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Language, Ethnic Identity, and the Adaptation of Immigrant Youth in the Netherlands

Leiden University

We explored the relationships between immigrant adolescents’ first-and second-language proficiency and their psychological and sociocultural adaptation using three models: the ethnic identity model, the language assimilation model, and the language integration model. The study was conducted in the Netherlands. Participants were 161 Turkish and 95 Surinamese adolescents (ages 13 to 18 years). In the Turkish group we found support for the language assimilation model as well as for the language integration model. In the Surinamese group a stronger orientation toward the original ethnic culture corresponded to more negative adaptation outcomes. This effect mirrors the assimilation model. The ethnic identity model did not contribute to explaining adaptation differences between immigrant adolescents in the Netherlands.

Key Words: immigrant youth • identity • adaptation

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