We have come a long way, baby: "Explaining positive adaptation of immigrant youth across cultures"

Abstract

Immigrant youth are and will continue to be a diverse and important part of Western nations. In this context, the study of immigrant youth adaptation has burgeoned. The papers of this special section represent a shift from a deficit-based to a strength-based approach to immigrant youth. They focus on unpacking the immigrant paradox, often based on longitudinal, multilevel data. In this commentary, we discuss how the research findings and themes that emerge from these papers contribute to our understanding of the processes of development and acculturation, of the importance of individual differences and the role of context for immigrant youth adaptation. These studies show that we have come a long way … but that we still have a long way to go.

Keywords: Acculturation; Immigrant paradox; Immigrant youth; Positive youth development; Resilience.