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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 10, No. 6.2

Publication Date: June 25, 2023

DOI:10.14738/assrj.106.2.14993.

Jamaludin, N. L., Farradinna, S., & Barna, E. A. (2023). The Role of Gender and Acculturation Attitudes in Predicting the Second- Generation Indonesian Migrants’ Adaptation in Malaysia. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(6.2). 01-15.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

The Role of Gender and Acculturation Attitudes in Predicting the

Second-Generation Indonesian Migrants’ Adaptation in Malaysia

Nor Lelawati Jamaludin

Corresponding Author

norlelawati0019@uitm.edu.my

Faculty of Business and Management UiTM Puncak Alam, Malaysia

Sharifah Farradinna

Fakultas Psikologi, Universitas Islam Riau, Riau, Indonesia

Eshaq Ali Barna

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),

570 Jalan Bukit Petaling, 50460 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

The present study's aims were to test second-generation Indonesian migrants'

attitudes toward their home culture and toward host culture as a necessary

component of inclusion for society and to determine whether these acculturation

attitudes (attitudes towards home and host culture) moderate the relationship

between gender and acculturation outcomes (psychological adaptation and

sociocultural adaptation) using a group of N=105 second-generation Indonesians in

Malaysia. Structural Equation Model-AMOS was conducted to test the relationship

among variables. The findings imply that among second-generation Indonesian

migrants, the two fundamental aspects of acculturation attitudes (attitudes towards

home and host culture) were mainly independent. The association between gender

and sociocultural adaption is moderated by acculturation attitudes. The connection

between acculturation attitudes and psychological adaptation was, in turn,

mediated by sociocultural adaptation. The findings also demonstrated that

sociocultural and psychological adaptation each had distinct predictors. Gender

directly predicted psychological adaptation, whereas acculturation attitudes

(attitudes towards home and host culture) directly impacted sociocultural

adaptation.

Keywords: Acculturation attitudes, psychological adaptation, sociocultural adaptation,

mental health, second-generation Indonesian migrants.

INTRODUCTION

Given that migration is a significant aspect of the 21st century and that the evidence suggests

that it still poses both opportunities and challenges for both host and immigrant communities

(UN, 2000:54). Approximately 271.64 million people are currently residing abroad, according

to UN research (Gopinath, & Poornappriya, 2022). This study's focus stems from the realisation

of the significance of second-generation immigrant experiences in getting ready for successful

inclusion. This is due to the fact that many social and governmental programmes have been

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 10, Issue 6.2, June-2023

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

motivated by the desire to create bridges between global experiences and knowledge across

borders (Jamaludin et al. 2018; Pitts, 2005). Senator Fulbright's remarks (see Fulbright, 1976),

suggest that inclusion initiatives can have excellent results. However, the full benefits are not

always realised due to different social and psychological impediments (i.e., Loganathan et

al.,2019; Sandhu, 1994). Pitts (2005) further argued that under the worst-case circumstances,

this might escalate global tensions and fuel ethnocentrism on both sides.

The current study looks at two acculturation-related topics. The first one deals with second- generation Indonesians in Malaysia's acculturation attitudes regarding their home and host

cultures as an element of social inclusion. The second concerns the moderating or mediating

function of gender towards the relationship between acculturation attitudes (attitudes towards

home and host culture) and second-generation immigrants' acculturation outcome

(psychological and sociological adaption).

LITERATURE REVIEW

Acculturation Context of Indonesians in Malaysia

According to the current scenario, Indonesia had lots of workers who were both ready and

inexpensively available for Malaysia's industries. The Indonesian community in Malaysia has

expanded in number as a result of a lengthy recruitment period, family reunions, new

marriages, and births, with roughly 40% of members being born in Malaysia.

The majority of the foreign employees in Malaysia, 728,870 in number, are from Indonesia,

according to 2020 data from the Foreign Ministry. India with 114, 455 workers, followed by

Bangladesh with 221,089, Myanmar with 127,705, and Nepal with 405,898 workers. In

addition, Malaysia employs 59,281, 56,153, 29,039, and 15,399 people from Pakistan, the

Philippines, Vietnam, and China, respectively. Thailand, however, employs 12,603 people, while

Sri Lanka has 5,964, Cambodia has 5,103 and Laos has 39 workers.

Most of the second generation is still enrolled in school. However, the general perception of

young immigrants is still depressing; they are frequently linked to crime, separation, and

resistance to change (Hagendoorn, 1991). Despite being spread throughout the nation,

Indonesians tend to congregate in the largest cities. The proximity between families is common.

This is prompted by older Indonesian women's desire to maintain close relationships with one

another and by the need for mutual assistance.

Gender, Acculturation Attitudes (Attitudes Toward Home Culture and Host Culture) and

Adaptation (Psychological and Sociocultural)

According to Jamaludin et al., (2018), home culture is the culture of the country where a person

is born and raised. In contrast, host culture is the culture of the country where a person is

currently living or has lived. Research on how gender affects acculturation attitudes toward

one's home culture and one's host culture has produced a mixed bag of findings.

Luo, et al., (2021); Arora, Metz, & Carlson, (2016) and Akhwan et al., (2021) proposed that an

important factor influencing acculturation attitudes is gender. According to research (Parham

et al., 2015; Liebkind, 1996), women are slower than men to establish identifications with the

host culture and are more assertive of their host culture (Glas, 2021; Ghaffarian, 1987).

Additionally, Fellmeth et al., (2021) and Ryan et al., (2021) noted that females had lower

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Jamaludin, N. L., Farradinna, S., & Barna, E. A. (2023). The Role of Gender and Acculturation Attitudes in Predicting the Second-Generation

Indonesian Migrants’ Adaptation in Malaysia. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(6.2). 01-15.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.106.2.14993

psychological adaptation than males. Other research, however, found no distinctions between

genders in psychological adaptation (Kolakowsky-Hayner et al.,2021; Furnham & Tresize,

1981; Nwadiora & McAdoo, 1996).

Furthermore, studies on the connection between gender and adaptation have yielded mixed

results. Furnham and Shiekh (1993) discovered that females were more likely than males to

experience psychological issues, experience a relative lack of participation with the host

culture, and have fewer host culture-specific skills. On the other hand, Hashemi, Marzban,

Sebar, and Harris, (2019) found that females were more psychologically adaptable than males.

According to other positive psychology studies, most women believe they are content and

pleased with their lives (see Diener, 2000). Nevertheless, some investigations found no

differences between genders in psychological adaptability (Kolakowsky-Hayner, Goldin,

Kingsley, Alzueta, Arango-Lasprilla, Perrin... & Constantinidou, 2021; Furnham & Tresize, 1981;

Nwadiora & McAdoo, 1996).

The assertion that gender has been reported to be significantly connected with acculturation

attitudes is still inconsistent, according to the literature. The aforementioned makes it very

evident that studies studying the connections between gender and adaptation are likewise

inconsistent. These discrepancies may be caused by weak effects, the omission of significant

moderating variables in the studies, a combination of the two, or both.

Adaptation

Psychological and social adaptability are the two main categories of acculturation outcomes

that have been categorised by acculturation researchers (Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001).

With regard to adaptation, acculturation researchers make a distinction between psychological

and sociocultural adaptation (Schachner, Schiller, Van de Vijver, & Noack, 2014). Psychological

adaptation includes well-being, life satisfaction, and mental health, whereas sociocultural

adaptation refers to an individual’s competence in mastering daily life in a particular cultural

context (Ward, 2001). In this study, mental health was used as an indicator of psychological

adaptation.

Psychological adaptation and sociocultural adaptation have been related, according to some

theories; links between the two have been shown (Berry, 2003; English, Zhang, Stanciu, Kulich,

Zhao, & Bojovic, 2021). Psychological and social adaptation results were found to be positively

associated by Ward and Kennedy (1999). Additionally, it was discovered that the degree of

cultural proximity and integration into the social host environment were positively correlated

with the intensity of the link between psychological and sociocultural adaptation (Kanj, &

Khamis, 2021; Ward, 1999; Ward & Kennedy, 1996; Ward, Okura, Kennedy, & Kojima, 1998;

Ward & Rana-Deuba, 1999).

Acculturation Attitudes (Attitudes Toward Home Culture and Host Culture) and

Adaptation (Psychological and Sociocultural)

Inconsistent findings have been found in research on the relationship between attitudes toward

home and host cultures and adaptation, which appears to focus mostly on psychological

adaptation as an outcome variable. Stronger ties to the host culture were shown by Singh

(1999) and Xiao, Miao, & Sarkar, (2021) to be associated with higher levels of stress, while

Padilla (1986) and English, Zhang, & Tong, (2021) found that they were associated with lower