Acculturation as a success story: Theoretical elaborations, lay perceptions and empirical evidence for “successful” migration in the multicultural context of Luxembourg

Acculturation research has for a long time concentrated on problematic issues related to migration, often taking a deficit approach. Only recently have researchers shifted their focus toward factors that might be linked to positive outcomes of migration and integration. The present paper will deal with the question of how individuals from migrant and non-migrant families might profit from multiculturalism and cultural diversity in a resource-oriented perspective.

After a theoretical elaboration on how “successful” migration could be defined and by which indicators it could be measured, we will focus on lay perceptions of this concept drawing on qualitative interviews from the FNR-funded IRMA study (“Intergenerational Relations in the light of Migration and Ageing”). More precisely, a number of altogether n = 20 Portuguese immigrant and Luxembourgish dyads of one parent and one adult child each discussed about their experiences and views on migration and the multicultural context of Luxembourg. Finally, we will identify predictors of subjective well-being in a quantitative sample of n = 73 Portuguese immigrant families (mostly one adult child together with both parents), taking into account satisfaction in different life domains as well as social and temporal comparison processes. Analyses show that for first generation immigrants as well as for their children social downward comparisons with Luxembourgish and Portuguese peers living in the host country were beneficial for their subjective well-being, whereas comparisons with Portuguese still living in Portugal and temporal comparisons were less important. The discussion will propose an integrative model for the study of migration taking into account participants’ generation status and their migration history.