Acculturation, acculturative stress, and psychological androgyny among Sikh adolescents

This research study examined the relationships between acculturation, acculturative attitudes, acculturative stress, and psychological androgyny among first and second generation, (or Indian born and Canadian born), Sikh male and female adolescents in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. A total of 114 subjects were administered the Acculturative Attitudes Survey, the Cawte Acculturative Stress Scale, and the Bern Sex Role Inventory. A one way ANOVA indicated that second generation Sikh adolescents had a significantly higher acculturative stress than the first generation Sikh adolescents . No significant gender differences in the level of acculturative stress were found for either the first or the second generation Sikh male and female adolescents. Marginalization was found to have a significant positive relationship with acculturative stress for all Sikh adolescents combined. Additionally, masculinity was found to have a significant inverse relationship with acculturative stress for second generation Sikh adolescents in addition to the positive correlation of marginalization. It was also found that Integration has a significant positive relationship with acculturative stress for the first generation Sikh female adolescents. The results of the regression analyses suggest that Integration and Marginalization are the best indicator of acculturative stress for Sikh adolescents. However, masculinity and Marginalization were found to be the best predictors of acculturative stress for second generation Sikh adolescents. The present study also set out to examine if Sikh adolescents have any significant difference in their level of acculturative stress, acculturative attitudes with respect to their conceptualizations of themselves as masculine, feminine, androgynous or undifferentiated based on the Bern Sex Role Inventory. Sikh male and female adolescents classified as feminine have a significantly higher level of acculturative stress than any of the other groups on the Bern Sex Role Inventory. The results also indicate significant relationships among masculinity, femininity, and acculturative attitudes. Masculinity was found to have a significant inverse relationship with assimilation for first generation Sikh male adolescents have and a significant inverse relationship with Marginalization for second generation Sikh male adolescents. Femininity was found to have a significant positive relationship with Separation for all Sikh male adolescents. No such relationships were found for the Sikh female adolescents.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat