The seeking and classification of indicators of acculturation in the French-speaking context

Abstract

Our research aims at finding original indicators of the acculturation process for French-speaking people, in order to contribute to deepen and to make operational this concept in the French-speaking context. To accomplish this, texts written in French were selected from the Internet and were analyzed using Alceste. A downward, hierarchical analysis of data allowed us to establish three classes of indicators which predicted outcomes of health, work, and acculturation in general. This multifaceted structure brought together the concerns of researchers with respect to immigrants' strategies for identity formation and how well they adapted to everyday life, notably in France. We can consider, based on psycholexical theory, that these indicators reflect representations and mental processes relating to the acculturation process in the French-speaking world. © 2007 Société française de psychologie.