Acculturation strategies of young immigrants of Moroccan and Portuguese origin in Belgium: The perception of young Belgian natives.

The concept of acculturation refers to cultural and psychological changes resulting from the contact between members of multiple cultures. According to Berry (1997), individuals display different attitudes and behaviours in the process of acculturation.
Earlier studies have shown that members of host societies and immigrants often prefer the integration strategy, which seems to have most positive outcomes for both host nationals and immigrant communities.
The aim of the present study was to analyse the perceptions and preferences of Belgians regarding the acculturation stratégies displayed by two immigrant communities in Belgium, namely Portuguese and Moroccan.
A sample of N = 120 Belgian students between the ages of 18 and 29 living in Brussels participated in the present study. Participants were randomly assigned to six different groups of n = 20 persons each: these were presented with six scenarios that differed by a combination of one of Berry’s acculturation strategies (separation, integration and assimilation) with one of two origins of the main character (Portuguese or Moroccan). Participants then filled out a standardized questionnaire measuring their degree of agreement and disagreement to different statements with regard to the displayed acculturation strategy.
Analyses showed that Belgian natives rather appreciated integration strategies by immigrants (i.e. conservation of the cultural identity and an appropriation of the host culture’s values at the same time) to assimilation (i.e. own-culture desistance while seeking daily interaction with the majority) or separation strategies (i.e. maintenance of the heritage culture while rejecting contact with the host culture). Furthermore, Belgian participants expressed slightly more positive feelings toward young Portuguese immigrants compared to young Moroccan immigrants, which might be due to a smaller cultural distance between the former two cultures. No interaction effects between displayed acculturation strategy and cultural origin of the scenario’s main character were found. Results are discussed within the framework of Berry’s acculturation strategy model as well as referring to theories of similarity and attraction.