ACCULTURATION OF GREEK FAMILY VALUES

This article brings together two areas of current interest in cross-cu ltural psychology: acculturation and values. Specifically, to what ext ent do the values held by individuals change as they undergo the exper ience of acculturation? The cross-cultural study of values frequently examines a broad array of values, but the present study focuses on Gre ek family values because family is a central cultural institution. Bec ause policies of the host society affect the process of acculturation, it was expected that Greek family values would be sustained after imm igration to Canada (where integration is the policy) more than they wo uld after immigration to European countries (where assimilation is emp hasized more). It was also predicted that older people and males would subscribe to these values to a greater extent than would younger peop le and females. A total of 16 samples (N=951) from Greece, Canada, the Netherlands, and Germany were drawn for the study and were administer ed a 65-item questionnaire. The results demonstrated significant value change in relation to acculturation across countries and between gene rations. The joint process of ''culture shedding'' and ''culture learn ing'' was supported.