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Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology The Acculturation Gap-Distress Model: Extensions and Application to Arab Canadian Families Sarah Rasmi, Susan S. Chuang, and Karl Hennig Online First Publication, August 18, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000014

CITATION Rasmi, S., Chuang, S. S., & Hennig, K. (2014, August 18). The Acculturation Gap-Distress Model: Extensions and Application to Arab Canadian Families. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000014

Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 2014, Vol. 20, No. 4, 000

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The Acculturation Gap-Distress Model: Extensions and Application to Arab Canadian Families Sarah Rasmi

Susan S. Chuang and Karl Hennig

American University in Dubai

University of Guelph

Using a multidomain and bidimensional approach, the present study applied and extended the acculturation gap-distress model with an immigrant Arab Canadian sample. Consistent with this model, immigrant Arab emerging adults (n ⫽ 113) perceived acculturation gaps between themselves and their parents with respect to their heritage and settlement culture orientation and values. Some of these gaps, in turn, were associated with poorer outcomes. Extending the model, the most problematic acculturation gaps were those in which the emerging adult perceived themselves to be more oriented to Arab culture and values than their parents. We also found some support for the moderating role of parent– emerging adult relationships. Keywords: acculturation, immigrant, Arab

Acculturation refers to the process of adjusting to a new culture and can involve changes to an individual’s cultural orientation, values, and identity (Tsai, Chentsova-Dutton, & Wong, 2002). When immigrant youth and parents acculturate differently, they experience acculturation gaps. Most research in this area has focused on how acculturation gaps relate to poorer individual and familial outcomes that occur when youth are more oriented to the settlement culture than their parents, who tend to retain their heritage culture more strongly than their children (Tardif-Williams & Fisher, 2009). We have a limited understanding of acculturation gaps that occur in the opposite direction (Telzer, 2010), as well as factors that moderate the association between acculturation gaps and outcomes (for exception, see Kim & Park, 2011; Schofield, Parke, Kim, & Coltrane, 2008; Weaver & Kim, 2008). Further, the vast majority of acculturation gap studies have focused on East Asian populations in Western countries with few examining other culturally distant acculturating groups, such as Arabs. We built on existing literature by examining acculturation gaps that occur in both directions, how these gaps relate to intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict, and whether the parent– emerging adult relationship moderates these associations in a sample of immigrant Arab families in Canada.

fact that Arab Canadians are a rapidly growing group comprised largely of first-generation immigrants (Statistics, Canada, 2010). The historical and cultural context of Arab families is significantly different from Canada’s, and because the Arab population is fairly young (Statistics Canada, 2007), it is important to better understand how Arab youth are acculturating into Canada and how these experiences may relate to their ethnocultural identity and parent– youth relationships. The term Arab Canadian refers to people who have migrated to Canada and originate from North Africa, the Arab Levantine states, the Arab peninsular countries, and Iraq. Despite some intracultural variation, Arab people are united by their shared identity, language, and cultural traditions, which include music, food, and customs (Barakat, 1993). Arab Canadians primarily come from Lebanon (41%) and Egypt (12%) and affiliate with Christianity (44%) and Islam (44%; Statistics Canada, 2007). This religious distribution is not consistent with the overall Arab population, who are predominantly Muslim (Roudi-Fahimi, May, & Lynch, 2013). The overrepresentation of Arab Christians in Canada is likely due to the fact that historically, most immigrants were from Lebanon and Egypt, which both have a sizable Christian minority. More recent Arab migrants, however, are Muslim (CERIS, 1999). Normative Arab and European Canadian cultural beliefs, values, and practices differ markedly. In Arab culture, interpersonal relationships are hierarchical, people strictly adhere to cultural norms, and the group is prioritized over the individual. In Canada, interpersonal relationships are egalitarian, prejudicial beliefs and behaviors are denounced, and individual needs are prioritized (Hofstede, 2001). Normative Arab values include power, tradition, and conformity, whereas normative European Canadian values include social justice and independence (Schwartz, 2006). Arab and European Canadian families differ with respect to structure and socialization goals. In Arab culture, the most important unit of society is the family, which takes precedence over its individual members (Britto & Amer, 2007). Arab families are

Arab Canadians Few studies have examined Arab family and acculturation issues (Beitin, Allen, & Bekheet, 2010; Britto, 2008), despite the

Sarah Rasmi, School of Arts and Sciences, American University in Dubai; Susan S. Chuang, Department of Family Relations, University of Guelph; Karl Hennig, Department of Psychology, University of Guelph. This research was conducted as part of the first author’s doctoral work under the supervision of the second and third authors at the University of Guelph. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sarah Rasmi, School of Arts and Sciences, American University in Dubai, P.O. Box 28282, Dubai, UAE. E-mail: [email protected] 1


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RASMI, CHUANG, AND HENNIG

characterized by powerful parents and subservient children who are socialized to be obedient and interdependent (Kayyali, 2006). Typically, the father serves as the patriarchal head-of-household whereas the mother is the primary caregiver and disciplinarian (Hattar-Pollara & Meleis, 1995). In Western countries such as Canada, maternal involvement in the labor force and nontraditional families are more common (Marsiglio, Day, & Lamb, 2000). European Canadian children are socialized to be curious and independent (Hofstede, 2001). These significant cultural and familial differences may challenge immigrant Arab Canadians to balance two cultural worlds. At school, immigrant children are exposed to teachers, peers, and a school system that likely espouse values, beliefs, and behaviors that contradict their heritage culture (Phinney, Ong, & Madden, 2000). At home, their parents may only speak Arabic, cook Arab food, practice their religious traditions, and enforce rules that are consistent with their heritage beliefs and values. As youth are socialized in Canada, they often become more oriented to the settlement culture and begin to internalize its values (Kwak, 2003). This shift is less likely to occur for parents as they were socialized in the heritage society (Costigan & Dokis, 2006). Thus, Arab youth are challenged to negotiate conflicting expectations in their various social environments (Benet-Martinez & Haritatos, 2005), which can contribute to acculturation gaps between parents and their children (Collie, Kindon, Liu, & Podsiadlowski, 2010).

Acculturation: Theory and Gaps Acculturation is best understood as a bidimensional process that centers on the extent to which an individual wishes to interact with and adopt aspects of their settlement culture, as well as the extent to which they wish to preserve elements of their heritage culture (Berry, 2003). For immigrants who migrate with their families, acculturation is an individual process that occurs within the family parameters (Berry, Phinney, Kwak, & Sam, 2006). Youth navigate developmental demands in the context of cultural change (Costigan, Su, & Hua, 2009) while also balancing inconsistent expectations from their different social environments. As they undergo their own acculturation process, parents are challenged to socialize their children for success in the new society, which may involve promoting behaviors and values that contradict their own (Tam, Lee, Kim, Li, & Chao, 2012). As a result of these parallel processes, parents and youth may have opposing heritage and settlement cultural orientations (i.e., acculturation gaps). Many studies have examined how acculturation gaps relate to youth adjustment and family functioning. Most of this research is grounded in the acculturation gap-distress model, which states that youth are more oriented toward the settlement culture than their parents; a difference that negatively affects youth and families. To date, support for this model has been inconsistent. Some studies have found that youth and parents—particularly those from collectivistic cultures like Arab countries— experience a very similar acculturation process, with shared cultural orientations (Phalet & Schönpflug, 2001) and views (Kagitçibas¸i, 2003). We were the first to assess the relevance and applicability of acculturation gaps in immigrant Arab Canadian families. Recently, Telzer (2010) argued that the acculturation gapdistress model oversimplifies acculturation within the family by ignoring the possibility that other types of acculturation gaps can

occur. Several studies have found that “reversed” acculturation gaps (i.e., when the youth is more oriented to the heritage culture and/or less oriented to the settlement culture than their parent or parents) are associated with poorer outcomes even when “expected” (i.e., when the youth is more oriented to the settlement culture and/or less oriented to the heritage culture than their parent or parents) acculturation gaps are not (e.g., Lim, Yeh, Liang, Lau, & McCabe, 2008). Yet, most acculturation studies continue to focus on “expected” as opposed to “reversed” gaps. Many of the inconsistent and contradictory findings reported by acculturation gap studies are exacerbated by conceptual and methodological issues that limit the broader acculturation literature. Unfortunately, some studies have conceptualized acculturation as a unidimensional continuum, despite widespread support for the bidimensional model (Berry, 2003). Another limitation is that many studies draw broad conclusions from a single proxy measure of acculturation. For example, Pasch and colleagues (2006) concluded that acculturation gaps were unrelated to parent-adolescent conflict and youth adjustment in a community sample of Mexican American families (mothers, fathers, and children). However, acculturation was only measured using a six-item measure of language skills. Thus, their findings only examined acculturation behavior and overlooked other important domains, including identity and values (Costigan, 2010). Acculturation gaps have also been examined using different analytic strategies. The most common method is the difference score approach, which involves subtracting one person’s acculturation score from the other. This approach is problematic because it conflates the main effects with the interaction effects and can create positive as well as negative scores. The interaction term approach is a more effective analysis as it disentangles main and interaction effects (Birman, 2006) and identifies the direction of the gap, allowing for the analysis of both “expected” and “reversed” acculturation gaps. To address these limitations, we used a multidomain (behavior, identity, and values) and bidimensional (orientation to Arab and Canadian culture) model of acculturation to investigate perceptions of acculturation gaps in immigrant Arab families in Canada. We examined these gaps using the interaction term approach to identify both “expected” and “reversed” acculturation gaps. In contrast to most acculturation gap research, we focused on emerging adults who were between 18 and 25 years old. Historically, most acculturation gap studies have focused on adolescence because it is a developmental period in which children are likely to still live in the family home. However, in some ethnocultural groups, youth continue to reside in the family home until marriage, which can occur well beyond adolescence (Arnett, 2007; Lim et al., 2008). Thus, challenges once considered most salient to adolescents, such as acculturation gaps and intergenerational conflict, are being examined with samples of emerging adults from immigrant backgrounds (e.g., Ahn, Kim, & Park, 2008). Although emerging adulthood is a Western concept, it also applies to Arab populations who are undergoing demographic changes that are consistent with this developmental period. For example, the average age of marriage for both men and women has risen all over the region (a trend that is particularly pronounced for women who pursue their education), as has education, and wom-

ACCULTURATION GAPS IN ARAB CANADIAN FAMILIES

en’s participation in the labor force (Rashad, Osman, & RoudiFahimi, 2005).1


Personal Values: Theory and Gaps Personal values are classically defined as the principles and broad life goals that guide an individual’s life (Rokeach, 1968). Historically, research has assumed that personal values are relatively stable, but recent theoretical and empirical work (Bardi, Lee, Hofman-Towfigh, & Soutar, 2009; Bardi & Goodwin, 2011) has found that they do change, particularly in response to significant life events including immigration. Yet, few studies have examined how gaps between parents’ and youth’s values may relate to individual and familial outcomes, despite the fact that values are a salient acculturation domain (Costigan, 2010). We addressed this gap by incorporating personal values into our study of acculturation gaps. Schwartz’s (1992) personal values theory is the most influential and widely established framework of personal values. This theory argues that two higher-order value dimensions organize 10 value types. One of these dimensions, openness-to-change (OC) versus conservation (CO), refers to the conflict motivated by uncertainty and unpredictability (OC) versus the preservation of certainty, tradition, and the status quo (CO). OC values include selfdirection, stimulation, and hedonism, and CO values include tradition, conformity, and security. Immigrant values may start to change postmigration, as they are exposed and must adapt to a new cultural values system. For Arabs in Canada, this change involves migrating from a country with normative values that are consistent with CO values to one whose normative values are consistent with OC values (Schwartz, 2006). Similar to acculturation, the process of personal values change occurs individually and within the context of the family. Arab immigrant parents are challenged to reconcile two conflicting value systems as they try to socialize their children. Many parents recognize that the heritage culture values that are important to them may not be adaptive in the settlement society and struggle with whether they should try to transmit them to their children (Tam & Lee, 2010). In contrast, immigrant youth’s values often favor the settlement culture’s normative values over time (Phinney et al., 2000) resulting in a gap between parents and youth (Knafo & Schwartz, 2001). In addition to exploring the nature of this gap, we examined whether these gaps were associated with heightened intergenerational and ethnocultural identity conflict, and if parent– emerging adult relationships moderated these associations.

Acculturation Gaps: Outcomes Intergenerational Conflict Intergenerational conflict refers to the interpersonal conflict that occurs between parents and youth. In Western families, intergenerational conflict can occur in response to youth’s greater expectations for autonomy that accompanies normative developmental changes (Steinberg & Silk, 2002). Parents can resolve this conflict in one of three ways: increasing youth involvement in the decisionmaking process, reasoning with them, or granting the autonomy that youth desire (Sorkhabi, 2010). In Arab families, intergenerational conflict may be less frequent as youth are socialized to be

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obedient, discouraged from freehold exploration of their environment, and expected to rigidly adhere to rules and regulations (Hofstede, 2001). Arab youth tend to conform to parental wishes and desire autonomy to a lesser extent, as well as at a later age, than their Western counterparts (Dwairy, Achoui, Abouserie, & Farah, 2006; Dwairy, Achoui, Abouserie, Farah, Sakhleh, et al., 2006). In contrast to Arab families living in the Middle East, immigrant Arab families may experience more intergenerational conflict postmigration as they adapt to the mainstream society. Many studies have found that acculturation gaps predict intergenerational conflict, typically when youth are more strongly oriented to the settlement culture than their parents (e.g., Choi, He, & Harachi, 2008; Tsai-Chae & Nagata, 2008). In Arab families, this may occur as youth acclimate to European Canadian culture and are exposed to the ideals of personal choice and freedom, without the explicit association with shame that they have in Arab culture (Uskul, Oyserman, & Schwarz, 2010). Thus, youth may desire more autonomy (Kwak, 2003) and become more likely to assert themselves (Nucci & Turiel, 2000) in conflict situations. If parents continue to view personal choice and freedom as shameful, conflict is likely to increase as youth reject their use of shame as justification for exerting parental authority. Parents may respond by becoming more strict (Kayyali, 2006), which can increase intrafamilial tension that is often at the root of intergenerational conflict (Li, 2009). In addition, intergenerational conflict has implications for immigrant youth’s identity development. For example, many bicultural youth fight with their parents about romantic relationships that involve members of an ethnocultural outgroup (Uskul, Lalonde, & Konanur, 2011). Youth in these situations may feel torn between their own personal choice and respecting their parents’ wishes, potentially leading to a fragmented identity.

Ethnocultural Identity Conflict Immigrants are exposed to and must negotiate novel aspects of the settlement culture with their heritage behaviors, values, and beliefs. Ethnocultural identity conflict arises when people have a strong attachment to multiple identities that have conflicting norms (Ward, Stuart, & Kus, 2011). Previous research has shown that acculturation gaps reinforce ethnocultural identity conflict (Ward, 2007). Three factors may increase the likelihood that immigrant Arabs in Canada experience ethnocultural identity conflict. First, it is more likely to occur when the heritage and settlement cultures are dissimilar (Ward, 2008). Second, many Arabs have encountered an unsupportive and hostile sociocultural environment since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, which can negatively affect their identity development and adaptation (Britto, 2008). Third, minority Arab identification has been historically blurred by the United States and Canadian governments, who have classified people of Arab origin as “White.” Arabs have identified this as a double-barreled disadvantaged, as they do not reap the benefits of majority group status because they are not perceived as White, but also cannot 1 Our sample also shared these characteristics, as they were all postsecondary students who were predominantly unmarried (the four who were married were only civilly married and continued to reside at home with their families).


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benefit from their minority status because their “White” categorization (Cainkar, 2006). To date, no studies have examined ethnocultural identity conflict and intergenerational conflict within immigrant Arab populations despite the relevance of these issues. We addressed this gap by examining how intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict relate to perceived acculturation gaps in immigrant families and whether the parent– emerging adult relationship moderates these associations.


The Moderating Role of Parent–Emerging Adult Relationships Previous research has found that communication, trust, and support are particularly important aspects of the immigrant parent– emerging adult relationship (e.g., Crockett, Brown, Iturbide, Russell, & Wilkinson-Lee, 2009). These relational qualities foster an emotional bond between family members (Qin, 2006) that protects against intergenerational conflict (Phinney, Kim-Jo, Osorio, & Vilhjalmsdottir, 2005) and is associated with a more coherent self-concept (Walsh, Shulman, Feldman, & Maurer, 2005). There is evidence to suggest that the parent– emerging adult relationship may have two different functions in immigrant families faced with acculturation gaps: risk or protection. First, acculturation gaps may weaken the parent–youth bond, making it difficult to relate to one another, and lead to poorer outcomes, including intergenerational conflict (Crockett, Brown, Russell, & Shen, 2007). Alternatively, acculturation gaps may be more likely to occur in a context lacking parental warmth (Kim, Chen, Li, Huang, & Moon, 2009). This is consistent with previous research reporting that parental warmth is associated with increased parent– youth acculturation (Costigan & Dokis, 2006) and value (Rudy & Grusec, 2001) similarity. Second, strong parent– emerging adult relationships may protect against the negative effects of acculturation gaps. Stuart, Ward, Jose, and Narayanan (2010) found that despite some differing viewpoints, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian parents and youth in New Zealand endeavored to support one another through the challenges of acculturation. Overall, these findings support the notion that immigrant families can be the source of both stress and support (Phinney & Ong, 2007). We were among the first to explicitly examine parent– emerging adult relationships as a moderator of the association between acculturation gaps and outcomes, and the first to do so using an immigrant Arab Canadian sample.

The Present Study Despite the fact that Arab families are one of the largest and fastest growing visible minority populations in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2011), they remain a fairly understudied ethnocultural group. Thus, we explored immigrant Arab families to address the current limitations of the acculturation gap literature, and examined how “expected” and “reversed” acculturation gaps related to both intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. Specifically, we adopted a bidimensional acculturation approach in order to identify the various gaps that emerged on the heritage (Arab) and settlement (Canadian) cultural dimensions. We also incorporated multiple domains of acculturation (behavior, identification, and values) in order to gain a more comprehensive un-

derstanding of acculturation gaps and conflict. Building on recent developments in the field, we examined whether parent– emerging adult relationships moderated the associations between acculturation gaps and conflict.

Hypotheses To examine the relations between perceived acculturation gaps and conflict and whether parent– emerging adult relationships moderated these associations, four hypotheses were tested. We expected that greater perceived acculturation gaps in either direction would be associated with increased intergenerational conflict (Hypothesis 1) and that parent– emerging adult relationships would moderate this association (Hypothesis 2). Similarly, we expected that greater perceived acculturation gaps in either direction would be associated with increased ethnocultural identity conflict (Hypothesis 3) and that parent– emerging adult relationships would moderate this association (Hypothesis 4).

Analytic Strategies Eight hierarchical regressions were conducted to test the relations between perceived acculturation gaps and both intergenerational conflict (Hypothesis 1) and ethnocultural identity conflict (Hypothesis 3). For both hypotheses, control variables (age, gender, and years in Canada) were entered in Step 1, mean-centered main effects (emerging adult and perceived parent acculturation) were entered in Step 2, and the two-way interaction term (Emerging Adult ⫻ Perceived Parent Acculturation) was entered in Step 3. An additional eight hierarchical regressions were conducted to determine whether parent– emerging adult relationships moderated the associations between perceived acculturation gaps and both intergenerational conflict (Hypothesis 2) and ethnocultural identity conflict (Hypothesis 4). For both hypotheses, control variables (age, gender, and years in Canada) were entered in Step 1, meancentered main effects (emerging adult and perceived parent acculturation, parent– emerging adult relationship) were entered in Step 2, two-way interaction terms (Emerging Adult ⫻ Perceived Parent Acculturation, Emerging Adult Acculturation ⫻ Parent–Emerging Adult Relationship, Parent Acculturation ⫻ Parent–Emerging Adult Relationship) were entered in Step 3, and the three-way interaction term (Emerging Adult Acculturation ⫻ Perceived Parent Acculturation ⫻ Parent–Emerging Adult Relationship) was entered in Step 4. All significant interactions were probed by plotting parents’ perceived acculturation scores at “high” (⫹1 SD) and “low” (⫺1 SD) levels of emerging adults’ acculturation scores (Aiken & West, 1991).

Method Participants Participants were 113 first-generation immigrant Arab emerging adults who migrated to Canada with their parents. Participants were relatively evenly distributed by gender (55.8% female), and ranged in age from 18 to 25 years old (M ⫽ 20.52 years, SD ⫽ 1.96). Most participants were either Muslim (76.1%) or Christian (14.2%). The primary birth countries were Egypt (19.5%), the



United Arab Emirates (14.2%), Iraq (13.3%), and Saudi Arabia (12.4%). Most participants (67%) had lived in Canada for 10 years or less, although length of residence ranged from 6 months to 24 years (M ⫽ 8.8 years, SD ⫽ 5.41). The average age of arrival was 11.80 years old (SD ⫽ 5.50). Most participants (55.8%) were full-time students who did not work and received financial support from their parents. Participants’ parents were highly educated with most mothers (81.4%) and fathers (84.9%) holding a Bachelor’s degrees or higher. Most participants came from two-parent families (88.5%).

Procedures Participants were recruited through university, settlement, and community organizations and asked to complete an online survey in English. They were entered into a draw for one of two $250 cash prizes. Participants indicated their consent by clicking “I consent to participate in this study” on the survey Web page. All procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the institution at which the research was conducted.

Measures All measures were compiled into a single online questionnaire that was administered in English. This study used a single informant. Therefore, participants rated themselves as well as their perceptions of their parents with regards to cultural orientation and values. They also rated their ethnocultural identity conflict, intergenerational conflict, and relationship with their parents. To compute all scores, individual items were averaged (with the exception of the parent– emerging adult relationship scale that sums each item). For all variables, higher scores reflect higher levels of each construct. Arab and Canadian orientation. Birman, Trickett, and Vinokurov’s (2002) 44-item Language, Identity, and Behavioral Acculturation Scale was used to measure Arab and mainstream Canadian orientation. Items related to language (e.g., “How would you rate your ability to speak English/Arab overall?”), cultural identity (e.g., “I think of myself as being Arab/Canadian”), and cultural participation (e.g., “How much do you eat Arab/Canadian food?”) and were rated on a scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much). The Language, Identity, and Behavioral Acculturation Scale has demonstrated excellent reliability with diverse samples (e.g., Birman, 2006). Participants rated each item three times, indicating their personal response, as well as how they perceived their father and mother. Cronbach’s alpha ranged from .85 to .94 in this study. As indicated previously, we examined perceived acculturation gaps using the interaction term approach, which allowed us to identify the unique and combined contributions of emerging adults’ and perceived parents’ acculturation to conflict and to examine both “expected” and “reversed” acculturation gaps (see Birman, 2006). This method involved entering the mean-centered main effects in Step 1 and the interaction term in Step 2 in a series of hierarchical regression equations. Personal values. Schwartz and colleagues’ (2001) 40-item Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) was used to measure personal values. The PVQ has been used in hundreds of studies and

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has demonstrated excellent psychometric properties (see Schwartz et al.). Participants rated their similarity to a series of vignettes representing personal values (e.g., “He likes to make his own decisions about what he does. It is important to him to be free to choose his activities for himself” represents self-direction) on a scale ranging from 1 (very much like me) to 6 (not like me at all). Scores on the PVQ were reverse-coded so that higher values would reflect greater endorsement of each value. To measure perceived parental values, participants indicated, “How much like or unlike your father/mother is this person?” using a modified rating scale. Cronbach’s alpha ranged from .86 to .95 in this study. Scores on the PVQ are typically centered so that higher scores reflect greater relative importance because people have a tendency to report all values as important to a degree. In this study, ipsatizing the scores would create unnecessary circularity by providing information regarding the extent to which emerging adults endorsed CO and OC values relative to self-transcendence and selfenhancement values, compared to the extent to which parents were perceived to endorse OC and CO values relative to selftranscendence and self-enhancement values. As we were primarily interested in the extent to which emerging adults endorsed CO and OC values relative to their perception of their fathers’ and mothers’ endorsement of the same values, we used the raw PVQ scores. Therefore, OC and CO values scores were computed by averaging the raw score on each of their respective scale items. Intergenerational conflict. An adapted version of Chung’s (2001) 24-item Intergenerational Conflict Inventory was used to measure intergenerational conflict in three domains: family expectations, education and career, and dating and marriage. We added two items (“How religious I am” and “Staying overnight with my dating partner”) and deleted one item (“Time spent practicing music”) that we thought better captured intergenerational conflict issues in immigrant Arab families in Canada. Items were rated on a scale ranging from 1 (no conflict over this issue) to 6 (a lot of conflict over this issue) to describe conflict they experienced with their fathers (␣ ⫽ .94) and mothers (␣ ⫽ .95). Previous research with college-attending emerging adults has found the Intergenerational Conflict Inventory to be a reliable and valid measure (e.g., Ahn et al., 2008). Ethnocultural identity conflict. Ward et al.’s (2011) 20-item Ethnocultural Identity Conflict Scale was used to measure ethnocultural identity conflict. Participants rated items including “I sometimes do not know where I belong” and “I am an outsider in both my own ethnic group and the wider society” on a scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Participants rated their own ethnocultural identity conflict. Cronbach’s alpha was .92 in this study. The Ethnocultural Identity Conflict Scale has been shown to be a reliable and valid measure (Ward, 2008). Parent– emerging adult relationships. Armsden and Greenberg’s (1987) 25-item revised Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment was used to measure parent– emerging adult relationships. Items reflected parental trust (e.g., “My mother respects my feelings”), communication (e.g., “I like to get my father’s point of view on things I’m concerned about”), and alienation (reversecoded; e.g., “I get upset a lot more than my mother knows about”). Participants rated their relationships with their mothers (␣ ⫽ .94) and fathers (␣ ⫽ .95) on a scale ranging from 1 (almost never or never true) to 5 (almost always or always true). The Inventory of


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Parent and Peer Attachment has shown good psychometric properties in studies of college-attending emerging adults from immigrant backgrounds (e.g., Ying, Lee, & Tsai, 2007).

Results

to endorse CO values more strongly than their parents, and 33.9% perceived themselves to endorse OC values less strongly than their parents. In addition, several participants perceived no gaps between themselves and their parents with respect to Arab and Canadian orientation, as well as CO and OC values (.9%, .9%, 1.8%, and 2.7%, respectively).


Preliminary Analyses Descriptive statistics for the study variables are presented in Table 1. The relation between perceived mother and father scores were examined. To reduce the overall number of analyses and risk of inflating Type I error, individual mother and father measures were averaged and the aggregate score was used in the subsequent analyses. We chose to combine parent scores for several reasons. First, the intercorrelations between mother and father scores were high (rs ⫽ .55 to .92). Second, there were a large number of nonsignificant differences between mother and father scores on the study variables. The only significant differences were on the Canadian orientation and CO values dimensions (fathers were perceived as more oriented to Canadian culture than mothers and mothers were perceived to value CO more strongly than fathers). Despite these differences, the same pattern emerged when comparing emerging adults to both parents on the Canadian culture and CO value dimensions: Emerging adults were more strongly oriented to Canadian culture and valued CO significantly less than their perception of both parents. Third, when analyses were conducted separately for mothers and fathers, the results remained largely unchanged. To assess the extent of perceived acculturation gaps, a series of paired comparisons were conducted for cultural orientation (Arab, Canadian) and values (OC, CO). Emerging adults were significantly more oriented toward Canadian culture, t(111) ⫽ 17.65 and endorsed OC values significantly more strongly than their perception of their parents, t(111) ⫽ 3.37. Similarly, emerging adults were significantly less oriented to Arab culture (t(111) ⫽ ⫺8.71) and endorsed CO values significantly less strongly than their perception of their parents (t(111) ⫽ ⫺3.65 (all ps ⬍ .001). When examined as a difference score, a large number of gaps occurred in the other direction: 17.0% of emerging adults perceived themselves to be more oriented to Arab culture than their parents, 5.4% of emerging adults perceived themselves to be less oriented to Canadian culture than their parents, 30.4% perceived themselves

Given the large number of analyses, only significant regression models that were probed are presented in text. See Tables 2 and 3 for all regression models. The hypothesized relation was that perceived acculturation gaps would be associated with heightened intergenerational conflict (Hypothesis 1). We found some support for this hypothesis as “reversed” CO values gaps were associated with increased ethnocultural identity conflict (EIC). Specifically, results showed a significant perceived Parent ⫻ Emerging Adult CO Values interaction (see Figure 1). There was a strong relation between perceived parent CO values and IC at high emerging adult CO values (⫹1 SD; ␤ ⫽ ⫺.64, p ⫽ .002) and a marginal relation at low emerging adult CO values (⫺1 SD; ␤ ⫽ ⫺.23, p ⫽ .058). At high levels of emerging adult CO values, IC increased as perceived parent CO values decreased. However, and unexpectedly, IC was highest when perceived parent Canadian orientation was low regardless of emerging adult Canadian orientation. Specifically, results showed a significant perceived Parent ⫻ Emerging Adult Canadian Orientation interaction (see Figure 2). There was a strong relation between perceived parent Canadian orientation and IC at low emerging adult Canadian orientation (⫺1 SD; ␤ ⫽ ⫺1.09, p ⬍ .001) but no relation at high emerging adult Canadian orientation (⫹1 SD; ␤ ⫽ ⫺.31, p ⫽ .29). No significant relations emerged for perceived Arab orientation and OC values gaps. Moderating role of parent– emerging adult relationships. We expected that parent– emerging adult relationships would moderate the associations between perceived acculturation gaps and IC (Hypothesis 2). We did not find support for this hypothesis; however, there were strong and significant main effects for parent– emerging adult relationships in all regression models (see Table 3).

Interactions Between Acculturation Gaps and Ethnocultural Identity Conflict

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics M (SD) Study variable

Interactions Between Acculturation Gaps and Intergenerational Conflict

Emerging adult

Parents

3.14 (.52) 3.32 (.40)

3.61 (.43) 2.49 (.51)

4.74 (.97) 4.73 (.97)

5.02 (1.09) 4.41 (.93)

— 2.39 (1.02) 2.52 (.93)

92.28 (18.82) — —

Cultural orientation Arab Canadian Personal values Conservation Openness to change Parent–emerging adult relationships conflict Intergenerational conflict Ethnocultural identity conflict Note. Significant differences are bolded.

We expected that perceived acculturation gaps would be associated with heightened ethnocultural identity conflict (Hypothesis 3). Results showed some support for this hypothesis as “reversed” Arab orientation and “reversed” CO values gaps were associated with increased ethnocultural identity conflict (EIC). Specifically, results showed a significant perceived Parent ⫻ Emerging Adult Arab Orientation interaction (see Figure 3). There was a strong relation between perceived parent Arab orientation and EIC at high emerging adult Arab orientation (⫹1 SD; ␤ ⫽ ⫺1.39, p ⬍ .001), but no relation at low emerging adult Arab orientation (⫺1 SD; ␤ ⫽ ⫺.11, p ⫽ .61). At high levels of emerging adult Arab orientation, EIC increased as perceived parent Arab orientation decreased. Results also showed a significant perceived Parent ⫻ Emerging Adult CO values interaction (see Figure 4). There was a


7

Table 2 Hypotheses 1 and 3 Results Hypothesis 1: Intergenerational conflict


⌬R2 Perceived Arab orientation gap Step 1 Age Gender Years in Canada Step 2 EA Arab Parent Arab Step 3 EA ⫻ Parent Arab Perceived Canadian orientation gap Step 1 Age Gender Years in Canada Step 2 EA Canadian Parent Canadian Step 3 EA ⫻ Parent Canadian Perceived CO values gap Step 1 Age Gender Years in Canada Step 2 EA CO values Parent CO values Step 3 EA ⫻ Parent CO Values Perceived OC values gap Step 1 Age Gender Years in Canada Step 2 EA OC values Parent OC values Step 3 EA ⫻ Parent OC Values

.01

.00

Fchange .51

5.99ⴱ

.01

.38

7.18ⴱⴱⴱ

.03

4.18ⴱ

.01

.21

.04

␤3

⫺.11 ⫺.02 .09

⫺.07 .02 .10

.03 ⫺.05

.00 ⫺.23† ⫺.31ⴱ

⫺.10 ⫺.01 .04

⫺.10 .00 .05

⫺.13 ⫺.04 .04

.04 ⫺.36ⴱⴱⴱ

.12 ⫺.35ⴱⴱⴱ .21ⴱ

⫺.07 ⫺.02 .04

⫺.06 ⫺.01 .04

⫺.06 ⫺.05 .04

.00 ⫺.19

⫺.01 ⫺.49ⴱⴱ

1.85

.07

8.28ⴱⴱ

.01

.21

.04

1.99

.03

⫺.10 ⫺.02 .07

␤2

.12

.06

.12

␤1

3.19†

⫺.41ⴱⴱⴱ

⫺.07 ⫺.02 .04

⫺.08 .00 .04

⫺.06 ⫺.03 .03

⫺.01 ⫺.19†

⫺.05 ⫺.21† ⫺.18†

Hypothesis 3: Ethnocultural identity conflict ⌬R2

Fchange

.04

1.40

.03

1.69

.09

10.63ⴱⴱ

.04

1.32

.00

.04

.06

6.50ⴱ

.03

1.18

.03

1.64

.07

7.83ⴱⴱ

.03

1.18

.03

1.77

.01

.59

␤1

␤2

␤3

⫺.03 .09 .17†

⫺.01 .10 .14

.04 .16† .15

⫺.10 ⫺.12

⫺.14 ⫺.35ⴱⴱ ⫺.39ⴱⴱ

⫺.03 .10 .16†

⫺.03 .10 .16

⫺.06 .04 .15

.01 ⫺.03

.12 ⫺.02 .27ⴱ

⫺.02 .09 .16

.00 .09 .16

.00 .06 .16†

⫺.08 ⫺.11

⫺.08 ⫺.40ⴱ ⫺.39ⴱⴱ

⫺.02 .09 .16

⫺.04 .09 .16

⫺.03 .08 .16

.14 ⫺.20†

.12 ⫺.21† ⫺.08

Note. EA ⫽ emerging adult; CO ⫽ conservation; OC ⫽ openness to change; ␤1 ⫽ standardized betas for the control model; ␤2 ⫽ standardized betas for the main effects model; ␤3 ⫽ standardized betas for the interaction effects model. † p ⬍ .10. ⴱ p ⬍ .05. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01. ⴱⴱⴱ p ⬍ .001.

strong relation between perceived parent CO values and intergenerational conflict (IC) at high emerging adult CO values (⫹1 SD; ␤ ⫽ ⫺.52, p ⫽ .006) but no relation at low emerging adult CO values (⫺1 SD; ␤ ⫽ ⫺.15, p ⫽ .15). At high levels of emerging adult CO values, EIC increased as perceived parent CO values decreased. No significant relations emerged for perceived Arab orientation and OC values gaps. Moderating role of parent– emerging adult relationships. The hypothesized relation was that parent– emerging adult relationships would moderate the associations between perceived acculturation gaps and EIC (Hypothesis 4). We found some support for this hypothesis, as a perceived Arab orientation gap was

associated with decreased EIC at high levels of parent emergingadult relationship. Specifically, results showed a significant perceived Parent ⫻ Emerging Adult Arab Orientation ⫻ Parent– Emerging Adult relationship interaction (see Figure 5). The relation between perceived Arab orientation acculturation gap (i.e., Perceived Parent ⫻ Emerging Adult Arab Orientation) and EIC was significant at high (⫹1 SD; ␤ ⫽ ⫺2.47, p ⬍ .001) but not low levels of parent– emerging adult relationship (⫺1 SD; ␤ ⫽ ⫺.14, p ⫽ .63). To further explore this significant interaction, we plotted all four combinations of emerging adult and perceived parent Arab orientation at low and high levels of parent– emerging adult relationship (see Figure 6). When emerging adults did not perceive


8 Table 3 Hypotheses 2 and 4 Results


Hypothesis 2: Intergenerational conflict

Perceived Arab orientation gap Step 1 Age Gender Years in Canada Step 2 EA Arab orientation Perceived parent Arab orientation Parent–EA relationship Step 3 EA ⫻ Parent Arab EA Arab ⫻ Relationship Parent Orientation ⫻ Relationship Step 4 EA ⫻ Parent Arab ⫻ Relationship

⌬R2

Fchange

.01

.51

.23

10.44ⴱⴱⴱ

.07

3.46ⴱ

.00

.48

.01

.38

␤1

⫺.10 ⫺.02 .07

Hypothesis 4: Ethnocultural identity conflict

␤2

␤3

␤4

⫺.06 .02 .07

⫺.05 .05 .08

⫺.05 .05 .09

.11 .03 ⫺.50ⴱⴱⴱ

.10 ⫺.17 ⫺.49ⴱⴱⴱ

.11 ⫺.16 ⫺.48ⴱⴱⴱ

⫺.11 ⫺.10 ⫺.22†

⫺.16 ⫺.10 ⫺.24ⴱ ⫺.09

⌬R2

Fchange

.04

1.40

.15

6.31ⴱⴱⴱ

.07

3.16ⴱ

.04

5.81ⴱ

.04

1.32

␤1

␤2

␤3

␤4

⫺.03 .09 .17†

.03 .13 .13

.07 .17† .14

.06 .19ⴱ .16

⫺.05 ⫺.07 ⫺.36ⴱⴱⴱ

⫺.11 ⫺.24† ⫺.34ⴱⴱⴱ

⫺.09 ⫺.19 ⫺.32ⴱⴱⴱ

⫺.37ⴱⴱ ⫺.03 .08

⫺.52ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.06 .00 ⫺.33

Perceived Canadian orientation gap Step 1 Age Gender Years in Canada Step 2 EA Canadian orientation Perceived parent Canadian orientation Parent–EA relationship Step 3 EA ⫻ Parent Canadian EA Canadian ⫻ Relationship Parent Canadian ⫻ Relationship Step 4 EA ⫻ Parent Canadian ⫻ Relationship

.27

12.42ⴱⴱⴱ

.04

1.66

.00

.01

.01

.21

⫺.10 ⫺.01 .04

⫺.04 .04 ⫺.01

⫺.06 .00 ⫺.02

⫺.06 .01 ⫺.02

.08 ⫺.25ⴱⴱ ⫺.41ⴱⴱⴱ

.15 ⫺.24ⴱ ⫺.40ⴱⴱⴱ

.15 ⫺.24ⴱ ⫺.40ⴱⴱⴱ

.22ⴱ ⫺.08 .00

.22ⴱ ⫺.08 .00

.16

.01

6.72ⴱⴱⴱ

.08

3.53ⴱ

.00

.27

.03

1.18

⫺.03 .10 .16†

.03 .14 .10

.01 .09 .08

.01 .09 .09

.05 .09 ⫺.43ⴱⴱⴱ

.16 .09 ⫺.42ⴱⴱ

.15 .08 ⫺.44ⴱⴱⴱ

.32ⴱⴱ ⫺.08 ⫺.13

.34ⴱⴱ ⫺.07 ⫺.14 .06

Perceived CO values gap Step 1 Age Gender Years in Canada Step 2 EA CO values Perceived parent CO values Parent–EA relationship Step 3 EA ⫻ Parent CO EA CO Values ⫻ Relationship Parent CO Values ⫻ Relationship Step 4 EA ⫻ Parent CO Values ⫻ Relationship

.22

9.78ⴱⴱⴱ

.03

1.32

.02

2.06

.01

.21

⫺.07 ⫺.02 .04

⫺.01 .03 .00

⫺.03 .02 .01

⫺.02 .01 .00

⫺.02 ⫺.05 ⫺.46ⴱⴱⴱ

.02 ⫺.25 ⫺.41ⴱⴱⴱ

.02 ⫺.24 ⫺.36ⴱⴱ

⫺.23 ⫺.02 ⫺.16

⫺.16 ⫺.09 ⫺.21 ⫺.21

.15

6.29ⴱⴱⴱ

.03

1.35

.02

3.08†

.03

1.18

⫺.02 .09 .16

.05 .12 .13

.05 .12 .13

.07 .11 .11

⫺.09 .00 ⫺.37ⴱⴱⴱ

⫺.01 ⫺.30 ⫺.29ⴱⴱ

⫺.01 ⫺.29 ⫺.22†

⫺.26 .21 ⫺.17

⫺.17 .12 ⫺.23 ⫺.26†

Perceived OC values gap Step 1 Age Gender Years in Canada Step 2 EA OC values Perceived parent OC values Parent–EA relationship Step 3 EA ⫻ Parent OC Values EA OC Values ⫻ Relationship Parent OC Values ⫻ Relationship Step 4 EA ⫻ Parent OC Values ⫻ Relationship

.23

.01

.00

9.99ⴱⴱⴱ

.33

.02

⫺.07 ⫺.02 .04

⫺.01 .04 .00 ⫺.06 ⫺.04 ⫺.46ⴱⴱⴱ

.00 .02 .00

.00 .02 .00

⫺.09 ⫺.05 ⫺.44ⴱⴱⴱ

⫺.09 ⫺.05 ⫺.45ⴱⴱⴱ

⫺.09 ⫺.03 .03

⫺.10 ⫺.03 .03 .02

.15

.04

.01

6.30ⴱⴱⴱ

⫺.02 .09 .16

.02 .12 .13

.01 .09 .13

.01 .12 .13

.10 ⫺.08 ⫺.37ⴱⴱⴱ

.20† ⫺.18 ⫺.39ⴱⴱⴱ

.18 ⫺.16 ⫺.35ⴱⴱⴱ

.02 .24ⴱ ⫺.25ⴱ

.07 .20 ⫺.26ⴱ

1.84

1.19

⫺.13

Note. EA ⫽ emerging adult; CO ⫽ conservation; OC ⫽ openness to change; ␤1 ⫽ standardized betas for the control model; ␤2 ⫽ standardized betas for the main effects model; ␤3 ⫽ standardized betas for the two-way interaction effects model; ␤4 ⫽ standardized betas for the three-way interaction effects model. † p ⬍ .10. ⴱ p ⬍ .05. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01. ⴱⴱⴱ p ⬍ .001.



Figure 1. The relation between perceived parent conservation values and intergenerational conflict at low and high emerging adult conservation values.

an Arab orientation acculturation gap (i.e., both were high or both were low), EIC decreased when the parent– emerging adult relationship was strong. A different pattern emerged for gaps. Specifically, when an “expected” gap occurred, EIC did not differ as a function of the parent– emerging adult relationship. In contrast, when a “reversed” gap occurred, EIC decreased when the parent– emerging adult relationship was strong. Thus, in partial support of hypothesis 4, EIC decreased at high levels of parent– emerging adult relationship when emerging adults perceived no gap or a “reversed” gap between themselves and their parents.

9

Figure 3. The relation between perceived parent Arab orientation and ethnocultural identity conflict at low and high emerging adult Arab orientation.

adult relationships can serve as a source of support during emerging adults’ experiences of acculturation challenges.

Perceived Acculturation Gaps and Conflict

This study extended our understanding of acculturation gaps in multiple ways. First, we examined the acculturation gap-distress model in an immigrant Arab sample. Second, we applied a multidomain and bidimensional approach that considered “expected” as well as “reversed” gaps. Third, we considered intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. Finally, we demonstrated that in some cases, the relation between perceived acculturation gaps and maladjustment decreases when the parent– emerging adult relationship is strong. Overall, these results extended the acculturation gap-distress model by highlighting the importance of considering multiple acculturation domains including values (Costigan, 2010) and exploring acculturation gaps in all directions (Telzer, 2010). These findings further emphasized that acculturation gaps are not inevitable and that parent– emerging

Our results are consistent with previous research reporting that acculturation gaps are associated with poorer outcomes. Acculturation gaps signify conflicting perspectives, which can hinder parents’ and youth’s ability to relate to one another, triggering intergenerational conflict (Ahn et al., 2008) and complicating identity development (Stuart & Ward, 2011). In our study, perceived acculturation gaps were only associated with increased conflict in very specific situations: “Reversed” gaps that occurred on the Arab dimension in the cultural orientation and values domains. Although “reversed” gaps may be counterintuitive, their association with maladjustment has been reported in some previous studies with Mexican American (e.g., Lau et al., 2005; Updegraff, Umana-Taylor, Perez-Brena, & Pflieger, 2012) and East Indian British (e.g., Atzaba-Poria & Pike, 2007) adolescents. Several interpretations of these results have been proposed. Atzaba-Poria and Pike (2007) suggested that an acculturation gap itself, irrespective of its direction, may be problematic. Updegraff et al. (2012), on the other hand, argued that “reversed” acculturation gaps reflect a non-normative experience that may limit social support. Lau et al. (2005) posited that parents who become more American change their parenting practices to include less monitoring and discipline and more autonomy, which results in more problem behaviors. The results of our study, however,

Figure 2. The relation between perceived parent Canadian orientation and intergenerational conflict at low and high emerging adult Canadian orientation.

Figure 4. The relation between perceived parent conservation values and ethnocultural identity conflict at low and high emerging adult conservation values.

Discussion


10


Figure 5. The relation between perceived Arab orientation gap and ethnocultural identity conflict at low and high levels of parent– emerging adult relationship.

suggested that parent– emerging adult relationships may also play a role.

The Moderating Role of Parent–Emerging Adult Relationships Parent– emerging adult relationships were consistently associated with less intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. In some cases, strong parent– emerging adult relationships were also found to moderate the association between perceived acculturation gaps and ethnocultural identity conflict. These results are consistent with past research, which has found that the association between perceived acculturation gaps and negative outcomes is qualified by the nature and quality of the parent– emerging adult relationship (e.g., Kim & Park, 2011; Schofield et al., 2008; Weaver & Kim, 2008). For example, in a study of immigrant Chinese triads living in Canada, Costigan and Dokis (2006) found that acculturation gaps occurred to a larger extent in families characterized by lower levels of parental warmth. Similarly, other studies have found that acculturation gaps are associated with decreased family cohesion (Ho & Birman, 2010). Even though parents may respond to cultural change by imposing strict boundaries (Wagner et al., 2008), acculturation gaps may not be associated with poorer outcomes if youth have positive perceptions of parental control. For example, in a qualitative study of immigrant Mexican American families, many youth equated parental control with care and concern (Crockett et al., 2007). This is consistent with the idea that youth may be more receptive to parental influence, rules, and values if they occur within a supportive and warm environment (e.g., Kim et al., 2009). Importantly, this idea also supports previous literature arguing that parental warmth and control may be compatible in non-Western families (Chao, 1994; Farver, Xu, Bhadha, Narang, & Lieber, 2007; Rasmi, Chuang & Safdar, 2012). Although only one significant three-way interaction emerged, the main effect of parent– emerging adult relationships was strong and significant across all regression models, suggesting that it is an important factor. Future research should consider the role of parent– emerging adult relationships alongside parents’ acculturation goals for their children, as some studies have found that parents will sometimes encourage their children to integrate into the new society by emphasizing behaviors and values that are inconsistent with their own (e.g., Tam & Lee, 2010). In this case, it may be more adaptive for youth to interact with and acquire

aspects of the settlement culture, even if this shift creates an actual or perceived acculturation gap between the youth and their parent(s). In contrast, youth who disregard their parents’ acculturation goals by rejecting settlement culture integration in favor of heritage culture preservation may disrupt their family’s equilibrium, which leads to intrafamilial tension and conflict. These youth may then be confused by their interpretations of their parents’ acculturation goals and feel torn between wishing to preserve their heritage culture and fulfilling their parents’ expectations. This pattern may be particularly heightened for values as opposed to other domains of acculturation because they are intrinsic and slower to change (Bardi et al., 2009).

Limitations Our study had four primary limitations: obtaining data from a single informant within each family, administering measures that had not been previously used with Arab samples, collecting data online as opposed to in-person, and examining a heterogeneous sample. The primary issue with a single informant is that youth may have under- or overestimated their parents’ acculturation level, which can skew the relation between gaps and outcomes. Future research should address this limitation by examining actual and perceived acculturation gaps in relation to intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. As these measures had not been used with Arab samples before, we did not know whether they would be reliable or valid for this population. However, our analyses demonstrated that these items are appropriate for use with immigrant Arab populations. Using an online survey allowed us to gain access to a larger and more representative sample and reduced data entry error, but it also limited our degree of control over the participant and research environment and precluded us from probing for further information. Future studies should also collect data using paper-and-pencil measures and incorporate qualitative methodologies to gain a richer understanding of these family and cultural processes. Our sample was heterogeneous in two ways: length of residence in Canada and country of origin. Participants who had resided in Canada for 24 years (the upper range limit) undoubtedly had more exposure to mainstream Canadian society than those who had resided in Canada for 6 months (the lower range limit). One of the

Figure 6. Ethnocultural identity conflict at high and low levels of parent– emerging adult relationship when there is no perceived gap (lines 1 and 4), a “reversed” gap (line 2), and an “expected” gap (line 3).



central arguments for the acculturation gap-distress hypothesis is that parents are primarily socialized in their heritage society whereas their children are primarily socialized in the settlement society. This is not the case for those individuals who had only resided in Canada for a few years or less, which can ultimately affect their acculturation and the acculturation gap (actual or perceived) between themselves and their parents. Participants in this study also reported multiple countries of origin. Although Arab countries are heterogeneous in some aspects, we treated “Arab Canadians” as a homogeneous group for several reasons that relate to our study: (a) centrality of the family unit transcends Arab subcultures (Britto & Amer, 2007); (b) Arabs are united by shared identity, language, and traditions (Barakat, 1993); (c) differences within Arab culture are much smaller than between Arab and European Canadian culture (Hofstede, 2001); (d) many of the intracultural family and marriage variations (i.e., arranged marriages and polygamy) are less relevant to immigrant Arabs in Canada who mostly originate from Lebanon and Egypt and are disproportionately Christian (Statistics Canada, 2007); and (e) many government agencies aggregate data from the Arab region. Considering all of these issues and our limited understanding of Arab Canadians, it is useful to build our knowledge of Arabs as a group before exploring subgroup differences.

Conclusion Our study was the first to explicitly examine the cultural experiences of immigrant Arab emerging adults in Canada following the Arab Spring. We extended the literature by exploring the extent to which immigrant Arab emerging adults in Canada perceived acculturation gaps between themselves and their parents, whether these gaps were associated with intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict, and the moderating role of parent– emerging adult relationships. Overall, we found that immigrant Arab emerging adults in Canada do perceive some acculturation gaps between themselves and their parents. “Reversed” acculturation gaps, in turn, were associated with heightened intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. In some cases, parent– emerging adult relationships moderated these associations. Building on this and other studies, future research should expand our understanding of the acculturation gap-distress hypothesis by focusing on “reversed” gaps on the settlement and heritage dimensions in multiple domains and parenting factors including acculturation goals and the parent– emerging adult relationship.

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