Low-income black parents' perceptions of familial acculturation processes during urban to college town transitions

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of parents' perceptions of their role in helping their children acculturate to a new cultural and social environment. Specifically, this study used qualitative methods to interview Black families who moved from large urban communities to a smaller Midwestern college town. The sample consisted of ten Black parents who had moved to this college town from a United States (U.S) urban community with a population size of at least 100,000 persons.

The results indicated that parents perceived their role in helping their children adapt to this new environment as important. However, they all described their role differently. Furthermore, the results suggested that all parents in the study moved out of their home towns to escape violence and crime and to pursue an overall better quality of life for themselves and their families. Data gathered from this study will assist administrators, teachers, school counselors, community leaders and parents to better understand geographic mobility and ways to successfully assist with such transitions.