Identity and acculturation: The case for Africa

Byron G. Adams*, Fons J. R. van de Vijver

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

27 Citations (Scopus)
216 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Despite the multicultural nature of African societies, there is still very little knowledge about acculturation and its association with identity on this continent. Acculturation processes and outcomes are strongly associated with identity. The objective of this article is to relate different models of acculturation (unidimensional, bi-dimensional, multidimensional) with the tri-dimensional model of identity (personal, relational, and social). Social identity components, such as ethnicity, religion, and culture, suggest a need for modification of Western models of acculturation to embrace the multifaceted realities of non-Western multicultural societies. The social complexity and the continuous transition within African societies provides unique opportunities to examine and further develop the multidimensional acculturation models to take into account the social complexity which informs identity issues both within and across different African nations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)115-121
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Psychology in Africa
Volume27
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2017

Keywords

  • personal identity
  • relational identity
  • social identity
  • acculturation outcomes
  • acculturation process
  • Africa
  • EAST-AFRICA
  • COLLECTIVE IDENTITY
  • PERSONAL IDENTITY
  • ETHNIC-IDENTITY
  • EMERGING ADULTS
  • ADAPTATION
  • PSYCHOLOGY
  • SELF
  • IDENTIFICATION
  • PERSPECTIVES

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