surveys the research into the adolescent child of immigrants in Australia
to date, attempting to distinguish between c o n flic t arising from assim
ila tio n d i f f i c u l t i e s and culture c o n flic t.
Chapter 5 offers a model
for the study of culture c o n f lic t , irrespective of whether culture is
defined by geographical boundary, age, or, more properly, by uniqueness
of i t s system of values and b e lie f s .
CHAPTER 4 . CONFLICT BETWEEN CULTURES AND THE GENERATIONS EXPERIENCED BY AUSTRAL IAN-BORN ADOLESCENT CHILDREN OF AUSTRALIAN AND IMMIGRANT PARENTS.
"Ch il dr en whose p a r e n t s a r e both i mmigr ant s o f t e n f i n d t h a t t h e i r g r e a t e s t problem l i e s i n t h e c l a s h be twe en t h e i r p a r e n t a l c u l t u r e and t h e i r A u s t r a l i a n e n v i r o n m e n t . When t h e y make A u s t r a l i a n f r i e n d s a t s c h o o l and b r i n g A u s t r a l i a n customs back i n t o t h e home t h e r e i s some t i m e s f r i c t i o n between them and t h e i r p a r e n t s , who ar e s t i l l t h i n k i n g i n terms o f European customs and v a l u e s . T h i s does n o t mean t h a t t h e r e i s no f r i c t i o n in o t h e r homes. We ar e a l l aware o f t h e t e n s i o n t h a t o c c u r s in any f a m i l y between p a r e n t s and c h i l d r e n , p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h t e e n a g e r s w i s h i n g t o branch o u t on t h e i r own and become i n d e p e n d e n t o f a d u l t a u t h o r i t y . But when t h i s i s a l l i e d t o a marked c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e bet ween t h e customs and v a l u e s o f t h e p a r e n t s and t h e A u s t r a l i a n customs and v a l u e s t h a t c h i l d r e n ar e b r i n g i n g back from s c h o o l , t h e r e i s s ome ti me s s e v e r e t e n s i o n . " ( P r i c e , C. A . , 1 963b, p . 1 5 ) .
T h i s o b s e r v a t i o n by perhaps the f o r e m o s t s c h o l a r o f A u s t r a l i a n i mm i g r a t i o n was t h e s t e p p i n g - o f f p o i n t f o r t h e p r e s e n t r e s e a r c h . T h is s t u d y i s an a t t e m p t t o measure t h e n a t u r e and d e g r e e o f t h e t e n s i o n between a d o l e s c e n t c h i l d r e n and t h e i r p a r e n t s i n A u s t r a l i a , and t o a s c e r t a i n t h e e x t e n t and t y p e s o f d i f f e r e n c e s between A u s t r a l i a n - b o r n c h i l d r e n whose p a r e n t s a r e i m m ig r an t , and t h o s e whose p a r e n t s a r e Aus t r a l i a n s , i n t h e t e n s i o n s t h e y e x p e r i e n c e and t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l means t h e y employ t o cope w i t h them. As P r i c e s a y s , t e n s i o n between t e e n a g e r s and t h e i r p a r e n t s o c c u r s i n any f a m i l y , and many o f t h e c a u s e s o f immi g r a n t f a m i l y d i s c o r d d e s c r i b e d by a u t h o r s t o be c i t e d i n t h i s c h a p t e r
are experienced by A u s tra lia n teenagers also . However, some are n o t, and these also are examined.
In another p u b lic a tio n P rice (1963a) in fe rre d extensive c o n f lic t and in c re a s in g ly intense stre ss fo r second-generation c h ild re n , e s p e c ia lly o f Southern European parents, in t h e ir attempts to cope w ith and a d just to two c u ltu re s sim ultaneously, but commented th a t l i t t l e research had been c a rrie d out in to th is in A u s tra lia at the time o f h is w r itin g . Although the Commonwealth Imm igration Advisory Council Report (1960) quoted in Chapter 1 sparked some in te r e s t in im m igrants' c h ild re n in A u s tr a lia , l i t t l e has been published to th is date (December 1971) spe c i f i c a l l y on immigrant c h ild re n r e la tiv e to the number o f studies on im m igration in general (P ric e , 1566a, 1371). Notable exceptions are A dler & T a ft (1966); Johnston (1969); Doczy (1967, 1969). P rice (1971) re p o rts th a t t h is is changing, and th a t the next few years should see more in fo rm a tio n a v a ila b le , p a r tic u la r ly concerning the second-genera tio n c h ild o f immigrant parents. As second-generation c h ild re n now c o n s titu te approxim ately 27% o f the to ta l immigrant c o n trib u tio n to A u s tr a lia 's population growth since 1947 (Pyne & P ric e , 1971), th is is h ig h ly d e s ira b le . The present study is one attem pt to begin to f i l l th is gap.
To date most p u b lic a tio n on the a s s im ila tio n and adjustment o f the c h ild re n o f immigrants in A u s tra lia n s o c ie ty has been in the
context o f w ider examinations o f immigrants as a group o r o f the a s s im ila tio n o f the fa m ily as a whole. As w i l l be seen, some f i e l d studies
have been published, but much in fo rm a tio n has also appeared via con ferences and seminars on problems o f im m ig ratio n. H ig h lig h ts among
these have been the Conference on Im m igration Research convened by the Department o f Demography, A u s tra lia n National U n iv e rs ity in 1960 (P ric e , 1960a); the seminar organised by the Standing Committee f o r the Cental Health o f M igrants a t the U n iv e rs ity o f New South Wales in 1963 (H a ts d o rf,
1963); and the N ational Conference o f the A u s tra lia n Council fo r Social Service in Brisbane in 1968 (T h ro s s e ll, 1968). The major c o n trib u tio n to the psychological study o f im m igration has been th a t by T a ft and
his colleagues a t the U n iv e rs ity o f Western A u s tra lia ( T a ft, 1365), w h ile fo r the student o f the in te g ra tio n o f the immigrant fa m ily in to A u s tra lia n s o c ie ty , work by P rice (1963a); Zubrzycki (1964); a number o f authors c o n trib u tin g to a book e d ited by S te ile r (1966a); and survey re s u lts published by Hay, Arens & Kern (1967) provide much useful in fo rm a tio n .
A number o f common themes emerge from w ritin g s on the c h ild o f immigrants in A u s tra lia concerning the lik e lih o o d o f tension between h im s e lf, h is pa ren ts, and his A u s tra lia n peer group. I t is w idely agreed or at le a s t im plie d th a t the p o te n tia l f o r f r i c t i o n between parent and c h ild is g re a te r w ith in the immigrant fa m ily than w ith in i t s A u s tra lia n e q u iv a le n t. Causes o f discord suggested, w h ile many and v a rie d , c lu s te r around themes such as tension between the parents themselves; the e ffe c ts o f A u s tra lia n p re ju d ice against im m igrants; the homeland roots o f the
immigrant parents; the advanced a c c u ltu ra tio n o f second-generation c h ild ren compared w ith th a t o f t h e ir parents; s p e c ific clashes over so cia l norms such as food and language preferences; and the i n a b i l i t y o f the immigrant fa m ily s tru c tu re to cope w ith the stre s s o f a c c u ltu ra tio n and a s s im ila tio n .