Pathways to adjustment: a mixed-methods study of expatriate parents and adolescents in Switzerland

Purpose This study examines the psychological, cultural and demographic influences on the sociocultural adjustment of expatriate parent/adolescent dyads, to identify key factors associated with adjustment and examine similarities and differences between parents and adolescents. Design/methodology/approach Parent/adolescent dyads (n = 75) completed standardized measures of resilience, perceived stress, acculturative stress, cultural intelligence and sociocultural adjustment. A random sample of families (n = 8) also participated in interviews. For quantitative analyses, multiple linear regression analyses were conducted, with an actor–partner interdependence model used as a robustness check to account for parent–adolescent interdependence. Deductive content analysis was employed for qualitative data and the mixed-methods study utilized a concurrent embedded design. Findings In the adolescent model, only acculturative stress was significant, while in the parent model, resilience was significantly associated with adjustment. Qualitative findings provided insight into sources of stress for adolescents and resilience strategies used by parents, offering depth to our quantitative findings. Research limitations/implications While our findings on adolescent acculturative stress and parent resilience align with some existing literature, those on adolescent resilience, parent stress and number of previous moves differ from it, suggesting the need for more understanding of different pathways to adjustment. Practical implications Findings can be used to inform targeted pre- and post-departure support for expatriate families and inform the development of different models of adjustment. Originality/value Including the perspectives of expatriate adolescents and multiple respondents from a family addresses a critical gap in literature and offers valuable new dimensions to the current literature.