How to find a sense of belonging | TCKID 2.0

For New Version Of TCKID 2.0 Please go to http://www.tckid.com and sign up. But feel free to browse this site for the huge archive of valuable information. Read the Latest news

How to find a sense of belonging

As Third Culture Kids mature they become Adult Third Culture Kids (ATCKs), some ATCKs come to terms with issues such as culture shock and a sense of not belonging while others struggle with these for their entire lives. According to statistics, 90% of TCKs feel "out of sync" with their peers.

The Challenge

A psychological sense of belonging is a greater predictor of major depression than other factors commonly associated with depression, such as social support, conflict and loneliness, according to a new University of Michigan School of Nursing study.

"Researchers tend to focus much of their attention on social support, but we found that a low sense of belonging was a much stronger predictor of depression than social support," said Reg A. Williams, associate professor of nursing and co-author of the study that appears in the July/August issue of Nursing Research

 

Read forum posts from TCKs

  1. Am I a TCK or Cross Cultural Kid?
  2. How do I belong anywhere?
  3. I blend in, but no one really knows me. Is this typical of TCKs, or do I just need therapy?
  4. Do TCKs fit anywhere or are we all weirdos?
  5. Why is it so important for me to be FROM somewhere?
  6. Is it common to feel older than your age?

 

The solution: How can Third Culture Kids belong?

Learn about Belonging

What is a sense of belonging and how do you get it? And if you never had a sense of belonging, can you ever get it?

Watch this video interview with expert Donna Musil, filmmaker of Brats: Our Journey Home, and Paulette bethel on Third culture kids and belonging, presented by Brice Royer from TCK Academy.

What is a sense of belonging?

McMillan & Chavis (1986) define Sense of Community as “a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together.”

Four elements of Sense of Community

There are four elements of "Sense of Community" according to the McMillan & Chavis theory:

Membership

Membership includes five attributes:

  • Boundaries
  • Emotional safety
  • A sense of belonging and identification
  • Personal investment
  • A common symbol system

Influence

Influence works both ways: members need to feel that they have some influence in the group, and some influence by the group on its members is needed for group cohesion.

Integration and fulfillment of needs

Members feel rewarded in some way for their participation in the community.

Shared emotional connection

The "definitive element for true community" (1986, p. 14), it includes shared history and shared participation (or at least identification with the history).

Take Action: Meet People Like You.

 

Join TCKID.

This community is about you. Sign up to show your support for TCKs and stay informed. It’s free, and supported by people like you.

Join a Local Group

Brice and friends

Many of us go about our daily lives not knowing what’s going on in our area or the people who live around us. TCK Local Community Leaders dispel that isolation by bringing people together online and, more importantly, in the real world.

 

People step forward to run TCK groups because they want to make a difference in their own lives as well as the lives of others. They want to enrich, expand, and share their experiences. You’ll be able to:

 

  • Build a Sense of Belonging and Community

  • Share Knowledge

  • Building Friendships

  • Strengthening Communities

  • Effective Change

Learn why TCKs support TCKID

 

kristine
TCKID is amazing and addicting!
.

- Kristine Vasquez, Canada

third culture kids

TCKID is a fantastic resource for any Third Culture Kid. -

-Caitlin, U.S


Tell a friend:

Popularity: 7% [?]

  • rhoda serafim
    ...the instant I utter the words 'I am tolerant' is the instant in which intolerance begins...
    As a TCK I must admit that even though the sense of being 'out of sync' with peers is a real one lived in the real world, it is often not recognized as something that truly is not just a TCK product. TCKs are products of multiple societies. In fact, is it not enough to simply treat TCKs to 'get them' to belong because the non-belonging is real- it comes from real societies in lived situations not just the TCKs mind. To campaign encouraging TCKs to get treatments that will 'help' them belong only places the 'blame' on TCKs as if we were not true products of societies. So, it is not that TCKs just don't belong, they don't belong because most systems are not made for TCKs. I think acknowledging this gives me a sense of dignity for being allowed to be who i am. I think an exchange between encouragement to belong (TCKs) and an awareness campaign (in societies in general) would be really helpful. I think David Pollock was right when he said that 'TCKs are the citizens of the future' because the world is becoming multi everything and so awareness has long term benefits.
  • Charles
    If I subscribe to your label of TCK for a minute. It seems we are an unparalleled force and full of mixture, we are beyond definition and groups.

    I am a british citizen who has spent a long period of time overseas. I consider myself white, english and definitely more british than most immigrants by today's standards.

    My sense of belonging is where I have felt most wanted/desired, and that has been by Australians and British people, never in Asia. THerefore, the sense of belonging that people seek it really subjective.
  • danau
    Many thanks for this info. It explains a lot about why I've recently become a bit 'addicted' to TCKID. But there's something I am totally confused about.

    I understand that 'boundaries' and 'common symbols' offer a sense of 'togetherness'. But I'm doing research on TCKs, specifically, and identity, in general, and the whole gist of my argument is: let's get rid of these boundaries that we've been creating since time immemorial because it makes others feel excluded. (And that's how so many wars get started.) Same goes with 'common symbols'.

    As TCKs, I thought that we had the privilege of understanding the detrimental effects of these 'boundaries' and therefore the privilege of knowing how to get rid of them and be inclusive...Am I missing something?
blog comments powered by Disqus