Rejected by your Heritage Culture: Experiences of Intragroup Marginalisation, Acculturative Stress, and Coping Methods

Do perceptions of rejection from one’s heritage culture increase over time? The goal of this longitudinal study was to explore the change in experiences of heritage culture rejection – defined as intragroup marginalisation. Leaving the family home for the first time is a difficult transition. It may be especially difficult for students who are also negotiating dual identities (Castillo et al., 2012). In particular, the transition from family life and activities with friends from the heritage culture to a multicultural environment such as university can increase perceptions of no longer meeting the standards of the heritage culture. Furthermore, the development of a student identity can also leave individuals with the perception that they are ‘betraying’ their heritage culture, which may impact their psychological adjustment. The present study focused on first-year students (N = 46). Participants completed measures of intragroup marginalisation, the frequency of contact with their family and heritage culture friends, and psychological adjustment (operationalized as acculturative stress). Results indicated that individuals who reported speaking more often to family at Time 1 also reported higher family marginalisation at Time 2. Importantly, friend intragroup marginalisation at Time 1 was linked with speaking less to heritage culture friends at Time 2. Finally, friend intragroup marginalisation at Time 2 was linked with increased acculturative stress. Thus, the increase in friend intragroup marginalisation from Time 1 to Time 2 was associated with an increase in acculturative stress from Time 1 to Time 2. Using additional preliminary data from a mixed-methods study, performative behaviours as potential coping methods are discussed.