Away' at 'Home'? The role of anchors in identity formation of transnationally mobile children of Taiwanese entrepreneurs and expatriates
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5602014 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sheng-Chieh Pan (0000-0002-4650-1797, University of California, Davis, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 1-23 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | New Community (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0047-9586 • E-ISSN: 1469-9451 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1369183x.2025.2570812 |
| OpenAlex | W4415087483 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 26 |
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
Identity formation · Immigration · Transnationalism · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy
Metaphors We Live By
Belonging, identity and Third Culture Kids
Stigma
Global Japan
Remaking the American Mainstream
Contrarian Anthropology
Bringing anchoring and embedding together
International Student Mobility and After‐Study Lives
Games without Frontiers? Questioning the Transnational Social Power of Migrants in Europe
Capturing the flexibility of adaptation and settlement
Globalization and Identity
Transnational families negotiating migration and care life cycles across nation-state borders
Globalising Thailand through gendered 'both-ways' migration pathways with 'the West
Practising privilege. How settling in Thailand enables older Western migrants to enact privilege over local people
Assimilation and integration in the twenty-first century
A cross-border perspective on migration
Men in the Middle of the Third Culture
Introduction to the Special Issue -- Identity
Social Anchoring
Expatriate Communities
Immigrant transnationalism
Migration Patterns in East and Southeast Asia
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |