Journals / Külliye / 2026 / Cilt: 7 Sayı: 1

Relationship Between Types of Acculturation and Happiness: a Study on Different Generation of Ahiska Turks Living in the USA, Russia and Kazakhstan

Kültürleşme Türleri ile Mutluluk Arasındaki İlişki: ABD, Rusya ve Kazakistan’da Yaşayan Ahıska Türklerinin Farklı Kuşakları Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Alikhan Zhamalov(ANKARA YILDIRIM BEYAZIT ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0001-8969-5862
Özlem Ersan(ANKARA YILDIRIM BEYAZIT ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-5702-1940
Journal
Külliye
Pages
22–41
Publication Date
2026-03-25
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Moreover, the study offers valuable insights into the role of age in the acculturation process, thereby contributing to future research in this field.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:At the current stage of human development, the percentage of people migrating to improve their living standards is increasing.
📊
Key Findings & Data:This study was conducted in Russia, the United States, and Kazakhstan with participation from Ahiska Turks (n = 188) living in these countries.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:Moreover, the study offers valuable insights into the role of age in the acculturation process, thereby contributing to future research in this field.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Göç · Kültürleşme · Mutluluk

Abstract

At the current stage of human development, the percentage of people migrating to improve their living standards is increasing. Therefore, nowadays, the topic of cultural interaction and its consequences have become relevant and is considered within the framework of the concept of acculturation. The first part of the study aimed to find out what types of acculturation are mainly used by Ahiska Turks in three different countries (the United States, Russia and Kazakhstan). The second part of the study shows the main purpose of the study that is to examine how happiness changes according to types of acculturation across generations in three countries? This study was conducted in Russia, the United States, and Kazakhstan with participation from Ahiska Turks (n = 188) living in these countries. The results of the Independent Factorial ANOVA indicated a statistically significant interaction effect between acculturation and happiness in the United States and Kazakhstan. However, no interaction effect between acculturation and happiness was observed among participants from Russia. The main effect for acculturation in all three countries was statistically significant, indicating that integrated participants are happier than separated, assimilated and marginalized. Another key contribution of this study is its examination of three generations of Ahiska Turks. This generational approach provides a comprehensive understanding of how acculturation patterns vary across generations and their relationship to happiness. Moreover, the study offers valuable insights into the role of age in the acculturation process, thereby contributing to future research in this field.

Özet

İnsan gelişiminin günümüzdeki aşamasında, yaşam standartlarını yükseltmek amacıyla göç eden insanların oranı artmaktadır. Bu nedenle günümüzde kültürlerin etkileşimi ve bu etkileşimin sonuçları güncel bir konu olmakta ve kültürleşme kavramı çerçevesinde ele alınmaktadır. Araştırmanın ilk bölümünde, Ahıska Türklerinin üç farklı ülkede (Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, Rusya ve Kazakistan) hangi kültürleşme türlerini ağırlıklı olarak benimsedikleri incelenmiştir. Çalışmanın ikinci bölümünde ise araştırmanın temel amacı olan, üç ülkede kuşaklar arasında kültürleşme türlerine göre mutluluğun nasıl değiştiği ortaya konulmuştur. Bu çalışma, söz konusu ülkelerde yaşayan Ahıska Türklerinin (n = 188) katılımıyla Rusya, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ve Kazakistan’da gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bağımsız Faktör ANOVA analizlerinin sonuçları, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ve Kazakistan'da kültürleşme ve mutluluk arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir etkileşim etkisi olduğunu göstermiştir. Bununla birlikte, Rusya'dan katılımcılar arasında kültürleşme ile mutluluk arasında herhangi bir etkileşim etkisi gözlemlenmemiştir. Her üç ülkede de kültürleşme ana etkisi istatistiksel olarak anlamlı olup, entegre olmuş katılımcıların ayrılmış, asimile olmuş ve marjinalleşmiş katılımcılardan daha mutlu olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu çalışmanın bir diğer önemli katkısı ise üç kuşak Ahıska Türklerini incelemesidir. Bu kuşak yaklaşımı, kültürleşme kalıplarının kuşaklar arasında nasıl değiştiğini ve mutlulukla ilişkisini kapsamlı bir şekilde anlamayı sağlamaktadır. Dahası, çalışma yaşın kültürleşme sürecindeki rolüne dair değerli bilgiler sunarak bu alandaki gelecek araştırmalara katkıda bulunmaktadır.

🔖

Cite This Article

Zhamalov, A., Inan, E., Ersan, Ö. (2026). Relationship Between Types of Acculturation and Happiness: a Study on Different Generation of Ahiska Turks Living in the USA, Russia and Kazakhstan. Külliye, Cilt: 7 Sayı: 1, 22–41. https://doi.org/10.48139/aybukulliye.1788640

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (60)

  1. Akkieva, S. I. (2019). Ethnocultural development of Meskhetian Turks (Akhiska) in Kabardino-Balkaria 1969-2019. Culture and Сivilization, 9(3), 144-155.
  2. Argyle, M. (2013). The psychology of happiness. Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781315812212
  3. Ataca, B., & Berry, J. W. (2002). Psychological, sociocultural, and marital adaptation of Turkish immigrant couples in Canada. International Journal of Psychology, 37(1), 13-26. DOI: 10.1080/00207590143000135
  4. Aydin, A., & Kemahli, F. (2017). Relationship between Migration and Cultural Identity of Ahiska Turks; Example of Ahiska Turks Living in Erzincan Province. In H. Akin (Eds.), II. In Proceedings of the International Ahiska Turks Symposium (pp. 285-298). Erzincan University Abstract Book.
  5. Aydıngün, A., & Aydıngün, I. (2014). Ahiska Turks: a transnational community of transnational families. Hoca Ahmet Yesevi International Turkish - Kazakh University Press.
  6. Aydıngün, A., Harding, Ç., Hoover, M., Kuznetsov, I., & Swerdlow, S. (2006). Meskhetian Turks: An Introduction to Their History, Culture, and Resettlement Experiences. Cultural Orientation Resource Center.
  7. Berkson, I. B. (1969). Theories of acculturation: A critical study. Arno.
  8. Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology, 46(1), 5-34. DOI: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.1997.tb01087.x
  9. Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(6), 697-712. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.07.013
  10. Berry, J. W., & Kalin, R. (1995). Multicultural and ethnic attitudes in Canada: An overview of the 1991 national survey. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 27(3), 301-320 DOI: 10.1037/0008-400X.27.3.301
  11. Berry, J. W., Kim, U., Minde, T., & Mok, D. (1987). Comparative studies of acculturative stress. International Migration Review, 21(3), 491-511. DOI: 10.1177/019791838702100303
  12. Berry, J. W., Kim, U., Power, S., Young, M., & Bujaki, M. (1989). Acculturation attitudes in plural societies. Applied Psychology, 38(2), 185-206. DOI: 10.1111/j.14640597.1989.tb01208.x
  13. Berry, J. W., Phinney, J. S., Sam, D. L., & Vedder, P. (2006). Acculturation, identity, and adaptation. Applied Psychology, 55(3), 303-332. DOI: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2006.00256.x
  14. Bilan, Y. (2012). Specificity of Border Labour Migration. Transformations in Business & Economics, 11(2), 82–97.
  15. Bocharova, E. E. (2013). Axiological orientation and subjective well-being of the individual in the specifics of ethnopsychological conditioning. Social Psychology and Society, 4(4), 95-105.
  16. Brislin, R. W., Cushner, K., Cherrie, C., & Yong, M. (1986). Intercultural interactions: A practical guide. Sage.
  17. Bugay, N. F. (2021). The Meskhetian Turks in the light of Soviet archives. Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences RAN.
  18. Cihan, A. (2008). Kırgızistan’da Ahıska Türkleri Üzerine Gözlemler. Bizim Ahıska Dergisi, 11(12), 18-23.
  19. Demiray, E. (2012). Turkish Studies-International Periodical for the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic. Electronic Turkish Studies, 7 (3), 877-885.
  20. Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95(3), 542–575. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542
  21. Diener, E., Suh, E., Lucas, R., & Smith, H. (2003). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 276–302. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276
  22. Eaton, J. W. (1952). Controlled acculturation: A survival technique of the Hutterites. American Sociological Review, 17(3), 331-340. DOI: 10.2307/2088079
  23. Espin, O. M. (1987). Psychological impact of migration on Latinas: Implications for psychotherapeutic practice. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 11(4), 489-503. DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-6402.1987.tb00920.x
  24. Golubev, A. M., & Dorosheva, E. A. (2017). Approbation of “Oxford Happiness Questionnaire” on the Russian sample. Psikhologicheskii Zhurnal, 38(3), 108-118. DOI: 10.7868/S0205959217030096
  25. Graham, C., & Markowitz, J. (2011). Aspirations and happiness of potential Latin American immigrants. Journal of Social Research & Policy, 2(2), 9-25.
  26. Graves, T. D. (1967). Psychological acculturation in a tri-ethnic community. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 23(4), 337-350. DOI: 10.1086/soutjanth.23.4.3629450
  27. Hadinezhad, H., & Zaree, F. (2009). Reliability, validity, and normalization of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. Psychological Research, 12(1-2), 62–77.
  28. Hendriks, M., & Bartram, D. (2019). Bringing Happiness Into the Study of Migration and Its Consequences: What, Why, and How?. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 17(3), 279-298. DOI: 10.1080/15562948.2018.1458169
  29. Hidalgo, M. C., & Hernandez, B. (2001). Place attachment: Conceptual and empirical questions. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21(3), 273-281. DOI: 10.1006/jevp.2001.0221
  30. Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire: a compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 33(7), 1073-1082. DOI: 10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00213-6
  31. Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. H. (1988). The Confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics, 16(4), 5-21. DOI: 10.1016/0090-2616(88)90009-5
  32. Inglehart, R., & Klingemann, H. D. (2000). Genes, culture, democracy, and happiness. In E. Diener & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Culture and subjective well-being (p. 165–183). The MIT Press.
  33. İpek, N., Çalık Topuz, Z., & Kızılkaya, Y. M. (2024). A Comparative Analysis of the Sociocultural Adaptation of International Migrants to Türkiye: The Ahiska Turks. Eurasian International Studies Journal, 12(40), 353-376. DOI: 10.33692/avrasyad.1503714
  34. Karaman, Z. T., & Mursül, D. (2018). Meskhetian (Ahiska) Turks in Turkey and their perception of spatial belonging. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 6(12), 88-103.
  35. Keskin, S., & Anaç, Ö. (2016). The struggle of Ahiska Turks to return to Georgia from the 1944 exile to the present, and the situation of those who returned until 2007. In A. Ayşegül, A. Ali, & Ş. Aslan Yavuz (Eds.), Muslim communities in Georgia – Minority rights, identity and politics (pp. 275–294). AVİM Publication.
  36. Kim, U. (1989). Acculturation of Korean immigrants to Canada: Psychological, demographic and behavioural profiles of emigrating Koreans, non-emigrating Koreans and Korean-Canadians (Doctoral dissertation). ProQuest Information & Learning.
  37. Lambert, W. E. (1967). A social psychology of bilingualism. Journal of Social Issues, 23(2), 91-109. DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1967.tb00578.x
  38. Lee, R. M., Choe, J., Kim, G., & Ngo, V. (2006). Construct validation of the Asian American Family Conflicts Scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(3), 277–286.
  39. Mejia, J., & Morales, L. (2022). Acculturation and the income–happiness relationship among Latino populations in the USA. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 14(2), 321–339. DOI: 10.1111/aphw.70056
  40. Miller, H. A. (1924). Races, nations and classes: The psychology of domination and freedom. Lippincott.
  41. Nguyen, A. M. D., & Benet-Martínez, V. (2013). Biculturalism and adjustment: A meta-analysis. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(1), 122–159. DOI: 10.1177/0022022111435
  42. Petrov, V. N. (2003). Ethnic migrants and the multiethnic host environment: Problems of tolerance. Journal of Sociological Studies, (7), 84–90.
  43. Phinney, J. S. (1990). Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: review of research. Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), 499-514. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.108.3.499
  44. Pokrovskaya, E. A. (2020). Mechanisms for the Transfer of the Muslim’s Religious Memory of the "Meskhetian Turks" on the Territory of the Central Chernozem Region of the XX-XXI centuries. Journal of Frontier Research, 2 (5), 200-214. DOI: 10.46539/jfs.v5i2.208
  45. Redfield, R., Linton, R., & Herskovits, M. J. (1936). Memorandum for the study of acculturation. American Anthropologist, 38(1), 149-152.
  46. Sam, D. L., & Berry, J. W. (2006). The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology. Cambridge University Press.
  47. Shamionov, R. M. (2004). Psychology of subjective well-being of the individual. Publishing house of the Saratov University.
  48. Shamionov, R. M. (2016). Theoretical approaches to ethnopsychological and cross-cultural studies of subjective well-being of the individual. Publication of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, (1), 7-17.
  49. Shamionov, R. M., & Grigorieva, M. V. (2014). Psychology of subjective well-being and social adaptation of the individual. Publishing house of the Saratov University.
  50. Sirin, S. R., & Rogers-Sirin, L. (2015). The educational and mental health needs of Syrian refugee children in Turkey. Journal of Refugee Studies, 28(2), 221–241. DOI: 10.1093/jrs/feu037
  51. Tangalycheva, R.K. (2015). Intercultural communication and acculturation (experience of foreign studies). Sociological Studies, 7 (7), 89-98.
  52. Temircan, Z. (2022). Obesity, Acculturation, and Perceived Stress in Meskhetian Turk (Ahiska) Immigrants in the United States. Afyon Kocatepe University Journal of Social Science, 24(4), 1512-1525. DOI: 10.32709/akusosbil.1031652
  53. Thomas, W. I., & Znaniecki, F. (1919). The Polish peasant in Europe and America: Monograph of an immigrant group. University of Chicago Press.
  54. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Dynamics. https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/key-issues/population.html. 11.08.2024
  55. Ushkanova, R. D. (2010). Logical-semantic analysis of acculturation. The Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University Press, 1(7), 149-153.
  56. Utsey, S. O., Chae, M. H., Brown, C. F., & Kelly, D. (2002). Effect of ethnic group membership on ethnic identity, race-related stress, and quality of life. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 8(4), 366-377. DOI: 10.1037/1099-9809.8.4.367
  57. Wirth, L. (1945). The problem of minority groups. Bobbs-Merrill Company Incorporated.
  58. Yoon, E., Langrehr, K., & Ong, L. Z. (2011). Content analysis of acculturation research in counseling and counseling psychology: a 22-year review. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(1), 83-96. DOI: 10.1037/a0021128
  59. Zeyrek, Y. (2001). Ahiska region and Ahiska Turks. Pozitf Press.
  60. Zeyrek, Y. (2008). The Unread Page of History: Ahiska. International Journal of Crimes and History, 5(6), 2-24.