Adjustment to Immigration

The global number of immigrants is constantly increasing, making the challenge of supporting immigrants’ adjustment a top priority for many countries. This is a very complex challenge, as leaving one’s own country and resettling in another is an episode that involves a series of events, takes place over a prolonged period of time, usually relates to several people, refers to a large number of fields of study, and frequently evokes extreme societal reactions. The literature suggests a distinction between four acculturation attitudes (assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalization) among immigrants; however, the antecedents of immigrants’ acculturation attitudes are still unclear. It is especially important to clarify what shapes immigrant children’s adjustment, as seldom they are the one who are expected to support their family relocation.