Biculturalism

This chapter reviews the construct of biculturalism, focusing on individuals with multiple cultural backgrounds. The chapter focuses on biculturalism as a heterogeneous label, and it covers several variants of biculturalism that have been studied. A number of biculturalism-related constructs are discussed, including endorsement of two or more cultural streams, cultural frame switching, bicultural identity integration, globalization-based biculturalism, and triculturalism (endorsement of three or more cultural streams). Distinctions between biculturalism and triculturalism are discussed, along with consideration of situations in which more than three cultural streams may be intersecting. The chapter concludes with a section on practical implications of biculturalism and on interventions to promote biculturalism in individuals and families.