Acculturation gap

The acculturation gap refers to the differences in the changing sets of values and culture between generations in a family, such as a child and a parent. Acculturation is the process through which a person adapts into a new culture, such as by learning its language or adopting its values and traditions.

The gap is often revealed after a family immigrates from one country to another and assimilates into a culture: after immigration, a child usually adapts into a new culture more quickly, often interacting with more people from the new culture than the culture of their parents (by attending school, for instance). Adults, on the other hand, generally take much longer to become acculturated, if they ever fully embrace or feel comfortable in the new culture at all.

The "acculturation gap-distress hypothesis" states that because the parent and child acculturate at different rates, the resulting differences in expectations and beliefs is linked to conflict within immigrant families and adolescent adjustment. However the results of studies which have tested this hypothesis have been inconclusive, and have often revealed more complex, nuanced factors at play.