Multicultural issues 'bubbling below surface'

Conference symbolizes a growing interest in acculturation.

Anew crop of ethnic-minority psychology students are poised to make a mark on the field of acculturation research, as evidenced by their large turnout at a recent conference on "Acculturation: advances in theory, measurement, and applied research" held at the University of San Francisco (USF) and funded in part by APA's Science Directorate.

The USF conference organizers--psychologists Gerardo Marín, PhD, Kevin Chun, PhD, and Pamela Balls Organista, PhD--originally planned a small working conference at which established researchers would discuss methodological issues in acculturation research.

But an outpouring of interest in the conference by colleagues and students who heard about the conference prompted them to open the event to all who wanted to attend. The result was attendance of nearly 600 faculty and students from 25 states and several foreign countries.

Despite the conference's size, its format encouraged questions from the audience and long discussions after each talk. "The audience fielded good questions and the whole group seemed to jell together over time," says Chun.

In fact, the size of the conference was inspiring to some researchers who have struggled to get acculturation viewed as a valid variable in psychology, says conference presenter Joseph Trimble, PhD, of Western Washington University.

"I was overwhelmed by the number of people who attended," he says. "That 600 people would show up to talk about one single construct validated for me the growing interest in culture as a significant variable in psychological research."

The goal of the conference was to define where the field of acculturation research is now and where it has to move, says Marín. In particular, presenters challenged the field to reconceptualize acculturation as a more complex and multidimensional construct than it has been treated as in the past (see above article).

"We were able to air a lot of issues that were bubbling there below the surface," says presenter Jean Phinney, PhD, of California State University.

In particular, presenters discussed the need for more precise measurement tools and the need for theories that allow for people who maintain customs and values from their country of origin while at the same time adapting to the culture of their new country.

This is in contrast to traditional linear theories that assume that as people adapt to their new culture, they lose their old culture.

This message is particularly salient for students, says John Berry, PhD, of Queen's University.

He's been pushing this line of thought for two decades, but it's the new crop of ethnic-minority students who truly embrace the concept. They recognize in it the truth of their own experience, he says.

"There's a whole new cohort of ethnic-minority students who are very excited about this field," says Chun. "They are a reflection of how the field is really changing and responding to the true experiences of ethnic-minority people in this country."

The conference organizers will pull together a book based on the presentations at the conference. They will write a final chapter with specific recommendations for improving acculturation research based on the suggestions made at the conference, says Marín.

APA Books expects to publish the final manuscript.

For more information on the scientific conference program, visit APA's web site at: www.apa.org/science/confer.html.



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