A recent study published in the September-October 2012 issue of Child Development found that Jamaican-American teen immigrants who maintained ties to their heritage tended to be more successful in their communities.
“Many of these youths have forged a unique tricultural identity that draws from their Jamaican culture, African-American culture, and mainstream European American culture,” said co-author Gail M. Ferguson, a professor at the University of Illinois. “[But] the important factor in their academic and behavioral success is retaining strong ties to their Jamaican background.”
Research was conducted through a survey of 473 mother-teen pairings that compared their condition as compared to other Jamaican-American teens and white and black American families. Those surveyed were questioned about the teens’ culture, grades, behavior, friendships, home life, community involvement and character traits.
“Overall, Jamaican immigrant teens were doing just as well as their American peers in terms of grades and positive behavior,” Ferguson said. “Older immigrant teens, in particular, were actually doing a little better than Jamaican teens in the Caribbean.”
However, Jamaican immigrant teens who had left their heritage to conform to American culture had much lower grades and less positive behavior than their ethnically affiliated peers.
Teen immigrants had differing opinions on whether heritage affected behavioral and academic success.
“I’m somewhat tied to my culture—I speak my original language at home [Taiwanese]—but I don’t feel like it really affects me academically,” said Paul Wang, a junior at Irvine High School. “But it does give you new perspectives, which I think is good.”
“Connecting with your culture is important,” said Matthew Kim, a freshman at Irvine High School. “Personally, learning about my own culture [Korean] has affected me positively because I feel closer to my family, and sharing my heritage has helped me meet new friends. It also gives a helpful amount of pressure for me to work academically.”
The study, titled “Tridimensional Acculturation and Adaptation among Jamaican Adolescent-Mother Dyads in the United States,” was co-authored with Marc H. Bornstein, Senior Investigator for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and Audrey M. Pottinger, psychologist at the University of the West Indies.
