Acculturation and Adjustment: A Meta-Analytic Study

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Abstract
Studies of the relationship between acculturation and various forms of adjustment yield divergent findings. Meta-analytic techniques were used to synthesize relevant studies. Samples from the 49 reports were used in more than one class; providing 111 samples for computation. Separate meta-analyses were computed for 11 acculturation and adjustment classes: extroversion (n = 5), self-esteem (n = 6), locus of control (n = 8), career (n = 8), addiction (n = 8), affective disorders (n = 9), field independence (n = 10), family conflict (n = 12), arniety/stress (n = 14), intelligence (n = 14), and psychosociallhealth (n = 17). Because the classes were heterogeneous, clustered homogeneous subgroupings were computed. The more substantial effects were indicated for the subgroupings within intelligence (z+ = .16, p < .01, n = 10), field independence (z+ = .54, p < .01, n = 7), and anxiety/stress (z+ = -.27, p < .01, n = 5) classes. Higher socioeconomic status samples evidence the greatest increases in adjustment with acculturation. The situation specific associations defined among acculturation, sample characteristics, and indices of adjustment were interpreted by integrating coping theory, a social inequality perspective, and acculturative stress models.