Acculturation Orientations of Competing Host Communities Toward Valued and Devalued Immigrants

The authors explored how members of competing host communities may endorse different acculturation orientations towards valued and devalued immigrants settled in Montreal. Francophone and Anglophone host community students from low-, medium- and high-ethnic diversity colleges completed the host community acculturation scale (HCAS) along with a questionnaire monitoring a range of social psychological correlates of acculturation orientations. The authors found that the results showed that Anglophones were more integrationist and individualist and less assimilationist than Francophones. Both Francophones and Anglophones were more integrationist and individualist and less assimilationist, segregationist and exclusionist toward valued than devalued immigrants. Attending a multiethnic college had no influence on respondents' acculturation orientations. The authors found that the more welcoming acculturation orientations of Anglophones compared to Francophones was corroborated by results obtained with immigrants attending the French and the English colleges. They also found that social psychological profiles of the respective acculturation orientations were similar across both host communities thus supporting the construct validity of the HCAS. The authors conclude that attitude toward co-national outgroup was a significant determinant of each acculturation orientations, suggesting that intergroup relations between rival host communities has an impact on acculturation orientations toward immigrants.

International Journal of Intercultural Relations

Vol. 26

no. 6

507-532

November 2004

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