Third Culture Kids: Individuals in Global Transition

As a result of globalization, advanced transportation, and innovative technology, the number of individuals and families transitioning from one country to another has rapidly grown. Those individuals who grew up in multiple cultures and countries are called Third Culture Kids (TCK). Children of international educators, missionaries, diplomats, military personnel, and business people are often identified as TCKs. As TCKs grow up, they are thought to synthesize elements of their first and second cultures into a third culture. The third culture refers to a culture that is different from the TCKs’ parents’ culture (i.e., the first culture is the country of citizenship) and different from the culture in which the TCKs are located (i.e., the second culture being the foreign host country/countries).

As a professor in counselor education, one of my research interests is the social connectedness among TCKs. As an immigrant and former international student, I feel affinity with TCKs. Although there is no consensus in the literature as to what qualifies someone as a TCK in terms of age of migration, duration, or number of countries, many authors define a TCK as a person who has spent the majority of their formative years outside their birth country and culture. They describe TCKs as having been exposed to many cultures, yet not having developed a full sense of belonging in any of the cultures they have experienced. Generally, TCKs are associated with frequent travel opportunities and knowing and experiencing new people, cultures, and places.

Associated Characteristics of TCKs

Numerous positive characteristics have been attributed to TCKs, such as international experience, neutrality, open-mindedness, flexibility, and tolerance of others’ worldviews and cultures. On the other hand, the high global mobility TCKs experience can affect them in less positive ways. The literature describes TCKs as facing unique difficulties in the development of individual identity. These struggles may include difficulties in experiencing a sense of belonging, enculturation, identity, grief and loss, and faith. Many in the field of counseling believe TCKs’ weak sense of belonging results from not having sufficient contact experience with either their home culture or the host culture(s) where they have grown up.

Research shows that TCKs often present identity confusion, and those who have difficulty embracing their past often have a difficult time embracing their cross-cultural experiences and resolving their identity issues. Studies also show that TCKs’ early and prolonged separation from their parents—many TCKs lived in boarding schools during their childhood—can lead to unresolved grief and anger. A lack of exposure to and bonding with the first culture may remain an area of vulnerability for TCKs, as TCKs often face interpersonal difficulties during the re-acculturation process. Related to their unique experiences involving change, TCKs often develop a sense of belonging through social relationships rather than through cultural or geographic roots.

Four Ways to Provide Support for TCKs

1. Acknowledge their unique attributes and needs. TCKs have been called “hidden immigrants” and TCKs themselves are often unaware of the term and their uniqueness.

2. Given that TCKs feel a sense of belonging through shared characteristics within relationships rather than their geographic locations or cultural upbringing, providing a space and opportunity for TCKs to interact with one another supports them to develop meaningful connections.

3. Provide opportunities to process their overseas experiences—both the positive and beneficial aspects of living abroad and the difficulty with cultural adaptation and loss. The process supports TCKs to understand their personal growth through their transitions.

4. Support with processing unresolved grief. Many TCKs experience their early childhood friendships accompanied by frequent losses and goodbyes. With warm and gentle psychological support, TCKs could cultivate self-compassion and empathy towards their own losses during their multiple cross-cultural transitions.

TCKs can benefit from psychological and cultural support offered at different phases of a global transition: (a) pre-departure—help TCKs get emotionally ready to depart and obtain information on specific cultural and linguistic knowledge before departure, (b) overseas experience—provide support for social activities and engagement for the particular culture in the local community, and (c) before reentry—assist TCKs to understand social, political, and cultural changes in the home country before returning home.