UC Davis

Assimilation and acculturation theories have been used to explain the experiences and struggles of Third Culture Kids (TCKs), expatriate children, and other globally mobile youth. However, concepts of assimilation and acculturation are not able to fully explain the essence of or the variances in experiences of globally mobile children whose families oftentimes do not settle down in any of their host countries. This study presents an alternate framework for understanding globally mobile children’s experiences and notions of self-identity. I extend the transnationalist framework of boundaries and flows to include the concept of anchors, which function to create and maintain the lines of boundaries and flows. I analyse a case of Global-South-to-South migration and highlight different possibilities of intergroup dynamics and modes of integration. Through a qualitative research approach using semi-structured interviews with the children of Taiwanese entrepreneurs and expatriates who grew up in Malaysia and participant observation in Taiwan and Malaysia, I examine the roles of various anchoring mechanisms and their effects on identity formation. The findings of this study add nuance to existing theories on transnationalism and have implications for a better understanding of privileged youth migration.