Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

2022

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Elizabeth Boyd

Abstract

ABSTRACT Diaspora, including immigrants and refugees, undergo various experiences in their new host countries related to cultural identity formation. One of the factors related to cultural identity development within the United States is feeling caught in between two identities, resulting in never truly feeling “here or there” (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2001). Experiences of cultural disconnectedness have been highlighted among the Bosnian American diaspora in numerous studies over the last two decades. Previous studies briefly described the challenges associated with diaspora balancing their native Bosnian cultures and host American cultures. The current study focused on the gap in the literature by gaining a deeper understanding of the universal experience of cultural disconnectedness among Bosnian American diaspora and the subsequent impacts of these experiences on their psychological well-being using a phenomenological perspective. The findings revealed that experiences of cultural disconnectedness among seven Bosnian American participants were comprised of nine major themes. Regarding psychological well-being, a wide range of emotions and behaviors related to experiences of cultural disconnectedness were reported, such as sadness, anger, frustration, defensiveness, pride, avoidance, hiding their Bosnian culture, and desires for cultural connectedness, underscoring how the balancing of two cultures can look different and have varying consequences. Results provided a novel contribution to the literature and gave a voice to Bosnian American diaspora, describing their lived experiences and providing helpful insights and experiences that need to be considered in future research.

Subject Categories

Clinical Psychology

Keywords

Bosnian American diaspora, Cultural disconnectednes

Number of Pages

260

Publisher

University of South Dakota

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.