Biography

Fons van de Vijver holds a chair in cross-cultural psychology at Tilburg University, the Netherlands and an extraordinary chair at North-West University, South Africa, and the University of Queensland, Australia. He has (co-)authored about 500 publications, mainly in the domain of cross-cultural psychology. He is one of the most frequently cited cross-cultural psychologists in Europe. He is a former editor of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. He is a former president of Division 2 (Assessment and Evaluation) of the International Association of Applied Psychology, the European Association of Psychological Assessment, and President of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology. He is the recipient of several prizes, among which the 2013 International Award of the American Psychological Association (for his contributions to international cooperation and to the advancement of knowledge of psychology).

2-003 - Immigrant Child Development: The Role of Country Policy and Climate

Session Type: Invited Address

Integrative Statement

More children grow up in an acculturation context than ever before. In the last ten years, there is increasing interest in the role of the macrosystem (e.g., attitude towards immigrants) and exosystem (e.g., local and national policies vis-a-vis diversity) in this development. There is an increasing number of comparative studies in which multiple immigrant groups are compared within a single country or a single ethnic groups is compared across multiple countries. I will present such studies, dealing with (among other things) the link between national legislation and immigrants’ school outcomes and the link between diversity policies in schools and well-being and the sense of belonging of immigrant children. Finally, it is argued that globalization and migration patterns are increasingly difficult to describe in traditional acculturation models distinguishing between an ethnic and a dominant culture. Models are needed to account for the multiple allegiances of modern migrants.

Sub Unit

• Invited Program on Global Change & Child Development

Chair

• Carlos Santos, Arizona State University

Speaker

• Fons J. R. van de Vijver, Tilburg University, the Netherlands, North-West University, South Africa, and University of Queensland, Australia