Page 222 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
P. 222
positive youth development in contexts
Multicultural Personality Questionnaire developed by van Oudenhoven
and van der Zee (2002). Based on the results, which suggested that specif-
ic personality dimensions of young teenagers are linked to their multilin-
gualism and multiculturalism, the authors contend the low emotional sta-
bility of TCKs might be connected to the stressful process of linguistic and
cultural acculturation. The results also show that the immigration experi-
ence of fitting in makes TCKs stronger, more open-minded and unpreju-
diced. The need to develop an awareness of different cultural norms and
values might come from the realisation that their values and attitudes may
not be shared by the people around them (Dewaele & Oudenhoven, 2009,
p. 14). In addition, the authors suggest the need to change our way of look-
ing at language knowledge in the immigrant context:
Rather than focusing on aspects in which the acculturating group
is expected to be ‘deficient’ compared to control groups, a more
global description of the acculturating group is needed, includ-
ing variables in which it may score better than the control group.
In other words, by focusing exclusively on the pain, researchers
have omitted to consider the potential gain of TCKs. (Dewaele &
Oudenhoven, 2009, p. 7)
The research approach that focuses on the individual’s strengths and
virtues and understands bi-/multilingualism as an asset in personal devel-
opment is close to the PYD research of the strengths of immigrant ado-
lescents (Forman et al., 2009). We believe that the idea of recognising im-
migrants’ potential for positive development, together with bilingualism,
biculturalism and integrated identities “as assets to their communities and
bases of their positive contributions to civil society” (Lerner et al., 2012, p.
317), creates the possibility of collaborative research between PYD and mul-
tilingualism studies.
PYD and language context – the relevance of studying
multilingualism for the research into thriving
The connecting of multilingualism with the field of psychology, including
positive psychology, is therefore not new. In particular, the association of
social psychology with research in L2 points to several possibilities within
thematic links, such as teaching and learning of language, motivation and
cognitive development, or multilingualism and emotions (Dewaele et al.,
2019). In our review of the literature, multilingualism in the PYD perspective
222
Multicultural Personality Questionnaire developed by van Oudenhoven
and van der Zee (2002). Based on the results, which suggested that specif-
ic personality dimensions of young teenagers are linked to their multilin-
gualism and multiculturalism, the authors contend the low emotional sta-
bility of TCKs might be connected to the stressful process of linguistic and
cultural acculturation. The results also show that the immigration experi-
ence of fitting in makes TCKs stronger, more open-minded and unpreju-
diced. The need to develop an awareness of different cultural norms and
values might come from the realisation that their values and attitudes may
not be shared by the people around them (Dewaele & Oudenhoven, 2009,
p. 14). In addition, the authors suggest the need to change our way of look-
ing at language knowledge in the immigrant context:
Rather than focusing on aspects in which the acculturating group
is expected to be ‘deficient’ compared to control groups, a more
global description of the acculturating group is needed, includ-
ing variables in which it may score better than the control group.
In other words, by focusing exclusively on the pain, researchers
have omitted to consider the potential gain of TCKs. (Dewaele &
Oudenhoven, 2009, p. 7)
The research approach that focuses on the individual’s strengths and
virtues and understands bi-/multilingualism as an asset in personal devel-
opment is close to the PYD research of the strengths of immigrant ado-
lescents (Forman et al., 2009). We believe that the idea of recognising im-
migrants’ potential for positive development, together with bilingualism,
biculturalism and integrated identities “as assets to their communities and
bases of their positive contributions to civil society” (Lerner et al., 2012, p.
317), creates the possibility of collaborative research between PYD and mul-
tilingualism studies.
PYD and language context – the relevance of studying
multilingualism for the research into thriving
The connecting of multilingualism with the field of psychology, including
positive psychology, is therefore not new. In particular, the association of
social psychology with research in L2 points to several possibilities within
thematic links, such as teaching and learning of language, motivation and
cognitive development, or multilingualism and emotions (Dewaele et al.,
2019). In our review of the literature, multilingualism in the PYD perspective
222
