (HE).
18. It is important to him/her to be rich. S/he wants to have a lot of money and expensive
things (PO).
19. S/he likes to take risks. S/he is always looking for adventures (ST).
20. It is important to him/her to listen to people who are different from him/her. Even
when s/he disagrees with them, s/he still wants to understand them (UN).
21. His/her family‟s safety is extremely important to him/her. More than anything s/he
wants his/her family to be safe (SE).
208
22. S/he wants people to know s/he can do things well. It is important to him/her to get
credit for his/her successes (AC).
23. S/he thinks it‟s important to be interested in things. S/he is curious and tries to
understand everything (SD).
24. It is important to him/her to be modest and humble. S/he tries to not draw attention to
him/herself (TR).
25. It is important to him/her to be obedient. S/he strives never to irritate or disturb others
(CO).
26. S/he thinks everyone should work to get people in the world to live together
peacefully. Peace everywhere in the world is important to him/her (UN).
27. Being trustworthy is important to him/her. S/he wants others to feel they can always
count on him/her (BE).
28. S/he thinks it is important to be ambitious. S/he is ready to work hard to get ahead
(AC).
29. S/he always wants to be the one who makes the decisions. S/he likes to be the leader
(PO).
30. S/he likes surprises. It is important to him/her to have an exciting life (ST).
31. It is important to him/her always to behave properly. S/he wants to avoid doing
anything people would say is wrong (CO).
32. Having a stable government is important to him/her. S/he wants the social order to be
preserved (SE).
33. It is important to him/her to adapt to nature and to fit into it. S/he believes that people
should not change nature (UN).
34. It is important to him/her to be loyal to his/her friends. S/he wants to stand by them no
matter what happens (BE).
209
35. Enjoying life‟s pleasures is important to him/her. S/he likes to “spoil” him/herself
(HE).
36. It‟s very important to him/her to show his/her abilities. S/he wants people to admire
what s/he does (AC).
37. Religious belief is important to him/her. S/he tries hard to do what his/her religion
requires (TR).
38. S/he doesn‟t want to depend on others. S/he wants to be able to manage by
him/herself (SD).
39. It is important to him/her to be cautious. S/he avoids actions or situations that might
threaten his/her safety (SE).
40. S/he wants everyone to be treated justly, even people s/he doesn‟t know. It is
important to him/her to protect the weak in society (UN).
210
Appendix F
Intergenerational Conflict Inventory (ICI)
Instructions: Below are a list of issues. Please indicate the extent to which you and your
parents fight about them and how the conflict was resolved, using the scale below.
using the scale listed below. Please also indicate how the conflict was resolved, using the
scale below.
Scale Anchors: 1 (no conflict over this issue), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (a lot of conflict over this issue),
Not Applicable; 1 (I got what I wanted, my mother/father did not); 2 (My mother/father got
what s/he wanted, I did not); 3 (Nobody got what they wanted, we avoided the issue); and 4
(We worked together to both get what we wanted)
Items:
Family Expectations Subscale
1. How often we talk.
2. Your desire for greater independence and autonomy.
3. Following cultural traditions.
4. Pressure to learn one‟s own Arabic language.
5. Expectations based on being male or female.
6. Expectations based on birth order.
7. Family relationships being too close.
8. Family relationships being too distant.
9. How much time to spend with the family.
10. How much to help around the house.
11. How much time to help out in the family business.
12. How religious I am.
Education and Career Subscale
211
13. How much time to spend on studying.
14. How much time to spend on recreation.
15. How much time to spend on sports.
16. Importance of academic achievement.
17. Emphasis on materialism and success.
18. Which school to attend.
19. What to major in college.
20. Which career to pursue.
21. Being compared to others.
Dating and Marriage Subscale
22. When to begin dating.
23. Whom to date.
24. Whom to marry.
25. Staying overnight with my dating partner.
Instructions: What other issues not mentioned above have you and your mother and/or father
fought about in the past three months?
Scale Anchors: 1 (no conflict over this issue), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (a lot of conflict over this issue),
Not Applicable; 1 (I got what I wanted, my mother/father did not); 2 (My mother/father got
what s/he wanted, I did not); 3 (Nobody got what they wanted, we avoided the issue); and 4
(We worked together to both get what we wanted)
Items:
1. Issue 1 (Textbox)
2. Issue 2 (Textbox)
3. Issue 3 (Textbox)
212
Appendix G
Ethnocultural Identity Conflict Scale (EICS)
Instructions: Below are a number of items that relate to your identity or how you see
yourself, particularly in relation to your cultural or ethnic background. Please answer
them using the following scale.
Rating Scale: 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (moderately disagree), 4 (moderately
agree), 5 (agree), and 6 (strongly agree).
Items:
1. No matter what the circumstances are, I have a clear sense of who I am (R).
2. I have difficulties fitting into the wider society because of my cultural background.
3. In general, I do not think that people from my ethnic group know the real me.
4. I sometimes do not know where I belong.
5. I am an outsider in both my own ethnic group and the wider society.
6. Because of my cultural heritage, I sometimes wonder who I really am.
7. I experience conflict over my identity.
8. I find it impossible to be part of both my cultural group and the wider society.
9. I am uncertain about my values and beliefs.
10. I have serious concerns about my identity.
11. People tend to see me as I see myself (R).
12. I do not know which culture I belong to.
13. I find it hard to maintain my cultural values in everyday life.
14. I sometimes question my cultural identity.
15. I am confused about the different demands placed on me by family and other people.
16. Sometimes I do not know myself.
17. I find it easy to maintain my traditional culture and to be part of the larger society (R).
213
18. I feel confident moving between cultures (R).
19. I have difficulties fitting in with members of my ethnic group.
20. I am sometimes confused about who I really am.
214
Appendix H
Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA)
Instructions: These statements ask about your feelings about your mother/father or the person
who has acted as your mother/father. If you have more than one person acting as your
mother/father (e.g., a natural mother/father and a step-mother/father) answer the
questions for the one you feel has most influenced you. Please reach each statement
and select the ONE number that tells how true the statement is for you now.
Scale: 1 (Almost never or never true), 2 (Not very often true), 3 (Sometimes true), 4 (Often
true), 5 (Almost always or always true)
Subscales: Parental Trust (T), Parental Communication (C), Parental Alienation (A)
Items:
1. My mother/father respects my feelings. (T)
2. I feel like my mother/father does a good job as my mother/father. (T)
3. I wish I had a different mother/father. (R) (T)
4. My mother/father accepts me as I am. (T)
5. I like to get my mother‟s/father‟s point of view on things I‟m concerned about.
(C)
6. I feel it‟s no use letting my feelings show around my mother/father. (R) (C)
7. My mother/father can tell when I‟m upset about something. (C)
8. Talking over my problems with my mother/father makes me feel ashamed or
foolish. (R) (A)
9. My mother/father expects too much from me. (R) (T)
10. I get upset easily around my mother/father. (R) (A)
11. I get upset a lot more than my mother/father knows about. (R) (A)
12. When we discuss things, my mother/father cares about my point of view. (T)
215
13. My mother/father trusts my judgment. (T)
14. My mother/father has his/her own problems, so I don‟t bother him/her with mine.
(R) (C)
15. My mother/father helps me to understand myself better. (C)
16. I tell my mother/father about my problems and troubles. (C)
17. I feel angry with my mother/father. (R) (A)
18. I don‟t get much attention from my mother/father. (R) (A)
19. My mother/father helps me to talk about my difficulties. (C)
20. My mother/father understands me. (T)
21. When I am angry about something, my mother/father tries to be understanding.
(T)
22. I trust my mother/father. (T)
23. My mother/father doesn‟t understand what I‟m going through these days. (R) (A)
24. I can count on my mother/father when I need to get something off my chest (need
to talk about something). (C)
25. If my mother/father knows something is bothering me, s/he asks me about it. (C)