Acculturative family distancing: Theory, research, and clinical practice

Despite the rapidly growing immigrant population settling in the United States, our knowledge of acculturative processes and their impact on immigrant families remains quite limited. This article describes a theoretical construct called Acculturative Family Distancing (AFD), the distancing that occurs between immigrant parents and children that is a result of immigration, cultural differences, and differing rates of acculturation. AFD occurs along two dimensions: communication and cultural values. Breakdowns in communication and incongruent cultural values between immigrant parents and children are hypothesized to increase over time and place families at risk for mental illness and family dysfunction. Clinical illustrations of AFD's impact on immigrant Asian families are provided and recommendations for dealing with AFD are presented.