Acculturation of Turkish-Dutch citizens varies according to domain and generation

10 January 2025 Research news item

'Acculturation' is the process in which people with a migration background navigate a path between on the one hand retaining the culture of their country of origin and on the other adapting to the culture of the host country. The Radboud researchers studied acculturation by comparing national identification, cultural values, language and media use of three generations of Turkish-Dutch citizens with that of Dutch citizens without a migration background.

"Within the group of Turkish-Dutch citizens, there is a relatively high percentage of people with overweight or an unhealthy lifestyle," says PhD researcher Mustafa Akpinar. "To address this with health communication, you need to know how this group differs from the group of Dutch citizens without a migration background. We therefore analysed the values and customs of both groups, through a sample survey." The results of this research can be used to create health campaigns that may be effective for everyone. However, the results are not unambiguous. "It makes a big difference which values and customs you look at and which generation," says Akpinar.

Generations

"In groups with a migrant background, you always see a difference in the first generation compared to the Dutch, because they are part of two cultures at the same time," Akpinar explains. "Turkish-Dutch citizens tend to use less Dutch media than the average Dutch person, because they often also follow Turkish media. So, they often pick up the news in two languages. What is interesting is the similarity of the outcomes relating to the Dutch and second-generation Turkish-Dutch citizens in this sample."

The second-generation Turkish-Dutch citizens participating in this study have come to adopt many of the Dutch national identity, values, language and media practices, according to the researcher. "They identify more with the Dutch identity and customs and appreciate the Dutch language more than Turkish-Dutch citizens from the previous generation, for example."

Similarities and differences

The researchers compared a total of 464 participants. These participants were asked questions such as "how proud are you to be Dutch?", "how often do you watch Dutch television?" or "to what extent do you agree with the statement: men should show courtesy to women, such as holding the door open." These questions were put to both Turkish-Dutch citizens and Dutch citizens without a migration background. In doing so, the researchers distinguished between three generations of Turkish-Dutch citizens and their Dutch peers. The first generation of participants has an average age of 54, the second generation is 37 on average and the third is around 22.

"There is a clear difference between the first and second generation," says Akpinar. "The values and customs of Turkish-Dutch citizens and Dutch citizens without a migration background are more similar in the second generation than in the first generation." The third generation presents a more variable picture, with some values and customs being less similar and others more similar to those of Dutch citizens without a migration background.

There are several possible explanations for this, but they are all speculative, the researchers emphasise. "One possible explanation is that third-generation participants are still in the formative stage of life, between the ages of 16 and 34," says Akpinar. "At this point in their lives, people are often still searching for their identity and their place in society. It may be that as third-generation Turkish-Dutch citizens grow older and become more connected to Dutch society through work and children, this is also reflected more in their values and customs."

In their follow-up research, Akpinar and his colleagues will present several government health campaigns to the respondents to see the extent to which they felt addressed by them.

Literature reference

Akpinar, M., Vandeberg, L., Vettehen, P. H., Hofhuis, J., & Hendriks, H. (2025). Examining acculturation in three generations of Turkish-Dutch citizens: The role of national identification, cultural values, language, and media use. International Journal of Intercultural Relations: IJIR, 105(102129), 102129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.102129

Contact information

For further information, please contact team Science communicationvia +31 24 361 6000 or media[at] ru.nl(media[at]ru[dot]nl).

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