Abstract:

Acculturation is a process of social and psychological transformation that occurs due to interactions between individuals with different cultural characteristics. In this process, problems related to the psychological and socio-cultural adaptation of immigrants lead to acculturation stress. If individuals are not able to cope with acculturation stress, it is a strong possibility that psychological and sociological problems will arise at the individual and societal levels. The negative effects of acculturation stress must be reduced to manageable level so that a healthy acculturation and social integration may become possible. Various strategies at the individual and societal levels are to be employed to achieve the goal. However, acculturation stress is not something that immigrant students can come through alone. The current paper is a theoretical study which draws attention to the fact that higher acculturation stress among Syrian students living in Turkey and describes the related factors that acculturation stress associated with. The traumatic experiences of Syrian students before and during the migration process, which pushed Syrian students to migrate to our country, and their experience of adapting to the new cultural environment after migration have increased the possibility of experiencing acculturation stress among this group. The point is made in the paper that starting from teachers and school administration, all stakeholders should provide support for Syrian students in their acculturation journey and strive to reduce the negative implications of acculturation stress. Moreover, in order to ensure that Syrian students psychologically and socio-culturally adapt to new cultural context and that social peace is assured, the members of the hosting culture are expected to be able to understand and appreciate the cultural values of immigrant culture as well as be open to communication.

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