Impact of Immigration on the Internal Processes and Developmental Tasks of Emerging Adulthood

• NCJ Number: 212341
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 34 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2005 Pages: 413-426
• Author(s): Sophie Walsh; Shmuel Shulman; Benny Feldman; Offer Maurer
• Date Published: October 2005
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the ways in which immigration--a significant event that requires psychological, social, economic, and career adjustments--impacts a youth approaching adulthood.

Abstract

The study, which was conducted in Israel, involved a sample of 41 immigrants from the former Soviet Union who entered Israel when they were between the ages of 21 and 25. All had immigrated within the previous 5 years and were studying in a pre-university preparatory program in two Israeli cities. A comparison group of nonimmigrant Israelis between the ages of 21 and 25 was also recruited. Using a semistructured interview, participants were asked to describe themselves and talk about their personal, social, and professional dreams and current life status; to describe postadolescence changes they had experienced; and to indicate the changes they expected in the future. They were also asked to describe various aspects of their relationships with their parents. The findings showed that although the immigrants had a more disorganized sense of self than the nonimmigrants, they also manifested higher levels of both autonomy and relatedness in their interaction with parents. The immigrants had fewer social networks yet more intimate relationships. The immigrants' level of self-organization was related to closeness, caring, and identification with parents as well as the intimacy of relationships outside the family. In contrast, the nonimmigrant Israelis talked about a process of "autonomy seeking" in which a consolidated sense of self was related to more independent decisionmaking, emotional independence, and assertiveness in their relationship with parents. These findings suggest that immigrants in a period of emerging adulthood are experiencing a disorganized sense of self that requires support and guidance in positive social interactions even as they are seeking more autonomy. 2 tables and 72 references