In order to understand the interplay of culture and mind in immigrant adolescent learning and psychological adjustment, this multiple-case qualitative study examined salient home and school experiences told by recent Chinese immigrant youth in semistructured interviews and narrative essays. Forging the future between two different worlds defined, respectively, by Chinese tradition and Canadian culture, these adolescents struggled with high parental expectations and intergenerational conflicts at home and suffered acculturative stresses and ethnic peer divides at school. Situating the voices of the immigrant adolescents in the personal, relational, and larger sociocultural contexts, the study suggests that their ongoing psychological adjustment and transformation at the crossroad of two different cultures must be understood in light of the emerging, interdependent individual and social processes.
Anisef, P., & Kilbride, K. M. (Eds.). (2003). Managing two worlds: The experiences & concerns of immigrant youth in Ontario. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Scholars' Press .
2.
Arnett, J.J. (2007). Adolescence and emerging adulthood: A cultural approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
3.
Berry, J.W. (2001). A psychology of immigration. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 615-631.
4.
Berry, J. W., Phinney, J. S., Sam, D. L., & Vedder, P. (Eds.). (2006). Immigrant youth in cultural transition: Acculturation, identity, and adaptation across national contexts. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
5.
Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
6.
Chao, R.K. (1994). Beyond parental control and authoritarian parenting style: Understanding Chinese parenting through the cultural notion of training Child Development, 65, 1111-1119.
7.
Chiu, M.L., Feldman, S.S., & Rosenthal, D.A. (1992). The influence of immigration on parental behavior and adolescent distress in Chinese families residing in two Western nations. Journal of Research on Adolescence , 2, 205-239.
8.
Chiu, Y.W., & Ring, J.M. (1998). Chinese and Vietnamese immigrant adolescents under pressure: Identifying stressors and interventions. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 29, 444-449.
9.
Chua, L.B. (2002). Psycho-social adaptation and the meaning of achievement for Chinese immigrants. New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing.
10.
Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
11.
Collins, W.A., Laursen, B., Mortenson, N., & Ferreira, M. (1997). Conflict processes and transitions in parent and peer relationships: Implications for autonomy and regulation. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12, 178-198.
12.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Larson, R.W. (1984). Being adolescent: Conflict and growth in the teenage years. New York: Basic Books.
13.
Cummins, J. (2001). Empowering minority students: A framework for intervention. Harvard Educational Review (HER Classics Reprint), 71, 656-675.
14.
Cunningham, M., & Spencer, M.B. (2000). Conceptual and methodological issues in studying minority adolescents. In R. Montemayor, G. R. Adams, & T. P. Gullotta (Eds.), Adolescent diversity in ethnic, economic, and cultural contexts (pp. 235-257). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
15.
Daiute, C., & Lightfoot, C. (2004). Narrative analysis: Studying the development of individuals in society. London: Sage.
16.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2003). The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
17.
Erikson, E.H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.
18.
Eyou, M.L.I.N., Adair, V., & Dixon, R. (2000). Cultural identity and psychological adjustment of adolescent Chinese immigrants in New Zealand, Journal of Adolescence, 23, 531-543.
19.
Feliciano, C. (2005). Does selective migration matter? Explaining ethnic disparities in educational attainment among immigrants' children. International Migration Review, 39, 841-871.
20.
Frenette, M., Hou, F., Morissette, R., Wannell, T., & Webber, M. (2008). Earnings and incomes of Canadians over the past quarter century, 2006 Census. (Statistics Canada analytical studies branch research paper series Catalogue No. 97-563-XWE2006001). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Statistics Canada. Available from http://www.12.statcan.ca/english/census06/analysis/income/index.cfm
21.
Florsheim, P. (1997). Chinese adolescent immigrants: Factors related to psychosocial adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 26, 143-163.
22.
Fuligni, A.J., Yip, T., & Tseng, V. (2002). The impact of family obligation on the daily activities and psychological well-being of ChineseAmerican adolescents. Child Development, 73, 302-314.
23.
Hirsch, E.D. (1976). The aims of interpretation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
24.
Hofstede, G.H. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
25.
Holstein, J.A., & Gubrium, J.F. (2003). Inside interviewing: New lenses, new concerns . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
26.
Igoa, C. (1995). The inner world of the immigrant child. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
27.
James, D.C.S. (1997). Coping with a new society: The unique psychosocial problems of immigrant youth. Journal of School Health, 67, 98-102.
28.
Kalbach, M.A., Hardwick, K.H., Vintila, R.D., & Kalbach, W.E. (2002). Ethnicconnectedness and economic inequality: A persisting relationship. Canadian Studies in Population, 29, 245-264.
29.
Kang, S.M. (2006). Measurement of acculturation, scale formats, and language competence: Their implications for adjustment. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37, 669-693.
30.
Kao, G., & Joyner, K. (2004). Do race and ethnicity matter among friends? Activities among inter-racial, inter-ethnic, and intro-ethnic adolescent friends. Sociological Quarterly, 45, 557-573.
31.
Kim, U., & Chun, M.J.B. (1994). The educational "success" of Asian Americans: An indigenous perspective. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 15, 329-339.
32.
Kottak, C.P. (2007). Mirror for humanity: A concise introduction to cultural anthropology. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
33.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2003). Racialized discourses and ethnic epistemologies . In N. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (pp. 398-432). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
34.
Larson, R.W., Moneta, G., Richards, M.H., & Wilson, S. (2002). Continuity, stability, and change in daily emotional experience across adolescence. Child Development, 73, 1151-1165.
35.
Lee, B.K., & Chen, L. (2000). Cultural communication competence and psychological adjustment: A study of Chinese immigrant children's cross-cultural adaptation in Canada. Communication Research, 27, 764-792.
36.
Lee, L.C., & Zhan, G. (1998). Psychosocial status of children and youths. In L. C. Lee & N. W. S. Zane (Eds.), Handbook of Asian American psychology (pp. 137-164). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
37.
Lee, J., & Zhou, M. (Eds.). (2004). Asian American youth: Culture, identity and ethnicity. New York: Routledge.
38.
Li, G.F. (2006). Culturally contested pedagogy: Battles of literacy and schooling between mainstream teachers and Asian immigrant parents. Albany: State University of New York Press.
39.
Li, J. (2004). Parental expectations of Chinese immigrants: A folk theory about children's school achievement. Race Ethnicity and Education, 7, 167-183.
40.
Lin, C., & Liu, W.T. (1999). Intergenerational relationships among Chinese immigrant families from Taiwan. In H. P. McAdoo (Ed.), Family ethnicity: Strength in diversity (pp. 235-251). London: Sage.
41.
Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (2003). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (pp. 253-291). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
42.
Mason, J. (1996). Qualitative researching. London : Sage.
43.
McKay, S., & Wong, S. (1996). Multiple discourses, multiple identities: Investment and agency in second-language learning among Chinese adolescent immigrant students. Harvard Educational Review, 66, 577-608.
44.
Montemayor, R. (2000). The variety of adolescent experiences. In R. Montemayor, G. R. Adams, & T. P. Gullotta (Eds.), Adolescent diversity in ethnic, economic, and cultural contexts (pp. 258-271). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
45.
Nieto, S. (2000). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. New York: Longman.
46.
Norton, B. (2006). Identity as a sociocultural construct in second language education. TESOL in Context, Special Issue, 22-33.
47.
Olson, D.R. (1995). Writing and the mind. In J. V. Wertsch, P. D. Rio, & A. Alvarez (Eds.), Sociocultural studies of mind (pp. 95-123). New York: Cambridge University Press.
48.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2006). Where immigrant students succeed: A comparative review of performance and engagement in PISA 2003. Paris : Programme for International Student Assessment ( Pisa), OECD.
49.
Ostrovsky, Y. (2008). Earnings inequality and earnings instability of immigrants in Canada (Statistics Canada analytical studies branch research paper series, Catalogue No. 11F0019MIE2007294). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Statistics Canada.
50.
Peng, S.S., & Wright, D. (1994). Explanation of academic achievement of AsianAmerican students. Journal of Educational Research, 87, 346-352.
51.
Phinney, J.S., Horenczyk, G., Liebkind, K., & Vedder, P. (2001). Ethnic identity, immigration, and well-being: An interactional perspective. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 493-510.
52.
Quinn, N. (2005). Finding culture in talk: A collection of methods . New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
53.
Sam, D.L., & Vedder, P., Ward, C., & Horenczyk, G. (2006). Psychological and sociocultural adaptation of immigrant youth. In J. W. Berry, J. S. Phinney, D. L., Sam, & P. Vedder (Eds.), Immigrant youth in cultural transition: Acculturation, identity, and adaptation across national contexts (pp. 117-142). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
54.
Schneider, B., & Lee, Y. (1990). A model for academic success: The school and home environment of Eastern Asian students. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 21, 358-377.
55.
Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. New York: Teachers College Press.
56.
Short, K.H., & Johnston, C. (1997). Stress, maternal distress, and children's adjustment following immigration: The buffering role of social support. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 494-503.
57.
Shkedi, A. (2005). Multiple case narrative: A qualitative approach to studying multiple populations. Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
58.
Shweder, R. (1991). Thinking Through Cultures. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
59.
Statistics Canada. (2007). Immigration in Canada: A portrait of the foreign-born population, 2006 Census: Immigrants came from many countries. Retrieved December 4, 2007, from http://www.12.statcan.ca/english/census06/analysis/immcit/asia.cfm
60.
Suárez-Orozco, C., & Suárez-Orozco, M. (2001). Children of immigration . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
61.
Sue, D.W., & Sue, D. (1999). Counseling the culturally different: Theory and practice. New York: Wiley.
62.
Sue, S., & Abe, J. (1995). Predictors of academic achievement among Asian American and White students. In D. T. Nakanishi & T. Y. Nishida (Eds.), The Asian American educational experience: A source book for teachers and students. (pp. 302-321). New York: Routledge .
63.
Tung, M.P. (2000). Chinese Americans and their immigrant parents: Conflict, identity, and values. New York: The Haworth Press.
64.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
65.
Wertsch, J. V., Del Rio, P., & Alvarez, A. (Eds.). (2002). Sociocultural studies of mind. New York: Cambridge University Press.
66.
Wong, C.A., & Rowley, S.J. (2001). The schooling of ethnic minority children: Commentary . Educational Psychologist, 36, 57-66.
67.
Yeh, C., & Inose, M. (2002). Difficulties and coping strategies of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean immigrant students. Adolescence, 37, 69-82.
68.
Yin, R.K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
69.
Yu, L.C. (1984). Acculturation and stress within Chinese-American families. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 15, 77-94.
70.
Zhou, M., & Kim, S. (2006). Community forces, social capital, and educational achievement: The case of supplementary education in the Chinese and Korean immigrant communities. Harvard Education Review, 76, 1-29.
