Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Families - Essay Example

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Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Families ABC 11/19 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Race, ethni and culture 3 Educating children about ethnicity and race 4 Families in ethnic minority groups and self esteem 5 Racial socialization and parenting 6 Obligations towards the family, cultural norms and familism 6 Parenting behaviors in developing racial and ethnic identity 7 Ethnic / racial identity a protective role in the adjustment of the adolescent 8 Role of acculturation in the youths belonging to immigrant families 8 Racial / ethnic discrimination and their outcomes 9 Role of gender in discrimination experiences 10 Immigration and racial discrimination 11 Multiracial families 11 Flexibility and malleability of multiracial identities 12 Marital processes in multicultural and multiracial families 13 Ethnic differences in integration of extended families 14 Conclusion 15 References: 16 Introduction The breakthroughs in technology have spurred a lot of migration and immigration of people from one country to another. The result is that there is increased interaction between persons hailing from different creed, caste, race, color and ethnicity. These people follow different norms and traditions and hence their culture is also different. Take the case of the United States of America. Moving forward, it seems that the demographic profile of this country will be different as to what is was in previous years. This country may have a multicultural population in the years to come. The population in this nation may consist of non – Hispanic European Americans and other people coming from different ethnicities and racial groups. This country will be dominated by Hispanics although there will be an increasing rate of Pacific Islanders and Asian American people. It is estimated that the U.S. population will consist of 14% African American, 8% Asian American, 53% non – Hispanic white people and 25% Hispanic people by the year 2050. The differential boost is due to the younger age and higher fertility rates of Asian and African Americans and Hispanics (McLoyd et al, 2000). Race, ethnicity and culture Before we proceed to explore the diversity in race and ethnicity in families, let us try to find out the meaning of ethnicity, race and culture. Ethnicity, race and culture do not have the same meaning and it is very important that these terminologies are explored separately. Socially ascribed and constructed statuses mirroring broader political and socio historical influences are constituted by ethnicity and race. Nowadays a lot of emphasis is given to immigrant families and hence it becomes very important to separate culture and immigration status. Culture is a practice which is constantly changing, dynamic and reciprocal. A person learns to adapt to the ongoing changes taking place due to the influences of history, politics and sociology. The terminology, socio cultural has been coined to show the influence of the above mentioned multiple agents (Chao & Otsuki-Clutter, 2011). The Study Group on Race, Ethnicity and Culture has suggested defining these terminologies. According to them, race can defined as the phenotypic disparities which arise as a result of biological or genetic dispositions like color of the skin, texture of the hair, etc. Ethnicity can be explained as the perceived membership of a group of people depending on the ancestry, nationality, or both. Culture has a broad connotation. It considers the individual discrepancies in families in relation to the beliefs, practices and values. Culture also takes into account the roles of an individual in the family, affective styles, pattern of communication and interaction and values with regards to individualism, personal control, collectivism, religiosity and spirituality (Murry, Smith & Hill, 2001). Educating children about ethnicity and race Socialization is a means adopted by all families in order to educate children about the meaning and result of race and ethnicity. This is the way in which children are enlightened about the differences in culture, the heritage and history of the group they belong to, discrimination or biases and politics in identity. Although most families try to educate older children on cultural and ethnic diversities, researchers have hinted that families should also teach these aspects to the younger children. This is because children may interact with people coming from different race and culture when they start attending elementary and kindergarten schools. Hence, it is the moral responsibility of the parents to help children to manage racial contact. There are three main reasons which attribute to explain societal contact of young children to race and ethnicity. Firstly, the child’s living condition may expose him or her to ethnic and racial discrimination. Alternately, the child needs to be educated to join a marginalized racial or ethnic community. This can be summarized by saying that the daily social life exposes the child to opportunities that educates him on racial or ethnic diversity. Research conducted in this aspect has proved that phenotypic differences are recognized by children at a very early age. Secondly, families providing love and affection to children help to foster more interactions between the parent and the child. Hence, children discuss diverse topics including ethnicity and race with their parents and families. Thirdly, racial and ethnic socialization makes children of a color to live in a society which may treat them with hostility (Brown et al, 2007). Families in ethnic minority groups and self esteem There has been very limited research on the relationship between perceived competence and self esteem in a family. Self esteem plays a major role in exploring links between parental behavior, child – parent relationships and behavior of adolescents and children. Broadly speaking, studies have found to have links between the adolescent – parent relationships and self esteem of the adolescent. Parents and adolescents experiencing a warm and friendly relationship have higher confidence and self esteem than those parents and adolescents suffering from a troubled relation. Adopted adolescents belonging to an ethically racial group, displayed lower level of confidence and self esteem than those who were being raised by at least one or both biological parents. Studies also found that the male child belonging to married parents staying together had a higher level of self esteem than those whose parents were divorced. However, these studies could not establish any difference in the level of self esteem for girls. Self esteem levels in children were higher for those who had authoritative parents. Other studies conducted found that high stress levels in families led to lower self esteem among the adolescents and children. In case of middle class and Caucasian families, it has been observed that there is a greater degree of association and stronger parenting thereby fostering stronger relationships between parents and children (Phares et al, 2005). Racial socialization and parenting Parents and elders in a family need to focus on the responses towards devaluation of minority groups and discrimination by racial socialization. Parents need to face challenges by supporting and preparing the child towards ecological demands and developmental work. Parents have mainly displayed four types of ethnic/racial socialization signals. Most parents prepare the children to handle prejudices with regard to discrimination. Some others also teach their children about the rich heritage, cultural history and pride. Many elders in the family promote and generate a feeling of mistrust by cautioning the children about the obstacles to success and other ethnic racial groups. There are some silent messages conveyed which may make a child to avoid mentioning a particular race or ethnicity. Researchers have also observed that parents tend to promote prejudices and foster a feeling of mistrust as the child grew in age. Girls were mainly educated on racial pride and boys were mainly tutored on racial barriers. Scientists and scholars have also assessed the discrimination with regard to age and gender differences. The experiences on discrimination on youths and parents depended on both gender and age. Obligations towards the family, cultural norms and familism A lot of studies conducted on immigrant families have described that factors related to interdependence of the family, immigration, cultural norms and orientations followed by the family and the support extended by the kith and kin in a family. Obligations towards one’s family is described by working for the family or spending time with the family or assisting and supporting one’s family. Immigrant youths have the added challenges of cultural and language brokering. However maximum researches have observed that such challenges benefit the youth as they give more quality time to the families other than working on improving their language and cognitive skills. However there is also a disadvantage to this. Most children find it very difficult to adjust to the new settings as they rarely have any friends and associates. Hence, this results in stress, problems in adjusting to the new environment and lower performance in schools. Parenting behaviors in developing racial and ethnic identity It is very necessary that an ethical identity is successfully developed in the youth and adolescents belonging to the minority community. This is because this happens to be one of the many identity crises that adolescents and youths suffer. Studies conducted in this area have found that most adolescents tend to constantly change their ethnic identity. Further studies conducted have established the fact that contextual references on the development of ethnic identity like neighborhoods and family, schools and the ethnic community plays a major role in shaping the ethnic identity of an adolescent. This is especially true if an adolescent youth has a transition from ethnically homogenous middle institutions to ethnically varied high institutions. A study was conducted to find the participation of the family in trying to socialize the youth to its ethnic culture and race. The study showed that parental efforts to promote the ethnic pride of the adolescents was successful only for those pupils who had high involvement by parents, lesser ecological risks, less risks from the neighborhood and low strict parenting. For those adolescents who showed high level of ecological risks, the efforts of the parents to establish an ethnic pride had an adverse effect. International studies conducted in the development of ethnic identity has established that support of the family, in particular parents, plays a pivotal role in helping the adolescents and youths of the family to adjust and develop their ethnic identity. Further studies have established that there exists a positive relationship between the adolescent’s racial identity and the racial socialization practices followed by parents. In fact the parent – child relationship plays a pivotal role in forming global identity. It has been observed that parents respect of dislike for certain norms and ideas have a positive correlate in exploring the identity of youths and adolescents (Umana-Taylor & Guimond, 2010). However, most studies have largely neglected the development of ethnic identity for multiracial and multiethnic adolescents. Some others have just considered broad ethnic groups such as Asians, thereby ignoring the non – homogenous sub ethnicity in groups like Koreans, Chinese, Japanese etc. However studies conducted to explore the links between parenting behaviors and functioning of adolescents have found that they differ from different ethnic / racial groups. In fact, a pivotal role is played by ethnicity in determining the functions of the family members both as a family and as individuals in a family. Ethnic / racial identity a protective role in the adjustment of the adolescent Recent studies have researched the protective factor of racial and ethnic identity in the overall welfare of the ethnic minority youths and adolescents. These studies examined the impact of racial and ethical identity on the self esteem, internal and external problems, adjustment in academic institutions, attitudes towards the family and drug abuse. Further studies conducted in this area have successfully demonstrated the ways in which racial and ethical identity can protect the youths against adverse results and foster positive results by means of mediators like perceived stress and ego and moderators like school, neighborhood and gender. Role of acculturation in the youths belonging to immigrant families Acculturation is the modification of the culture of an individual or group due to contact with people belonging to a different culture. It plays a major role especially for the adolescents coming from immigrant families. Each member of the immigrant family goes through a change and this is a family process. Studies have conducted exploring the level of acculturation of both parents and elders and adolescents. These studies have tried to explore the degree of discrepancy in the level of acculturation. There are higher chances of cultural conflict between different generations in a family. This is because children and adolescents have a greater exposure to schools and hence the level of acculturation to the host culture is higher than that of parents and elders. Such intergenerational culture conflicts have adverse consequences on the relationships between adolescents and parents which may be displayed by means of higher rate of conflicts, low communication and the closeness shared between the parents and adolescents residing in the same family. The conflicts are a result of the discrepancies shared in the cultural norms and may negatively affect the academic performance and generate stress. Many adolescents face a higher risk of delinquency and substance use which may lead to severe consequences like increased conflicts with parents and on a severe note, emotional separation. Racial / ethnic discrimination and their outcomes It has been observed that discrimination conducted on minority groups have adverse impact on a broad range of outcomes. There are a lot of moderators between the adjustment of the adolescent and perceived discrimination. These include achievement in academic performance, gender bias, style of parenting, ethnic or racial identity, strategies used for coping, racial socialization and the ethnic or racial composition in the schools and neighborhood. Studies have found that it is possible that perceived discrimination may trigger a crisis which may prompt and adolescent to explore the ethnicity and resolve the final meaning of their race or ethnicity. Adolescents who experience discrimination questioning the perception of the social group or the identity of the individual may further trigger an identity change. As per the social identity theory, individuals facing negative encounter with regards to their ethnic group, will strive to lessen the negative signals by emphasizing on the positive aspects of the social group and thereby striving to maintain an optimistic social identity. Also intergroup clashes and discrimination can accelerate the attachment and identity to one’s social group. With relation to the ethnic identity, perceived discrimination may help to foster optimistic feelings about one’s racial and ethnic group. Hence, it can be concluded that higher levels of discrimination leads to higher growth in affirmation, exploration of the ethnic identity and resolution. Role of gender in discrimination experiences Gender plays an important role in discrimination experiences. Discrimination was widely practiced in South Africa and is very common in the lives of African – Americans. At least 60 – 90 percent of discrimination incidents taking place in the lives of African – Americans are reported every year. Studies conducted in racial discrimination have tried to explore the links between family relationships and racial discrimination. It has been observed that family interventions help to better understand the socio cultural stressors which one experiences as a result of discrimination. Stress responses to discrimination vary depending on the gender of the person. Males usually adapt a flight or fight attitude when confronted with such kind of problems. Females, on the other hand, incline to seeking or offering support when confronted with discrimination. Discrimination in the work place has adversely affected the family life and the relationships in the family. Studies conducted in this regard observes that in days a male parent faces a stressful situation at work may lead to increased conflict or lower communication and even withdrawal from the family. In contrast, the female parent displays increased nurturing behavior when confronted with stressors at work. In case of ethnic racial groups, there is a higher level of affiliation in the family and network of extended kinship in order to confront to discrimination. Most males look up to social support in helping to get rid of racism related stress (Riina & McHale, 2010). It was also observed that discrimination adversely impacts marital relationships, co – parent and parent – adolescent relationships. It was also found that discrimination triggered more expressive relationship between the members of the family which is viewed to be a positive sign. Immigration and racial discrimination It has been observed that immigrant families face a greater risk of racial discrimination. It has been found that racial discrimination triggers depression in individuals. Individuals suffering from discrimination have a higher risk of suffering from depression than those who are not affected by discrimination. This is especially true in case of immigrant families which may suffer from ethnic and racial discrimination (Noh et al, 1999). Immigrant families have to develop an adaptive culture in order to successfully manage the variety and differential access to things related to their positions in the society. It has been observed that in immigrant families there is a difference in receptions which facilitates the ecological functions which help to modify the practices, beliefs and values of parents. This is turn, helps parents to successfully impart these modified beliefs, values and practices in transiting an adolescent to an adult. Studies conducted on Latino immigrant people, have found that Latino immigrant parents are more involved in the academic activities of the child and also evaluate the performance of the teachers (Perreira, Chapman & Stein, 2006). Multiracial families In today’s world, mixed people form one of the fastest growing populations. Multiracial individuals are those who have biological parents coming from different race or ethnicities. Such individuals have many identity choices which may range from mono racial to extra racial. People who identify themselves with a single racial group are mono racial. On the other hand, individuals identifying themselves as being a part of the human race may be termed as extra racial (Good, Chavez & Sanchez, 2010). The growth of the multiracial population is a staunch denial to the perspective that there is an existence of clear, natural races among the people in such societies. Recent studies illustrate that mixed race people make and do their choices about their ethnic and racial identities. Mixed race people emphasize on preferred identity choices. Some may go choose to go for single racial identity (for example, Black) whereas others may prefer to opt for a mixed, blended identity thereby refusing to choose a single category. While some individuals and families may seek to be a part of a single ethnicity or race, others may try to refute, contest or shift classifications and boundaries (Song, 2010). This term is referred to malleable racial identification. The individual or the multiracial family tends to shift ethnic/racial identities depending on the social context. Flexibility and malleability of multiracial identities Studies on multiracial and multi ethnic minority groups suggest that such individuals enjoy increased fluidity and flexibility due to their multiple race identities. It has been established that over a period of five years, people belonging to multiracial families were at least five times vulnerable to changing their identities than keep it constant. One of the pivotal factors responsible for the change in identities is the social context. Moreover such individuals have to deal with the challenge to define their ethnic identity as a result of the current construction of relations with different races. One of the most common ways to establish the identity of such individuals is to use the multiracial identity of any one of the biological parents. Some individuals belonging to multiracial families are more sensitive to social context than others. In a similar manner, some bicultural people may shift their cultures depending on the social context. Multicultural people are those who come from different races. Such groups have ethnicity based culture associations and practices linked to them. Hence all multiracial people are multicultural but all multicultural people may not be multiracial. This can be better illustrated by means of an example. Take the case of an Asian American family. An Asian American person has a single racial identity but multiple cultural identities (Asian and American). On the other hand, a person belonging to a Chinese/Japanese family has a single racial identity but hails from two distinct ethnic groups; Chinese and Japanese. Hence, the individual is exposed to multi cultural identity. Here the individual may choose to follow any one or both Chinese and Japanese cultures. Hence, it can be concluded that the malleability in the levels of identification may differ from person to person. Hence, multiracial people change their ethnic identities depending on the social context (Sanchez & Shih, 2009). Marital processes in multicultural and multiracial families Recent studies have examined the issues with regards to multicultural and multiracial marriages and parental socialization. Ethnic intermarriage is a common phenomenon especially among the Asian Americans. However, studies conducted in interracial marriages have confirmed that the divorce rate is particularly high for such marriages. Most ethnic/racial families have the role of the father to be protective and the provider to the family. On the other hand, the woman’s function is limited to the boundaries of the house. The participation of woman in the workforce has helped the woman to gain power both at her workplace and at home. In fact, most working men agree that it is very important for their partners to work in order to maintain a particular standard of living. The main source of racial and ethnic differences in family lives may be as a result of differences in culture rather than the social locations (Rosenblatt, Karis & Powell, 1995). In comparison with American European men, Asian American men are more conservative regarding a plethora of gender functions including achievement in the workplace, responsibility to carry out the household chores etc. These racial discrepancies in gender functions may be partly responsible, especially in the early years of marriage, for the fact that race is one of the important determinant whether social variables like participation of the husband in the house work and children in the house, help to lessen the shock of woman’s work on the psychological welfare of the husband. Ethnicity and race are both linked with physical violence displayed by one or both partners. It has been observed that Blacks are less likely to report incidence of marital violence as compared to Whites. However, in multiracial and multicultural families, it has been observed that the total wife to husband violence rate is moderate. Other studies conducted have found that reports of spousal violence may underestimate the differences in race in a male to female partner violence. There has been a lot of evidence that racial disparity is a leading factor associated with marital happiness. Further research conducted has found that satisfaction and marital happiness is less in African American couples than European American couples. Another explanation of disparity in the race affecting marital happiness is the discrimination meted out in the workplace to people belonging to particular racial/ethnic minority groups. Ethnic differences in integration of extended families It has been argued that the families who live near to their kin are in constant touch with each other. These people assist their extended families. The bond between the extended family and immediate family members is very strong. In this context, we define an extended family to consist of any other members other than the spouse and minor children. Let us find out the ethnic differences in the integration of extended families. In a study conducted between Mexican American and European Americans, it has been found that Mexican American people maintained more contact with their kin rather than Euro Americans. The Mexican Americans kept contact both by phone as well as face to face meetings and interactions. Other studies observed that Latin American people were less likely to provide emotional and financial support to their kin as compared with the European Americans. Social scholars argue that Mexican Americans are less educated and earn less income than the European Americans. This is one principal reason for these people for not being able to financially assist the extended family thereby leading to the deterioration in the network of extended families. Gender is another reason responsible for ethnic disparities in the integration of extended families. It has been observed that woman have more ethnic disparities than men. Also ethnic differences in families depend on the social strata they belong to (Sarkisian, Gerena & Gerstel, 2007). Conclusion From the above discussion, we can observe that there are a number of social variables which are responsible for the family integration. Ethnic, cultural and racial socialization are the ways by which children belonging to minority ethnic/racial groups come to know about their ethnicity, cultural heritage and race (Johnston et al, 2007). Racial / ethnic diversity in families is growing due to more and more interaction among people belonging to different ethnicities and races. The parents, elders, children and adolescents have to overcome these challenges. Most of the interaction happens in contact with the outside world – especially when children start attending middle and high schools and later on in the work place. 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