Canadian Psychologist Speaks on Immigrant Adolescents’ Ability to Adapt to Life in a New Society

Posted on: 05 May 2009

TCD’s Children’s Research Centre Hosts Expert Lecture on the Intercultural Psychology of Young People

Professor John Berry, international expert on the intercultural psychology of young people and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Queen’s University, Canada, delivered a lecture entitled Children’s Cultures in Contact: Intercultural Relations and Strategies in Schools in Trinity College Dublin on Wednesday April 29 last. The lecture was organised by TCD’s Children’s Research Centre.

Professor Berry’s research examines the range of strategies that young people (ages 12 -18) use to adapt to life in a new society including, assimilation through the adoption of the host society’s culture and values at the expense of their own cultural heritage; remaining separate from the host society and strongly identifying with their cultural heritage; and developing the skills and competencies to participate actively in the host society while maintaining their own cultural identity.

Prof Robert Gilligan, Head of the School of Social Work and Social Policy at TCD and Prof Sheila Greene, Director of the Children’s Research Centre with Prof John Berry. 

According to Professor Berry, the best methods of promoting positive adaptation is through policies that support and encourage both the maintenance of a young person’s cultural heritage as well as their full and equitable participation in the life of the larger society. He argues that social scientific evidence shows that there is the potential for immigration to be a win-win situation for both the host community and people who have come to live and work in Ireland.

Professor Berry’s lecture discussed the range of issues and challenges that young people from immigrant or ethnic minority groups face living between two cultural worlds. He will examine in detail the strategies that young people use to adapt to life in a new society and the implications of these on their self-esteem, mental wellbeing and their progress in school.

About Professor John Berry:
Professor John Berry is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Queen’s University, Canada. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, and the International Academy for Intercultural Research. Professor Berry holds Honorary Doctorates from the University of Athens, and the Université de Geneve and has published over 30 books in the areas of cross-cultural, social and cognitive psychology. Professor Berry visited the Children’s Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin, from the April 27th to May 7th 2009 as an Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) Visiting Fellow.