Earlier in the semester we
talked about the family structure and the effects of immigration. We read a research paper that focused on immigration from
Mexico to the United States. In the study conducted
they mentioned that acculturation into the American culture caused a decrease
in familism. This is greatly caused by the individualistic influence that the American
culture holds. Roles were shifted by the separation of families. Some fathers
left early to America to get a job and create a foundation for the family to
move. Most of the time, families were separated for 3 or more years. Rules
become stricter within the family due to the new dangers and fear of being
exported. The children became the median between the Mexican and the American
cultures because they would attend schools and we more able to adapt to the new
culture. All of these changes come about with little expectation, but without
the realization on how severe these changes would be. For example I believe
that the families knew that they would have stricter rules, but did not
anticipate the effects that it would have. They also knew that when the father
would leave, that it would be for a while but did not realize how the roles
would shift and how that would have such a lasting effect.
It would be pretty difficult to offer a family that
is experiencing this type of difficulty because I haven’t really experienced
this type of situation. The closest thing that I have experienced is my mission
in Russia. Our readings state that there are programs that help decrease the
stresses of acculturation and address issues in family relationships caused by
the immigration process. The main thing that people need to understand is that
there is a great deal of stress brought on by assimilating into a new culture.
Immigrants from Mexico also have to deal with the fact that they might not see
their extended family that still live in Mexico. For a family with strong
familism, that can be very difficult to deal with.
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