Cross-Cultural Diversity
- Jun 22, 2006
CROSS-CULTURAL FAMILIES
4500 words
Terms Defined
Culture refers to the values and beliefs that are institutionalized in a people’s collective life, whereby inherited meanings, morality, beliefs, and ways of behaving are preserved. Culture takes on a particular life that is often more readily seen by those on the outside looking inward.
Race relates to people who share biologically transmitted traits that are defined as socially significant. The United States (U.S.) Census Bureau has six major racial categories based on distinct physical characteristics. The six major categories are White, Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and other race. Each major category is then subdivided into further sections.
Class identifies the social stratum whose members share certain economic, social, or cultural characteristics. Examples include the lower-income, middle, upper, working, professional classes, and in some community, social castes. Class intersects with the other cultural variables such as education and race. Some people are more class-conscious that others.
Family refers to people who are related to one another by birth, adoption, or marriage. Usually families have parents, children, and relatives. Family can be viewed as the basic unit to which children are born or adopted and together they progress through one family life stage to another. With the breakdown of the traditional families in the American society, ‘family’ is increasingly defined as members of a household or community who live together in close and supportive relationships.
The Myth of the Melting Pot
The Declaration of Independence as written by Thomas Jefferson states that, “…all men (and women) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among which are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Freedom, democracy, and equality are the core values of this country; they seek to help all people irrespective of ancestry, gender, color, creed, or disabilities to live together respectfully.
The ‘melting pot’ is a term used to describe this process of cultures fusing together and each group of people losing their identity. This may seem desirable in order to create an emergent nationhood. This paradigm is based on the notion that ancestry and cultural heritage are inconsequential to one's well-being. For cultures that are expressly different from the White majority, there is a lot to sacrifice both communally and psychologically as well.
The Multicultural Alternative
Culture influences society at multiple levels. It influences daily practices such as family life and the kinds of occupations people choose. Family is understood differently in the various cultural groups. It lies anywhere on a continuum from the Euro-American nuclear family on one end, to the families that embrace kin and community, as in Black families, and on the other end of the continuum, to families that include descendants and ancestors, as is the case for many Asian families.
Life transitions are emphasized differently in families of different ethnicities. A family generally goes through six family life cycle stages: the unattached young adult, the newly married couple, the family with young children, families with adolescents, launching children and moving on, and the family in later life. As a family negotiates through each stage, family members take on different roles, and they develop through various family life transitions. Culture plays an important role in the expression of each family life cycle stage. For instance, the Italian family emphasizes the eminence of weddings, the Jewish communities consider the Bar Mitzvah an important rite of passage and the Irish view death as the most important transition,
Everyone in the U.S. has a unique heritage, and with the exception of the American Indians, Americans have come from foreign lands at different times. Immigrants bring with them different ways of living life, doing family, and practicing beliefs. They come together to this country, and depending on their identity development and various intergenerational and contextual stressors, they adjust to their new homeland in various ways. Psychologically, families who remain connected with their past and have a firm sense of identity are able to express themselves freely in their present and future endeavors. The greater the degree to which they know about and appreciate their own distinctiveness, the greater capacity they have to accept the differences in other people. Paradoxically, this further enhances tolerance and unity as people learn to live and grow together. This paradigm does not reinforce the idea of the ‘melting pot.’ It encourages multiculturalism. A more suitable metaphor may be a salad bowl. Each vegetable in the salad bowl maintains its uniqueness and yet by itself, it does not provide the delicious taste that the salad produces. Diverse families can add a lot of flavor to the American society when they are able to integrate their unique heritage with the new sociocultural environment.
Social scientists are finding that during times of stress and crisis, people revert to old or familiar sources of comfort, such as rituals, behaviors, beliefs with which they grew up. The unique heritage that is a deep part of people's ancestry cannot be denied. This heritage longs to find its expression, in family patterns, beliefs, thinking, feeling, and behavior. There are social and psychological benefits to being true to one’s heritage. Social psychologist Erik Erikson has written extensively on psychosocial identity development. He purports that during various stages of life, individuals must make an adjustment to self and to the social environment. The social milieu plays an important role, and the term ‘identity crisis’ is used for people who are confused about the transition that they are negotiating due to societal cultural expectations. This is an individual perspective, but this is not dissimilar for family identity. Families move through various life stages. Transitions will occur smoothly once the life tasks for a particular stage have been achieved. Transitions from one life cycle stage to another are often marked through different rituals and traditions in different cultures.
The desire to belong is basic to any human being, and it fulfills a deep psychological need for identity and historical continuity. Every family relationship with the exception of marriage occurs without choice. People are born into families. Despite the innate desire for connection, family members do try to disconnect from family. This occurs through various cut offs, albeit divorce, moving geographically or simply ‘disowning’ one another. People who reject their past or their family may do so at the detriment to their psychological well-being. They must remain true to their cultural heritage and to the social-cultural environment they belong to. This is particularly true for persons or families who have migrated. They need to find a balance between being true to their ancestral origins, and learning to be open to their new surroundings. The acculturation phenomenon is a trying and timely process, but in the end, biculturalism or multiculturalism may be most healthy for individuals and their families. Each group of people has intracultural differences, and yet each culture by itself has commonality that makes it distinct from others. The following describes various cross-cultural family groups.
American Indian Families
There has been a tendency to see American Indians as a homogenous group, resulting in a blurring of the distinctions between a number of different tribal groups and clans. The American Indians endured a history of genocide. They were labeled as uncivilized and denigrated for their customs and religious beliefs. Families were torn apart by the relocation plan in the 1950’s and 60’s. As people migrated to cities, alcoholism soared, suicide and violence increased. School drop out rates rose, along with teenage pregnancy and unemployment.
American Indians are reclaiming their cultural heritage. American Indian history is included in school curricula; stereotypes are being replaced with new respect. Diversity in tribe, language, and lifestyle is being acknowledged. American Indians share some common values including strong family ties, an attachment to the natural environment, and a distinct spirituality. A child’s primary relationship is with his or her grandparents, and grandparents may or may not be biological grandparents but could include a great aunt or other relations. When someone marries into a family, they are treated as biological relatives. People identify themselves by the tribe they belong to, by their relatives, and by the family they represent.
Because of the history of victimization of American Indians by missionaries, schoolteachers, social workers, skepticism of the helping profession remains strong. School counselors will have to be aware of this history and will have to work hard to build rapport with Native American families. This can be done by displaying personal authenticity and showing genuine respect and concern when working with American Indian families. American Indian people value listening and periods of silence are not uncommon.
African American Families
African American families have migrated from a number of African countries. Amongst themselves, they are diverse in many ways although there are a number of similarities as well. The majority of African Americans originally lived in the south, but they are now represented in larger cities all over the U. S. The ancestors of African Americans came to this country during the Atlantic slave trade in the 17th century. They were brought over as cheap labor. This involuntary migration gave them a sense of inferiority. White preference, discrimination, and oppression exacerbated their experience. Disillusionment that evolved from the oppression caused many to turn to substance abuse, which some consider another form of slavery, albeit psychological in nature.
African Americans originated from a social structure of tribes with close-knitted family groups and African Americans continue to hold the family and kin in high regard. The family offers a tremendous support network. Counselors can invite the extended family to discussions at school, taking into consideration that people who are involved in the children’s lives and considered ‘family’ may or may not be blood related.
The African American family tends to be more multigenerational, including different combinations of roles within the units. It is more acceptable for women to work outside the home, similar to the tradition in Africa, where women’s contributions went beyond just childbearing. Women have found it easier to find work in this country than African American men, contributing to a more subtle aspect of racism, where African American men are seen as less productive and unable to provide for their families. In many families, both male and female work, and this results in more egalitarian relationships among African American couples in comparison to couples from other cultures. A growing number of women choose to become single parents rather than remaining childless. It is not uncommon for children to perform some of the parental duties when parents are working or when families are large.
African American people are sensitive to protocol issues, they expect to be addressed as Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Dr. Small talk may be important to them before getting to business, as they need to get a sense of genuineness and interest in them as individuals. Respect is an important value. A culturally sensitive counselor will communicate this by focusing on family strengths, asking permission, avoiding familiarity initially, and avoiding professional jargon.
Death and mourning is an important life cycle phase for this people group. Funerals are emphasized, often lasting four to seven days. Family members attend out of respect and will make great efforts to attend the funeral.
Asian American Families
Asian American families emigrate from different countries in Asia. According to the U.S. 1990 Census, five main Asian ethnic groups in the country include Chinese (23% of the Asian population), Filipino (19%), Japanese (12%), Korean (11%), Asian Indian (11%), and Vietnamese (9%). Asian culture is ancestor-oriented and collectivistic rather than individualistic; dependency oriented rather than independence-oriented. Among the Chinese people, for instance, the family name comes first, followed by the individual name. This illustrates the importance of the family in the culture. There is a great sense of duty and obligation to the family; the need to be accepted by the community is paramount. The culture is shame-based and so "face-saving" and maintaining harmony is important in interpersonal relationships. Moral order is maintained through respectful manners. Conveying genuine concern and showing interpersonal etiquette is an important part of familial relationships.
Family structure is hierarchical, with the line of authority extending from the fathers, to first-born sons, male sons, and then to mothers and daughters. It is important to assess the family structure in work with these families. The father, who is the head of the family, must be addressed first. If the father is not present, the counselor needs to identify the most influential person first before speaking with the rest of the family. The Asian culture gives great deference and honor to those in authority. Counselors establish credibility by using official titles when addressing the head of the family and when making personal introductions. Since education and expertise play a key role among most Asian cultures, a display of the counselor’s licenses or diplomas will enhance their credibility. Counselors are expected to be experts and are often sought for authoritative answers and direct advice. Ambivalence may be considered a weakness.
Asian families may be less expressive and assertive. Love is not verbally or physically communicated instead it is shown in concrete and pragmatic ways. Family harmony is to be kept at all cost and emotions that may disrupt harmony to the family are not expressed outwardly. A major consequence of this is psychosomatization, the physical expression of emotional and mental distress. Therefore, a competent cross-cultural school counselor will take greater notice of the medical complaints expressed by the person while also attending to non-verbal cues.
Latino American Families
Latinos (or in some contexts known as Hispanics or Chicanos/as), have a multidimensional identity, representing a variety of nationalities, skin colors, cultures, traditions, values, beliefs, worldviews, and languages. A majority of Latinos living in the U.S. originate from Mexico (67%), Puerto Rico (13%) and Cuba (6%) while others come from the Dominican Republic and Central and South American countries (14%).
Latinos experience a national pecking order among themselves, attributing different qualities to where they are from. National heritage is of extreme importance as it provides a sense of pride and identity. Latinos work hard to maintain their language, traditions, and ways of life. They have a strong sense of family unity, personal warmth, and respect for elders. Some of the more important values are family unity, welfare, and honor. The family guarantees protection and provision. The system of kinship includes both biological and those not related by blood, such as adopted children and godparents. A school counselor might utilize the family as a source of support and information. This can be done by inviting extended family members to school meetings.
Family interdependence (familismo) is very important to the culture; however, it tends to be patriarchal in organization and role expectations. Men (machismo) and women (marianismo) are taught different codes for behavior. Older children have greater authority than younger children do, with males having greater authority than females.
Religion is very important for Latino communities. The majority of Latinos identify with Roman Catholicism. Religion permeates their lives. Many also incorporate folk healing beliefs (curanderos/as). There is a loyalty to charismatic leaders (personalismo), where an individual would not mind sacrificing self-interest for the leader. In that sense, Latinos may have a loyalty towards the school counselor or teacher if they are trustworthy and considered friends as well as professionals.
Many Latinos come from a legacy of loss and oppression. Many have immigrated to the U.S. with the hope for a better life but find that they face oppression and discrimination in their new host country as well. This can add to their distrust of school, legal or social service systems in the U.S. It is important to be sensitive to the individual’s distress and distrust of the system. Formality, especially initially is viewed as a sign of respect, such as addressing people by surname unless invited to do otherwise.
Middle Eastern Families
Arab Americans have their own unique culture. 'Arab' is not an ethnic term but rather it circumscribes language and culture as well. Arab people refer to those related to the tribes of Arabia, who speak the Arabic language, and who embrace Islam as their religion.
Islam spread mostly during the 7th and 10th centuries A.D. Thereafter, the Muslim people were forced to live under different governmental systems, such as when the Ottoman Empire conquered the Arabs, and the Europeans occupied their lands after World War I. During this time, two waves of immigrants arrived to the U.S. In the 1980’s, the Arab world experienced a rekindling of loyalties and a resurgence of Islam, and these were accentuated by the Gulf War in 1991. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Arab Americans experienced alienation and discrimination. Arab American families are likely to feel friction between the Western secular values and their own Islamic culture.
For Arab families, the family unit is the basis of community. Men, women, and children are given particular duties and roles to perform for the good of the family. Marriage is arranged by the family and is not based on romantic love. Arab people are also encouraged to marry within their own culture. Arab parents are more likely to engage in authoritarian disciplinary styles, such as lecturing their children, and using punishment to instill fear. Because the Arab family is closely knitted, seeking help is seen as being disloyal to the family and community. Families are more likely to turn to Arab-oriented services during these times.
Arab children are likely to spend more time with their mothers, and the mothers may sometimes take the role of mediators between the children and their fathers. While school counselors may have initial contact with students’ mothers, it is essential to get the fathers as heads of the family involved. This is respectful of the family hierarchical system. Families are more likely to get involved if the school counselor will do home visitation or are willing to speak with the parents on the telephone.
Jewish American Families
Jewish Americans have immigrated from Spain, Germany, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, South Africa, and Israel, among other countries. The family is considered a haven and there is a strong connection with previous generations. Jewish families are open to examining their family functioning, thus giving them a family perspective of problems. This makes Jewish families more likely than any other ethnic group to seek out psychotherapy. Other family values include education and professional achievement, with success being strongly sought after. Getting married and raising children are important values in this culture. Jewish parents are likely to be very involved in their children’s schooling. Parents are more likely to be democratic in their child rearing, having more open boundaries between parent and child. Parents talk openly with children and put an emphasis on communication. Jewish families tend to be child-focused; children are encouraged to talk about their problems. Jewish mothers hold primary responsibility for child rearing. Success in parenting is valued and parents are expected to sacrifice in order to see children succeed, particularly male children. Children then repay their parents with the pleasure of success.
Life cycle rituals are important to Jewish families. Grief is expressed through several different mourning rituals including the “sitting shiva” and the “unveiling.” Children become adults when they celebrate the “bar mitzvah.”
Suffering is shared easily because ethnic tragedies such as the holocaust are a central part of the Jewish history and is not denied. Suffering is dealt with directly, as important work to be done, and is experienced in community rather than independently. The preservation of Jewish heritage is essential because of their historical persecution as well as living away from their homeland. Jewish families may live in Jewish communities, and may immigrate in groups. Intermarriage is frowned upon for this reason, as is the notion of a family member rejecting Jewish cultural background.
European American Families
In 1990, Whites made up 80% of the U.S population. They come from all over Europe and identify themselves as “Americans.” An immigration law in 1790 stated that only Americans of European descent could become U.S. citizens. America was then understood as being ‘White.’ Many of these families have been in the U.S. for three generations or longer, and may not identify with their ancestral ethnicity. While this is the case, aspects of ethnicity that were shed may subconsciously manifest later in life or in future generations, and they may find themselves reverting back to customs and practices of their heritage. Generally, European Americans have done well for themselves and have not experienced the degree of discrimination that troubled either earlier immigrants or immigrants from other ethnic groups.
Many European American families are religious and as such, it would be disrespectful to curse or use harsh language when addressing members. The church is very important to Irish American families; sometimes the church is valued above family. The most ritualized life cycle transition to Irish Americans is that of dying. A funeral is often postponed for a few days to allow all family members to be present. No expense is spared at a funeral. Because life is filled with suffering and pain that is endured alone, for the Irish, death opens the door to the afterlife, which is a relief.
Privacy and individual rights are important values, and so many topics are not discussed with persons outside of the marital dyad or nuclear family. Families, particularly those of Anglo descent, may find themselves isolated and without a supportive network. This individualism can get in the way of finding familial help and support during crises. Privacy would be very important for a family wanting to receiving support. Self-initiation and self-reliance are valued in this culture.
With autonomy as a core value, suffering and difficulty is often experienced alone and in silence. Individuals or families will work hard and privately to overcome obstacles and to deal with grief. The values of independence and hard work are instrumental in helping European Americans to achieve success in the U.S. These families are optimistic and confident. On the other hand, the lack of family rituals and traditions, particularly around dealing with difficulty and pain becomes the nemesis of these families and communities.
Irish American families too believe that suffering is a private matter, and have traditionally believed that it is their own sin that results in suffering. These deep core beliefs led to the tendency to keep problems private rather than to seek out help. Families may turn to alcohol before they turn to a counselor in times of trouble, leading to higher rates of addiction among members of this group.
Italian-American families are very close to nuclear and extended family members. “La famiglia” includes all relatives by marriage, giving them a large support network. Members of the Italian-American community will be less likely to move away in order to pursue individual goals. These families focus on the enjoyment of life, seen in being together and eating together. The life cycle stage that is most emphasized in these families is marriage.
Counselors as Cultural Brokers
In the light of the mosaic of diversity in this nation, school counselors need to be culturally competent. An awareness of how race, religion, immigration status, class, age, disability, and sexual orientation affect family identity is important. Few people will fit exactly into the general and stereotypical descriptions given above and so these descriptions serve only as a starting point with which to begin to understand people in the context of their culture.
Given the number of multiracial individuals in the U.S., it is wise to refrain from guessing or assuming a person’s ethnic identity. Respect can be shown by asking people about their ethnic background and how they self-identify. Counselors need to posit themselves as learners when in the cross-cultural families. Acknowledgement of ignorance and taking a “not-knowing” stance as learner are helpful characteristics of the culturally sensitive counselor. Misunderstandings may be avoided this way and the cultural gap can be better bridged.
The culturally sensitive counselors belong to a particular culture themselves. All people see the world through their own cultural lens. The goal is not to be free of a particular culture. Instead, as cultural brokers, school counselors recognize that they are unable to remain aloof and be free of value judgments. Learning about one's own heritage and its impact on the counseling process is a first step towards becoming culturally aware.
SEE ALSO: Ethnicity; Family therapy; Melting pot
Suggested Reading
McGoldrick, M., Giordano, J., & Pearce, J.K. (Eds.). (1996). Ethnicity and family therapy. New York: Guilford Press.
McGoldrick, M. (Ed.). (2002). Re-visioning family therapy: Race, culture, and gender in clinical practice. New York: Guilford Press.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). American Fact Finder: Profile of Selected Economic Characteristics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government printing office.
Walsh, F. (Ed.). (1982). Normal family processes. New York: Guilford Press.
Suggested Resources
US Census Bureau
http://factfinder.census.gov/
This website presents U.S. demographic statistics from 2000.
APA Multicultural Guidelines
http://www.apa.org/pi/multiculturalguidelines/
This APA Web site provides a document featuring guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists
Contributors
Kathryn de Bruin, M.A.
Private Practitioner
Life Spring Center
Ben K Lim, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Marital & Family Therapy
Bethel University