From Third Culture Kids (TCK) To Adult Third Culture Kids (ATCK): What Has Caused These Global Phenomena and What Are Their Effects?

This paper explores the phenomena of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and Adult Third Culture Kids (ATCKs). TCKs and ATCKs are individuals who grew up outside their parents’ and their own country of origin. A TCK is not simply a person who had to move to a different country but also often refers to those individuals who have spent the first eighteen years of their lives (developmental years) in more than one country. The primary aim of this paper is to look at what features and experiences are shared amongst TCKs and how they differentiate from individuals who did not grow up in a globally mobile lifestyle. This paper explores personal accounts in the form of narrative analysis of both TCKs and ATCKs. These testimonies are built into a case study that indicate four distinct experiences tied to growing up as a global nomad. The four categories are: parents and family, international school experience, staying in touch, and college experience. The final focus of the paper looks at the effects that this phenomenon has in the era of globalization