ERIC Number: EJ1389399
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Aug
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1475-2409
EISSN: EISSN-1741-2943
Available Date: N/A
Examining the Impact of a Third Culture Kid Upbringing: Wellbeing, Attachment and Ethnic Identity Strength in Adult Third Culture Kids
Doherty, Lucy; Lieu, Jenai; Aledeh, Muhammad; Edwards, Ann-Marie; Kotera, Yasuhiro
Journal of Research in International Education, v22 n2 p164-180 Aug 2023
Third Culture Kids (TCK) are generally considered to be children who spend a significant period living outside of their home country but reside only temporarily in one or more host country/ies. TCKs' upbringing, it is argued, may lead to a number of negative psychological outcomes including depression, anxiety, and identity and attachment issues. This quantitative study based on a total of 489 participants compares the self-report responses of adults who had been TCKs with those of non-TCK adults, on the measures of ethnic identity, wellbeing, loneliness, attachment, resilience, and self-concept clarity. Results indicate that TCK adults had a weaker ethnic identity, greater resilience, and were less comfortable forming close relationships than non-TCK adults. Among TCK adults, having siblings was associated with reduced attachment anxiety and greater resilience, while practising a religion was related to increased ethnic identity. Findings indicate the need to raise awareness among parents, teachers, and counsellors about the difficulties that TCKs might face.
Descriptors: Child Development, Foreign Countries, Self Concept, Global Approach, Cross Cultural Training, Cultural Pluralism, Attachment Behavior, Well Being, Ethnicity, Adults, Control Groups, Psychological Patterns, Resilience (Psychology), Interpersonal Competence, Interpersonal Relationship, Siblings, Anxiety, Religious Factors
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure; UCLA Loneliness Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A