Autobiographical memories of first- and second-generation Balkan immigrants and place attachment to the homeland

Abstract

In the last century, thousands of Turkish and Albanian people immigrated to Turkey from Balkans due to the political and religious oppression. In this study, we investigated the memories of first-generation immigrants who were born in Balkans and immigrated to Turkey and the second-generation immigrants who were born and raised in Turkey. Paired groups of parents (first generation) and their children (second generation) recollected two self-defining memories about their immigrant identity and completed self/identity measures of homeland attachment, homeland identity and immigrant identity. The second generation additionally reported two vicarious memories from their parents’ lives. The narrative coding revealed prominent themes in memories such as assimilation in Balkans, adaptation to and alienation in Turkey, and embracing national/immigrant identity. Furthermore, the second generation reported more generic and integrative memories compared to the first generation and the two groups narrated memories of similar events, yet with relatively diverse themes. Further comparison between the two generations revealed no differences in terms of self/identity measures and memory phenomenology ratings except that the second generation rated their memories higher in positivity and sensory detail compared to the first generation. Moreover, the associations between self/identity measures and memory phenomenology ratings in the second generation implied stronger interrelations between self and memory. Lastly, second generation immigrants reported vicarious memories with either comparable or stronger phenomenology compared to the personal memories.