After Shocks! The Good, the Bad and the

Unintended Consequences of Coming Home

International Families in Global Transition

10th Anniversary ConferenceHouston, TexasMarch 6-8, 2008

Session Presenter

Bruce La Brack, Ph.D.

blabrack@pacific.edu

School of International StudiesUniversity of the Pacific

Stockton, California

Sentimental View

HomeSweetHome

Ironic View

“Home……where they are no longer foreigners…, where they don’t have to think before they speak or act, and where they needn’t ever worry again about having to adjust. Home: where it’s easy.”

Source: Storti, 1990, p. 99

“Home…is where when you have to go there they have to take you in!”

Source: Unknown

Cynics View

Session Focus

The Varieties of Reentry and Why They May Have Different

Consequences

Session OverviewReentry Definition Types of After Shocks and Variability Common Assumptions about Reentry Models of Reentry - Pre- and Post-Modern Traditional Characteristics 20th & 21st Century Patterns Global Nomad vs. Expat Patterns Complex Training Implications

New Challenges in Reentry

Types of AftershocksEncountering the Unfamiliar After Entering Another Culture Culture Shock comes from the natural contradiction between our accustomed patterns of behavior and the psychological conflict of attempting to maintain them in the new cultural environment. While the time of onset is variable, it usually occurs within a few weeks/months of entering a new culture and is a normal, healthy reaction.

Initial Culture Shock

Characteristics & Responses

Culture shock is common There are ways to minimize its effects Accept that it is a real phenomenon Learn to recognize its signs Can result in serious reaction to continuing

tension; anxiety; disconfirmation of behavior; possible severe physical/mental manifestations (e.g., anger, displaced aggression, “freeze”, health issues)

Reentry Shock Encountering the Familiar After Returning HomeReactions that occur as a result of re-adaptation to our home culture; often called “reverse culture shock”; shares some aspects in common with culture shock, but timing of stages very different.Added complication of surprise: returnees usually don’t expect home culture to be unreceptive to them or to be so difficult to come back to.

Reentry can = Reverse Mirror

What was once ‘strange’ overseas has become ‘familiar’…

…and what was ‘familiar’ at home has become ‘strange’.

Suggested Definition

Reentry…

the process or act of returning to one's native (passport) country after living or working internationally.

Reentry…requires a period of readjustment just as much as moving abroad does.…often, but not always, it is the last stage of post-sojourn cultural adaptation…experiences are unique -- there are few generic versions although there are patterns…may begin before you leave home and may never end

Reentry Variability

Expectations of self and others can play major role in adjustment process, and be a source of ongoing stress.

Specific context of reentry always a crucial variable.

Contexts always exhibit variety even within categories of returnees (e.g. Global Nomads, MK’s, Military, Business)

Types of Returnees*

Study Abroad StudentsInternational Exchange/Foreign StudentsMissionaries (aka MK’s or Missionary Kids)International Business (including expat families)Military (aka ‘Military Brats’)TCK/Global Nomad International Development/AidDiplomatic CorpsPeace Corps-type Organizations

Types of Returnees*, cont.

10. International Education11. International Health Staff12. Journalists/Media13. Hospitality Industry14.Refugee/Political Exiles 15.Professional Athletes

* Note: these are not exclusive, separate categories

but cross-cutting, especially with GN/TCK groups

Developed by Bruce La Brack, School of International Studies,

University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA.

Common Assumptions on Why Reentry “Home” is Potentially

DifficultUnanticipated change – “home” is a givenUnadjusted expectations or false expectationsHeightened critical senseComparative frameworks (new perspectives)

More Assumptions

May be little opportunity for application or sharing of non-technical knowledgeUnprocessed experienceGetting socially up-to-speed may be frustratingReverse “home sickness”

The conception of being able to ‘choose’ how one will reenter one’s society…or of simply exercising ‘options’ regarding how one will or will not readjust to being home…is a wholly modern mindset!

Pusch’s Reentry Styles

“Going Home: Styles of Reentry”

by Margaret D. Pusch In Donal Lynch, Adrian Pilbeam and Philip O'Connor, Heritage and Progress, from conference proceedings, SIETAR-Europa Conference, Bath, England, 1998.

Intended Style

=========Reactions to Home Culture

Free Spirit

=========Some estrangement and rejection(ranging from Discontent to Alienation)

Detached

===========Reluctance to go back to old patterns and home culture, but not alienated

Reassimilator

=============Reassimilation;delighted to be back, may even exaggerate cultural norms, often downplays foreign experience

Integrator

==========Positive Integration blending old and new pragmatically

Main Concern

Continue experience of being different

Survival, comfort

Easy reentry, fitting into home culture and prior roles

Finding best fit with the home culture without losing past

Internal Commitment

Being "unique"

Creating comfortable environment for self (and perhaps family)

Home culture; life as it has always been, cheerfully readaptive

Continuing to change and develop

Role One Seems(or Attempts) to Play

Eccentric Detached but tolerant participant

Total participant

Leader or Mediator, Contented Believer, Advocate,Expatriate

Reassimilation/Reacculturation/Resocialization

Dominant historical patterns characterized by:

Reinforcement of normative traditional values is paramount and applied society-wide

Deviation/non-conformity almost always results in negative sanctions

Communal social pressure to conform often intense and unrelenting

Reassimilation/Reacculturation/Resocialization

Dominant historical patterns characterized by:

Limited ability or opportunity of returnee to use prior experience

Cultural variations are mainly structural and depend on type of society (e.g., tribal, peasant, industrial) and location (e.g., rural, urban, metropolitan)

Limited mobility and/or alternative options

Fit in or Suffer the Consequences!

For 99% of human history, the role of the “returnee” was to fit back into prevailing cultural rules and roles of a specific society or kin group.

The penalties for not doing so have ranged from ostracism to extreme isolation, banishment, and even death!

Shift in Goals of Repatriation

Current philosophy of many study abroad and international exchange programs (at least in the West) revolves around a focus on Individual Growth:

Direct cross-cultural learning and exploration

Personal and cultural diversity seen as normal, positive and encouraged

Integration of sojourn with home academic and social life desired/expected to some extent

Shift in Goals of Repatriation

Result is a positive bias towards applying and integrating international experience into ongoing life and work post-experience.

Expansion of Possibilities for Returnees

Reassimilation/Reacculturation/Resocialization models remain common world-wide, however…

Adaptation of Growth and Integration Models Common in Western Culture and among some strata of Asian societies are increasing

More individualistic examples have emerged as alternative models that support readjustment strategies for both institutions and individuals, reflected in growing differentiation of “reentry styles.”

New Issues and Contexts in Reentry

Global Nomads as percentage of returnees“Heritage-seeking” students and attendant identity issues“Revolvers” (where and when is “home”?)

New Issues and Contexts in Reentry

“Sequential Assignments” without meaningful time “at home” to readjustAttractive global alternatives (“just leave”) and local alternatives (“just stay”—but with limited networks and narrow comfort zones)Veterans (PTSD and reverse culture shock)

Influences on Adjustment

Time Abroad Location (degree of difference)

Prior Exposure Overseas Extent of Immersion Home Contact/Support Networks

Prior Reentry Experience(s)

Degree of Home Culture Contrast

Reentry Predictor Variables

Control Factors Intrapersonal Factors

(personality/idiopathic issues) Somatic/Biological Factors

(medical/mental/environmental) Interpersonal (external support) Time/Space (duration & locale) Geopolitical (national/international)

Intensity Factors Adapted to Returnee

Contexts 1. Cultural Differences

2. Ethnocentrism 3. Language 4. Cultural Immersion* 5. Cultural Isolation* 6. Prior Intercultural Experience* 7. Expectations* 8. Visibility/Invisibility 9. Status*10. Power and Control*

*may be particularly salient in reentry contexts

Source: R. Michael Paige. “On the Nature of Intercultural Experiences and Intercultural Education,”

in R. Michael Paige, ed., Education for the Intercultural Experience,

Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 1994.

Global Nomads &

Third Culture Kids

as Special Categories of Returnees

Positive Aspects of Global Nomads

Expanded World ViewLinguistic Ability

Cross-Cultural SkillsMaturity

Independence

Negative Aspects of Global Nomads

Sense of RootlessnessInsecurity

Sadness and GriefSense of Loss

Culturally Out-of-StepDevelopmentally Out-of-Step

Global Nomad Stages of Evolution

Cultural Sponge - Childhood

Cultural Chameleon - Expat GN Life

Hidden Immigrant - Repatriation

Transnationalist - Career/Life

Common Attitude

“At Home Everywhere

and Nowhere”

Quote from The Immigrants

If you came back, you wanted to leave again; if you went away, you longed to come back. Where ever you were, you could hear the call of the homeland…You had one home out there and one over here, and yet you were an alien in both places. Your true abiding place was the vision of something very far off, and your soul was like the waves, always restless, forever in motion.

Global Nomads

David C. Pollock & Ruth Van RekenThird Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds, 2nd ed. Intercultural Press, 2001

Pico IyerThe Global Soul: Jet Lag. Shopping Mallsand the Search for Home Knopf, 2000

Corporate Reentry

Goal-focusedCareer Centered

Significant AmbiguityProblematic for Company

Family Stressor

“The illusion that it is easy to return home after an expanded overseas living and working experience is shared both by expatriate employees and their employers. This common misconception can lead to a variety of problems, from individual concerns such as disappointment, boredom, depression and anger to company issues…

…concerns such as low employee productivity, and effective use of skills and knowledge gained from the overseas experience, and a loss in revenue due to high turnover rates in returned expatriate employee.”

Source: J. Greenberg, 1997

Expat Allegiance Patterns

Expatriates grouped into one of four allegiance patterns:

Free Agent: Expats who have low allegiance to both the parent firm and the local unit

Going Native: Expats who have a low allegiance to the parent firm and

high allegiance to the local unit

Hearts-at-home pattern: Expats who identify more strongly with the parent firm than with the

local operation

Dual Citizen pattern: Expats are highly committed to both parent and local operation

Source: Black, J. Stewart, and Gregersen, Hal B. ” Serving Two Masters: Managing the Dual Allegiance of Expatriate Employees,” Sloan Management Review, Cambridge, Summer 1992

New Challenges in Reentry Training

Greater domestic and international variety in types of returnees than ever before

Their experiences, expectations, and reactions will exhibit greater complexity, range and, sometimes, intensity

Alternative adjustment possibilities are often extensive, but choosing among or recommending them can be difficult

New Challenges in Reentry Training

Consequences and outcomes of returnee adopting a specific strategy nearly always uncertain and often unpredictable. An uneasy tension may exist between the desires of the returnee and the demands of the corporation, the returnees immediate and extended family and the society in general.

After Shocks!Reentry is where and when The past and the future combine (Collide?). Reentry experiences are cumulative and ongoing…like ripples on a pond... They continue to influence our lives even as the immediate impacts diminish over time. Reentry is, in effect, forever!

“In a sense, it is the coming back, the return which gives meaning to the going forth. We really don’t know where we have been until we come back to where we were -- only where we were may not be as it was because of who we have become, which after all, is why we left.”

Source: Bernard, character from TV show “Northern Exposure”, after returning to Alaska from a trip to Africa

The End

…unless it involves Reentry!