"From Conflict to Compromise: Immigrant Families and the Processes of Acculturation"

There is a tendency for psychological researchers to examine the issue of acculturation in broadly based terms. Where these broad forces are typically acted out, however, is in the family. Not only are families the central social unit for most immigrants, but family dynamics demonstrate the interplay of individual, interpersonal and intergroup influences. This chapter will describe some of the potential sources of family conflict inherent in the immigration process and how immigrant families cope with these issues. The manner in which families negotiate the two cultures, especially when some members of the family acculturate more quickly than others, reveals a microcosm of both the conflicts and the processes of adaptation that define the immigrant experience.