THE ETHNIC CHURCH, ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION, AND THE SOCIAL-ADJUSTMENT OF VIETNAMESE ADOLESCENTS

This article examines the effect of participation in an ethnic religio us institution on ethnic identification and social adjustment to Ameri can society by Vietnamese adolescents. It considers to what extent eth nic identification and social adjustment may be the product of church attendance and church-sponsored formal educational programs. Our resul ts show that church attendance has a consistently significant influenc e on ethnic identification and that church-sponsored formal educationa l programs contribute to stronger ethnic identification (chiefly by in creasing use of the Vietnamese language) and to better adjustment (by positively influencing scholastic performance). However, the relations hip between church attendance and ethnic identification is not merely determined by the formal educational programs sponsored by the church. We suggest rather that the ethnic church serves as a network focus fo r the ethnic community and that participation in the ethnic church bin ds youth more closely to the ethnic network. The close association wit h the ethnic community, in turn, facilitates positive adjustment of im migrant adolescents to American society by increasing the probability that they will do well in school, set their sights on future education , and avoid some of the dangers that confront contemporary young peopl e. We conclude that the immigrant congregation should be viewed as pro moting adjustment to American society because it encourages the cultiv ation of ethnic group membership.