Incorporating Diaspora into the Developmental Science of Immigrant Communities

Children, youth, and families who are displaced from or voluntarily leave their homelands, such as refugees, migrant workers, third culture children and adults, international students and scholars, and transnational adoptees, are largely overlooked in developmental science. Based on their unique migration histories, they experience mixed feelings about their real or imagined homelands, different forms of discrimination and racism, and challenges to developing a sense of place and belonging in hostlands across generations. In this chapter, we provide a conceptual lens to understand how diaspora as a social and psychological phenomenon can affect different domains of human development (e.g., acculturation, parent-child relationships, ethnic-racial identity development, and ethnic-racial socialization) and highlight correlates and consequences of the diaspora experience (e.g., discrimination, health, and well-being). We present a person-level perspective that attends to the diversity of lived experiences for diasporic individuals and families, positioned within specific sociohistorical contexts and structural forces of racism, classism, and sexism. Throughout this chapter, we also situate ourselves as authors from unique diaspora communities. We conclude with recommendations for how to best study this growing but overlooked population.