America has always been key out as a " thaw kitty " — as in this classicSchoolhouse Rock magazine — in whichimmigrantsfrom a miscellany of cultural and ethnic background tardily simmer off their differences to become a big , homogenous , all - American stew .
But is that the way it really works , or how itshouldwork ? Is total acculturation the only way to be an American ? And is it even sound for individual to abandon their ethnical heritage in parliamentary procedure to fully adopt the customs of their newfangled home ?
We spoke with Seth Schwartz , a prof of public wellness skill at the University of Miami , who believes it ’s clip to shelve the melting green goddess metaphor . Schwartzstudies acculturation , the process by which a person ’s " cultural sense of self " change after move to a new res publica or being raise in an immigrant home , and the effects of assimilation on forcible and mental wellness .
It turns out that assimilation is only one type of acculturation , and that in full assimilated Americans have some of theworst health outcomes . Contrary to the melting tummy myth , immigrant families are most likely to flourish in America if they embrace aspect of both their native culture and their adoptive land . Public wellness researchers like Schwartz call it the " immigrant paradox . "
" There ’s a whole literature that propose that foreign - born Americans are doing good than U.S.-born individuals on many different health indicators : heart wellness , weight and fleshiness , dieting , impression , anxiety , meat function , you name it , " says Schwartz .
Melt or Else? Alternatives to Assimilation
There ’s an old joke that ’s popular in Europe : What do you call a soul who talk two nomenclature ? Bilingual . What do you call a person who speaks only one linguistic communication ? American .
" In the United States , unlike a circle of land in the world , we actively discourage people from having multiple ethnical identities — we just want mass to be American , " says Schwartz . " Even the fact that we equate assimilation and absorption enjoin a circle about our civilization and how we think people should behave . "
Traditionally , there was an premiss that the assimilation process in the United States ran in a straight dividing line . At one end of the spectrum endure the recently arrived immigrant still carrying around the lyric , traditions and custom of the " old country . " But as the immigrant moved down the line over meter , she slowly discarded her foreignness as she bit by bit acquired the language and customs of America .
But starting in the 1980s , researchers begin to oppugn the straight - argumentation absorption assumption . Psychologist John Berry follow up with a initiate unexampled manikin that showedfour dissimilar response or strategies(including assimilation ) that immigrant used to navigate life in their new home :
The Benefits of Biculturalism
According to Schwartz , there ’s strong grounds that the assimilation strategy is spoiled for your wellness . The speculative psychological effects of assimilation are feel by second - generation Americans — children of immigrants who were either acquit in America or raise here from a young eld . Second - genesis kids are often so eager to " fit in " that they plough their vertebral column on their parents ' customs duty and traditions altogether .
" They essentially turn away their family ’s culture and that be given to produce pretty electronegative results , " says Schwartz . " Higher rate of anxiousness and natural depression , substance maltreatment and worse family unit relationships . "
The ripe psychological and wellness event , on the other hired hand , are achieved by individuals who encompass biculturalism , a balanced integration of their heritage and received cultivation . Schwartz says that mass who are able to comfortably immix their aboriginal and acquired cultures have " much better result in terms of high self - respect , grim depression , lower anxiousness and good family kinship . "
Explaining the Immigrant Paradox
immigrant who learn to successfully inhabit two ethnic existence are the same multitude that motor the " immigrant paradox , " in which Americans born outside the U.S. achieve significantly better physical and genial health outcomes compared to their native - pay or take in neighbors . But why ?
Diet is one unsubdivided explanation , enunciate Schwartz , since immigrant family are more potential to fix home - cooked meals than the typical American family , which tends to eat out a lot and take more processed solid food . But there are also pregnant psychological factors at play . The most important has to do with the time value of American culture versus just about everybody else .
" The U.S. consistently rank as the most individualist country in the world , " say Schwartz . " We are more ego - reliant and less reliant on other people than basically any other country on the planet . So , most people who come here from other places are more collectivist than we are . "
What does sovietism look like as a cultural note value ? It stresses the grandness of phratry above all else ; it places an vehemence on the " dandy commodity " and doing what ’s best for the community , not just yourself ; and it ’s a far less competitive manner to look at the world . Schwartz says that cultural economic value that promote close - rumple fellowship and selfless service can protect against a band of the genial health issues that plague many Americans .
" There ’s a reason why we have so much anxiety , because we ’re so highly laissez-faire and militant , " articulate Schwartz . " We have to compete against other mass for everything . And if you ca n’t keep up , there ’s less of a support arrangement quick and waiting to serve you . In this res publica , when we talk about helping other mass , some people want to abuse ' socialist economy . ' I think that ’s one of the issues that we have . "
