Family Acculturation, Behavior Problems, and Social Skills of a Group of Iranian Immigrant Children in Toronto

This study deals with acculturation of Iranian parents in particular mothers immigrated to Toronto and the well being of their children in terms of their social skills and behavior problems. A 21-item Acculturation Scale was developed for this purpose. The Iranian Acculturation Scale was shown to have sufficient internal consistency, construct and factorial validity for application in a group of 119 (43 male and 76 female) Iranian immigrants living in Toronto. The scale tapped different acculturation domains, such as ethnic identity, language, family values, and ethnic media. Fifty Iranian immigrant mothers living in Toronto participated in the study. They completed the Acculturation Scale and the Social Skills Rating System for their 86 school age children. Results revealed that social skills of Iranian immigrant children in Toronto were related to the level of acculturation of their mothers but behavior problems were not related to their mothers’ level of acculturation.