• No results found

Such cushioning might well be e ffe c tiv e even in the re la tiv e ly small enclaves in A ustralia fo r immigrant parents, who are seeking i t

a s itu a tio n o f c o n f lic t fo r the A u s tra lia n -b o rn c h ild , is open to debate. The p o in t is th a t the values over which P rice found f r ic t io n to be occur­

rin g are p re c is e ly those over which i t occurs throughout Hestern s o c ie ty , and not uniquely in the immigrant fa m ily (Z u b rzycki, 1964, 1966).

S im ila rly the o ft-q u o te d tension aroused by Northwest European parents' applying pressure on t h e ir c h ild re n to overachieve academ ically, w ith consequent re je c tio n by the peer group (e g ., S to lle r , 1966b), is no doubt o fte n experienced by the c h ild re n o f upwardly mobile m iddle- class A u s tra lia n parents also (H a rris , 19C2).

A f in a l example. Mol (1368), in a la rg e -s c a le survey o f r e lig io n in A u s tra lia , found what he termed an "a u th o rita ria n syndrome" to be e s p e c ia lly pre va le n t among I t a lia n and Greek respondents. One o f the t r a i t s was a b e lie f th a t the c h ild should obey and not presume to th in k fo r h im s e lf. However many A u s tra lia n respondents displayed th is syndrome also . I t a lia n and Greek second-generation c h ild re n are not in a d iffe r e n t s itu a tio n - i t is sim ply th a t a g reate r p ro p o rtio n o f them are in i t , and f o r many i t is more intense (Rooth, 1968).

These are o n ly some examples o f a tendency in the lit e r a t u r e to see as an "im m igrant" problem something which is widespread through­ out A u s tra lia n s o c ie ty . However i t is not claimed th a t a ll s itu a tio n s o f in te rg e n e ra tio n tension are experienced by both im m igrants' and Aus­ tr a lia n c h ild re n . For in sta nce, daughters o f immigrant parents some­ times r e a lly are in a s itu a tio n o f c o n f lic t a ris in g from d iffe re n c e s in the c u ltu re s o f t h e ir parents and the host s o c ie ty , as w i l l be d is ­ cussed below.

S p e c ific Clashes. Apart from disagreement over the exte nt to which the adolescent should be perm itted independence, there are a number o f o th e r sources o f tension between parent and c h ild which appear to be unique to the A u s tra lia n -b o rn c h ild o f immigrants. He experiences the tensions f e l t by his A u s tra lia n peer, but these are aggravated by clashes over o th er norms, both behavioural and e th ic a l, which are not commonly seen as areas o f stress in the life s p a c e o f the average Aus­ tr a lia n adolescent.

For instance language d i f f i c u l t i e s was a commonly c ite d source o f c o n f lic t between the two generations.

B o rrie & Packer found I t a lia n to be the usual language at home, w h ile English was u n iv e rs a lly used a t school. In Benyei's (1960) study o f Greek fa m ilie s , most c h ild re n were expected to speak Greek ip t h e ir homes. T a ft (1960) reported th a t Dutch im m igrants, co n tra ry to a b e lie f w idely held among A u s tra lia n s , found English d i f f i c u l t to le a rn . The c h ild o f United Kingdom parents a ls o , must learn and use the slang o f his A u s tra lia n peers to be f u l l y accepted by them, y e t be able to con­ verse w ith h is parents in t h e ir vernacular (Richardson, 1960).

Use o f a fo re ig n language in p u b lic arouses the d is t r u s t and suspicion o f A u s tra lia n s (P ric e , 1963a). Conversely, immigrant parents faced w ith the prospect o f an A u s tra lia n d a u g h te r-in -la w fe a r the language b a r r ie r which they perceive as l i k e l y to e x is t between mother and daughter- in -la w , and also between fu tu re grandchildren and t h e ir grandparents.

Moreover fu tu re generations o f the fa m ily would be less l i k e l y to le a rn the language o f t h e ir forebe ars. Tension is also aroused by pressure

from parents on the A u s tra lia n -b o rn c h ild to spend h is spare tin e in e th n ic evening classes le a rn in g the homeland language (P ric e , 1963a). In a d d itio n , as mentioned above, the s o lu tio n o f parental language d i f ­ f ic u lt ie s by use o f the second-generation c h ild as tr a n s la to r leads to fe e lin g s o f being overburdened w ith r e s p o n s ib ility and experience o f in c o n g ru ity between ro le s o f dominance and submission (Carey, 1959; Hay e t al_., 1967).

Use o f the o ld -w o rld language in the home re s u lts in p e rs o n a lity stre ss in the c h ild (Pxadziowski, 1963). Language used, e s p e c ia lly in the home, was an im portant discrepancy in the behaviour pa tte rn s o f European-born parents and t h e ir A u s tra lia n -b o rn c h ild re n in an indus­ t r i a l area (Z u b rzycki, 1964). Even a ft e r residence in A u s tra lia fo r seven years or more immigrant parents were found to score much lower than t h e ir second-generation c h ild re n on use o f English (A d le r & T a ft 1966). The t y p ic a lly a u th o rita ria n European immigrant fa m ily causes p a r tic u la r stress f o r second-generation c h ild re n as they re a lis e th a t t h e ir English is b e tte r than th a t o f t h e ir parental reference group ( S t o lle r , 1968).

Banchevska (1966), Kern (1966) and Zubrzycki (1966) also named d iffe re n c e o f prim ary languages between immigrant parents and t h e ir A u s tra lia n -b o rn c h ild re n as a prim ary cause o f in te rg e n e ra tio n stress - a cause reasonably s p e c ific to the immigrant fa m ily and not shared to a great exte nt by the A u s tra lia n peers. A dm ittedly slang used d iffe r s from generation to generation in A u s tra lia n s o c ie ty a ls o , so some lack o f communication occurs. However i t is not n e a rly as acute as th a t in the immigrant household where the parents use one language fo r every-

day communication and the teenagers use another, o r wish to and are forbidden to do so (K ru p in s k i, 1968).

Food preferences were found by C hild (1943) to be a source o f discord in American I t a lia n fa m ilie s , and ware also described by a number o f A u s tra lia n authors as causing disagreement between immigrant parents and t h e ir A u s tra lia n -b o rn c h ild re n (e g ., P ric e , 1963a). B o rrie & Packer

(1954) found the I t a lia n immigrant mother to be s o c ia lly is o la te d from her A u s tra lia n neighbours, and food prepared to be e s s e n tia lly the same as th a t eaten in the homeland v illa g e (P ric e , 1963a). Adler & T a ft (1966) found th a t immigrant parents attempt to impose t h e ir own food preferences on t h e ir fa m ilie s more than they do, fo r example, norms

concerning dress and grooming. D iffe r in g norms concerning food preferences were c ite d by Banchevska (1966) as an example o f the irre le v a n c e o f

h is pa ren ts' c u ltu re to the A u s tra lia n -b o rn c h ild o f immigrants. The A u s tra lia n p ra c tic e o f d rin k in g beer, and larg e q u a n titie s o f i t , was found to be disapproved o f by Dutch ( T a ft, I960) and Greek (Benyei, 1960) parents, among o th e rs .

However i t should be noted th a t both Doczy (1967, 1969) and Johnston (1959) found th a t o b je c tiv e ly measured a c c u ltu ra tio n in terms o f fa c to rs such as language and food preferences are in s u f f ic ie n t as

in d ic a to rs o f a c c u ltu ra tio n o f the im m igrants1 c h ild . I t is necessary fo r the c h ild him se lf to perceive th a t a c c u ltu ra tio n has been achieved. Only when such perceived a c c u ltu ra tio n e x is ts can the s a tis fa c tio n necessary fo r complete a s s im ila tio n develop. Nevertheless i t is argued th a t the adolescent, e a tin g school lunches, v is it in g fr ie n d s ' homes,

discussing everyday matters with them in playground and s t r e e t , and

Related documents