American Adult Third Culture Kids (a.k.a.Global Nomads)

TCKs are individuals who lived outside their passport country during their child/teen years as dependents of a parent employed in a representational role outside the passport country. This research is a study of American adult TCKs (Americans 25 or older who spent at least one year between the ages of 6 and 18 outside the US because of a parent's employment ) The approximately 700 participants in this study range in age from 25 to 90. All were living in the U.S. at the time of the study. This is the first known study to systematically explore the adult life choices, identity and world view of this population as a whole, explicitly comparing respondents according to parent's sponsor: Missionary, Government, Military, Business, Other (e.g. academic, NGO or international organization, media)

Articles and Chapters

2008 "Adult TCKs: Life Choices and Personal Characteristics " Japanese Journal of Family Sociology 19 (3):

2007 "TCKs and Other Cross-Cultural Kids" Japanese Journal of Family Sociology 18 (2):

2002 "Educational and Occupational Choices of American ATCKs" pgs. 229-253 in Morten G.Ender (Ed), Military Brats and Other Global Nomads: Growing Up in Organization Families. Boulder, CO. Westview Press.

2001 "Marriage Patterns of American ATCKs" Global Nomad Perspectives Vol 6 No. 4, pp. 3-6

1996 "Adult Third Culture Kids". in Carolyn D. Smith (Ed)., Strangers at Home. Bayside, NY., Aletheia Publications, pp. 22-35. With Ruth Hill Useem

1995 "Adult Third Culture Kids" The Diaspora Potrezebe Vol. XVII Nos 1 & 2. March and June.

1994 "Adult TCKs Maintain a Global Dimension in their Local Lives" Newslinks (The Newspaper of the International Schools Service). Vol XIII No. 4, With Ruth Hill Useem (this and the four following articles in Newslinks are used by the Department of State in classes for US government employees and family members going overseas.)

1993 "ATCKs Have Problems Relating to Own Ethnic Group." Newslinks, Vol. XIII No. 3. With Ruth Hill Useem

1993 "Prolonged/Delayed Adolescence of Adult TCKs" Newslinks, Vol.XIII No. With Ruth Hill Useem

1993 "Whatever happened to those TCKs?" Newslinks, Vol. XIII No. With Ruth Hill Useem.

Papers Presented at Conferences and Meetings

2008    "TCKs Experiences and ATCK Occupational Roles. "  Families in Global Transition (FIGT) conference, Houston, TX.

2007    "Adult TCKs: Life Choices and Personal Characteristics ."  Families in Global Transition (FIGT) conference, Houston, TX.

2006    "TCKs and Other Cross-Cultural Kids."  Japan Society of Family Sociology, Tokyo, Japan

2006    "Third Culture Kids: Who Are They and What Is Their Experience?"  Canadian Academy, Kobe, Japan

2006  "Third Culture Kids: A Challenge to Traditional Acculturation Paradigms." American Psychological Association, New Orleans, LA

2002 "Belonging and the Globally Mobile: TCKs' Family, Community and National Identities." International Sociological Association, Brisbane, Australia

2001 "The Making of a TCK Video for College Advisers" (Panel) National Association of Foreign Student Advisors, Philadelphia, PA

2000 "Global Nomad Marriages" Global Nomads International, Virginia Beach, VA

2000 "Global Mobility and Personal Identity." Pacific Sociological Association, San Diego, CA

1999 "Personal Manifestations of Childhood Border Crossing: Identity and Personality Traits of Adult TCKs" Phi Beta Delta International Scholars' Honor Society, San Diego, CA.

1998 "Do We Ever Get Married? Marriage Patterns of Adult TCKs" Global Nomads International, Washington DC.

1998 "International Mobility in Childhood: The Experiences of American TCKs" Pacific Sociological Association, San Francisco, CA

1998 "The International Education of American TCKs" Phi Beta Delta, International Scholars Society, Cholula, Mexico

1997 "Variations on a Theme" Sponsor and the Third Culture Experience" Global Nomads International, Washington DC.

1997 "International Dimensions of TCKs' Adult Lives" Global Nomads International, Washington DC

1996 "The Family Context of ATCKs' Lives." Global Nomads International, Washington, DC.

1996 "Identity, Lifestyle, and Global Mobility: Americans Who Grew Up Overseas." Pacific Sociological Association, Seattle, WA.

1995 "Third Culture Kids in Contexts: Third Cultures, Communities of Foreigners and Mobile Nuclear Families" with Ruth Hill Useem. American Sociological Association, Washington D.C.

1994 "Learning from an International Childhood: Adult Third Culture Kids." American River College Conference on Internationalizing the Curriculum, Sacramento, CA.

1993 "Adult Third Culture Kids: Reflecting on an International Childhood" California Sociological Association, Berkeley, CA.

1993 "Third Culture Kids: Creating Postmodern Global Identities." Pacific Sociological Association, Portland, OR.

1992 "Preliminary Findings of Research on Adult Third Culture Kids." Global Nomads Confernce, Washington D.C.,

1992 "Adult Experiences of Third Culture Kids." American Association of International Educators, San Diego, CA.

Female Re-entry University Students in Italy and the United States.

A comparative study of the experiences of older women enrolled at San Diego State University and Trieste University.

Monograph

1987 "School at Midlife in the U.S. and Italy: Mature Women in Post-Compulsory Degree Programs." ERIC ED 283 493 (40 pages)

Presentations at Conferences and Meetings

1989 "Re-entry Students in the U.S. and Italy" California Advocates for Re-entry Education, Asilomar, CA

1987 "Women's Roles and Education in Italy and the United States." American Sociological Association, Chicago, IL

1987 "Returning to School in Italy: Comparing Pre-University and University Level Re-entry Women." Sociologists for Women in Society, Chicago, IL

1987 "Returning Students: A Comparison by Gender and Educational Level." Pacific Sociological Association, Eugene, OR.

1985 "Mature Female Students: A Comparison of Italy and the United States" American Sociological Association, Washington, DC.

Cross-National Marriages: A Three Nation Study of Western-South Asian Couples.

India: Indians married to Westerners, United Kingdom: British married to South Asians with special attention to the children, U.S.: Americans married to South Asians

Dissertation

1970 Interpersonal Dimensions of Cross Cultural Relations: Indian-Western Marriages in India. Michigan State University

Monograph

1976 "Child-Rearing Patterns of Indian-Western Couples in India." Michigan State University, Third Culture Series.

Articles and Chapters

1990 "Cross-National Marriages: A Review of the Literature," Journal of Comparative Family Studies , Summer.

1979 "Today's Indian-Western Couples are Not Anglo-Indians," Phylon, Vol. VXL, No. 4, December, pp. 351-61.

1978 "Children of Mixed Marriages: Some Observations and Questions," in D.S. Nice and E.J. Hunter, Children of Military Families: A Part and Yet Apart. Government Printing Office, pp. 61-82

1976 "Research on Children of British-Asian Parents," Social Responsibility Council Newsletter, No. 16, November. (note)

1975 "Outsiders' Inside View: Western Wives in Indian Joint Families," Journal of Marriage and the Family Vol. 37, No. 2. (Shortened version of this article has been translated into Gujarati and published in Bombay. A condensed report of this article appears in Human Behavior, November 1975, p. 61.)

1973 "Cross-National Marriage as an Extension of an International Lifestyle: A Study of Indian-Western Couples," Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol.35, No. 4. (Discussed in Scanzoni and Scanzoni, Men Women and Change, McGraw-Hill, 1975, p. 120.)

1972 "The Position and Association Patterns of Indo-Western Couples in India: A View of International Linkage," Population Review, Vol 16, pp. 39-46

1971 "Background Characteristics of Indo-Western Couples: A Contribution to the Understanding of Cross-National Linkages," Population Review, Vol. 15, pp.27-34.

Presentations at Conferences and Meetings

1989 "Review of the Literature on Intergroup Marriage with Emphasis on Cross-National Marriages." Conference on Internationally Mobile Families, Gainseville, FL

1979 "Mediating Through Marriage: Asian-Western Couples in the U.S., Great Britain and India." American Sociological Association, Boston. MA.

1978 "Indian Immigrants in the U.S. Who've Married Americans."South Asian Conference, University of Wisconsin, Madison. WI

1977 "Identity of Mixed-Race Children in Britain." International Studies Association, Washington D.C.

1977 "When Immigrant Marries Native; British-Asian Couples in Britain." American Sociological Association, Chicago. IL

1977 "Children of Nationally Mixed Marriages." Military Family Research Conference, San Diego, CA

1975 "Child- Rearing Patterns of Indian-Western Couples in India." Pacific Sociological Association, Victoria, Canada.

1973 "Contributions of Mixed Marriages to Intergroup Relations." Society for the Study of Social Problems, New Orleans, LA

1972 "Cross-National Marriage as an Extension of an International Life Style." Pacific Sociological Association, Portland, OR

1972 "A Challenge to the Conflict Orientation in the Study of Mixed Marriages and Intergroup Relations." American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Division, Eugene, OR.

1969 "Cross-Cultural Marriages as Linkages Between Societies." American Sociological Association, San Francisco, CA:

Other Research Interests

Books and Monograph

1981 Women and World Change: Issues in Development with Equity. Sage. Edited with Naomi Black

1980 Mobilization of Collective Identity: A Comparative Perspective. University Press of America. Edited with Jefferey A.Ross, Philip Rawkins, Robert St. Cyr

1974 The Contemporary Women's Movement in America. University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh.

Articles

1996 "Reflections on Diversity and the Global Perspective in Sociology" California Sociological Association Newsletter Vol. 8, No3, Spring pp 2-9

1993 "The International Faculty Exchange Experience", International Education Forum, Vol. 13 No 1. With Lawrence B. Feinberg and Louis R. Franzini.

1981 "The Contemporary American Women's Movement" in N. Black and A.B. Cottrell, Women and World Change, Sage

Presentations at Conferences and Meetings

1998 "The Messiness of Data: A Look Inside Those Little Boxes" California Sociological Association, Riverside, CA

1994 "Reflecting on the SDSU Crisis: Faculty Perspective." Pacific Sociological Association, San Diego, CA.

1990 "Using computers in the classroom: simulations, data presentation and analysis" California Sociological Association, Irvine, CA

1982 "Women, Education and Social Change: A Global View." Education and Social TransformationCConference Clairemont School of Theology, Clairemont, CA.

1979 "A Degree of Unemployment: Observations on the Employment Potential of Sociology BAs." Society for the Study of Social Problems, Boston, MA With James L. Wood

1975 "International Migration and Minority Status." International Studies Association, Washington, D.C.

1974 "The Concept of Alienation in the Literature on Minority Groups: Response to a Linguistic Analysis." International Sociological Association, Toronto. Canada

1972 "Macrosociology and History." American Sociological Association, New Orleans, LA