On the move within themselves – cultural distance and negotiation processes of cultural belonging

In a boundary crossing world, having exposure to multiple cultures is becoming norm rather than exception. Children of migrants and children born into mixed national families grow up with more than one cultural point of reference from birth. In the growing body of literature on bi- and multiculturalism different models of cultural acquisition are described, but still little is known about how the negotiation process takes place and what factors facilitate resolution and well-being. The present study builds on a recent theoretical framework on multicultural identity integration developed by Yampolsky et al. and investigates the role of cultural distance in the negotiation process for cultural belonging.
For the present study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with eight young women (Mage = 22.6). All grew up in Germany, yet each had a very different other cultural background ranging from Chile, Columbia, France, Ghana, Hungary, Luxembourg, Russia to Sri Lanka. We asked participants about their sense of belonging, perceived similarities and differences between their cultural influences and their way of positioning themselves within these. Each interview was complemented by two visual exercises illustrating the sense of belonging.
The results show that all participants engaged in active negotiation processes and arrived at very different solutions in terms of belonging. The cultural integration process depends on a multitude of factors – cultural distance being one, but parents playing an important role. The findings will be discussed in light of current acculturation models. Explanations will be provided with special focus on implications for migration and acculturation research.