A Study on the Cultural Identity, Acculturation Patterns and Psychosocial Adjustment of Children in International Marriage Families
Hyun Joo Lee , Hyun Ah Kang
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between cultural identity and the psychosocial adjustment levels of children in international marriage families by focusing on the effects that different types of cultural identity have on children`s overall psychosocial adjustment. The data for this study came from a survey conducted on 122 third to sixth grades children with foreign mothers living in Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do. As a result, it was found that children`s identification with Korean culture was on average higher than their identification with their mother`s culture. Secondly, in terms of identity type, assimilation and separation types appeared to be the most dominant, followed by the integration and marginalization types. Finally, it was found that cultural identities had significant effects on children`s psychosocial adjustment in international marriage families. In particular, the level of self-esteem was the highest for children in the integrated group, while it was the lowest for those in the marginalized group. These results indicate that identification with the mother`s culture is just as important as one`s Korean identity when it comes to determining the degree of psychosocial adjustment of children in international marriage families.
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