Methodological considerations in the study of immigrant adaptation in Australia

Abstract

A long-term program of psychological research into the adaptation of immigrants to Australia was commenced in Western Australia in the early 1950s. These studies used psychological concepts, such as learning, skills, values, attitudes, self-concept, to explain the changes which occur in individual immigrants during the process of their resocialization. Use has been made of the normal methodological procedures that are followed in psychological studies, such as statistics, comparisons between groups, including two generations in the one family, sampling representativeness, operational definitions, and the use of objective measures of variables. Rather than seeking explanation in terms of a definitive theory, a conceptual framework has been developed for organizing the data in terms of Adjustment, National Identity, Cultural Competence, Social Absorption, and Role Acculturation so that comparisons can be made between studies of the different aspects of adaptation.