Family values, culture maintenance and identity

Abstract In the current global economy, the increased migration across the world has heightened the need for culture maintenance due to its capacity to give meaning and value to individual identity. Family relations and values are significant cultural components that ensure psychological wellbeing among migrants if they are maintained in their host society. Australia’s multicultural policy has provided scope for the study of culture maintenance among its immigrant communities since the late 1970s. Among the immigrant groups in Australia, Bangladeshi-born migrants are a relatively new but fast-growing community that has attracted comparatively little research to date. This article is a narrative inquiry into the culture maintenance among Bangladeshi migrants in Queensland, particularly emphasising family values, acculturation, and identity. This study focuses on psychological, behavioural, and cognitive aspects of their acculturation in terms of what changes happen during acculturation. The findings of this research demonstrate the efforts and strategies for maintaining their family values and cultural identity in Australia. The final part of this article discusses the perception and attitudes of this group of Bangladeshi migrants towards their acculturation and identity. This study provides insights that are pertinent to developing ideas about different migrant communities in multicultural Australia.