Predictors of the actual degree of acculturation of Russian-speaking immigrant adolescents in Finland

This study examines what kind of interrelatedness exists between various aspects of the acculturation process and to what extent they predict the actual degree of immigrants' acculturation. In a comparison of a sample of Russian-speaking immigrant adolescents (N = 170) living in Finland with a sample of their native Finnish peers (N = 190), the actual degree of acculturation is conceptualized as changes in the immigrants' family-related values, which represent a deep cultural inheritance transmitted to the adolescents by their parents. Immigrants' demographic characteristics, ethnic identity, acculturation attitudes, and experiences of family support are found to be important predictors of the actual degree of acculturation. Conditions and specific features of specific acculturation modes are discussed, and the importance of identifying and analyzing separately the distinctive components of the acculturation process is stressed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.