Marginalization And Acculturation In The United States

Marginalization and Acculturation

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Introduction From all lifestyles from different nations, United States has accommodated very many people from all over the world hence, acquiring a vast and rich multi-cultural diversity. Nigeria, being one of the countries that have many people migrating to America due to a number of reasons. Acculturation is the interaction between two cultures. It is a model that spans various science domains like sociology, anthropology and psychology. (Berry, 2003; Castro, 2003) This interaction has many consequences on the individuals as they go through psychological stress before they could adapt. Some of the factors such as psychological functioning, educational
level, psycho-social support, economics and vocational training are discussed below;
Psychological impacts The difference that occurs between the original and new culture integration often causes acculturative stress. Therefore, individuals are likely to experience much difficulties especially the psychological functioning. According to research, anxiety, stress, depression and self-esteem are more common as mental health challenges to individuals who are in the process of acculturation. This is likely due to one being marginalized as a result of culture that one tend to maintain thus one is likely to have a lower self-esteem. Physical and mental healths are a key to a successful acculturation. According to (Phinney et al., 2001) psychological adaptation entails ones mental and physical fitness. Yoruba women are faced with these problems especially when they are new to the western culture that they have to adapt, after a while on adapting these cultures, the challenges decreases as psychological adaptation has several adaptation problems and high esteem that deems a greater life satisfaction.
Educational impacts Education level relates to the acculturation process because individuals who are well educated fit in the new environment and adjust to the societal norms better than the uneducated. If one has a higher education, their predictive stress will be minimal because with formal education, one has problem solving skills and analyses the type of the problem with the resourceful skills. Education can also associate to other resources available such as occupational status and income. More so, it enables one familiarize with the new culture even before migrating. However, with marginalization as it rejects adapting the host cultures, most individuals find themselves in a difficult situation, as education is an important factor. As a result, the culture difference and distance makes it more difficult to acculturate thus making an individual to experience much stress. Their education then gets to be of a lower value and is likely to be admitted to lower jobs qualifications partly due to the language barrier they are likely to experience.
Psychosocial impacts As marginalization involves avoiding interacting with the host members of the society and rejecting your own original culture, this affects the psychosocial status of an individual. The loss feeling and low self-esteem, anxiety and depression makes an individual to feel disoriented in the host cultures. Discrimination also arises due to lack of the social support since they lack to share information on various issues that is affecting them this in return tortures an individual’s mind interfering with one’s ability to socialize with other people. Yoruba women social lives are affected as they do not get into these new cultures which they neither adopt freely nor leave their own cultures completely making them marginalized thus their lives get harder affecting them mentally.
Economical
Some of the individuals, who migrate from their country, are usually after improving their economic standards and that of their families to raise their social status. This is normally a personal choice and according to (Bhurga, 2003) it’s their personal choice to either live the country or not. Most of the Yoruba women migrate to America in the hope to raise their living standards. Their way of living is also affected as agricultural farming back in their land is what they value most, but on integrating with the new cultures, they change that kind of lifestyle and adapt to the new ways thus slowing the acculturation process.
Vocational
This is commonly the vocational educational and training which is tertiary type of education and training that provides accredited training education especially technical skills and job careers.
It commonly covers a wide range of industries and careers such as office work, hospitality, trades, retail and technology. Yoruba women on arriving united states most of them are usually acquainted with the vocational training and thus often get jobs in these areas. Although the common feeling of not being part of the majority in the society the skills enables them get acculturated as part of the society and can do these jobs very well as any other American citizen.
Conclusion
In general, marginalization is where an individual usually have less interest in keeping his or her own cultural heritage and neither willing to adopt the new cultural identity (Berry, 2006). As seen marginalization thus affects the acculturation process because the individuals are unwilling to get assimilated and their culture also rags them behind.

References
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