Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair and Members

Philip Wong, Chair

Sara Haden

Matthew Morrison

Keywords

Acculturation, High-cost religion, Identity, Religious disaffiliation, Self continuity, Ultra-Orthodox Judaism

Abstract

Disaffiliates from the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community exhibit particularly high rates of psychopathology and face a variety of social, psychological, and cultural challenges when they step away from their insular religious communities. The present study built on the disaffiliation-as-immigration framework to explore how disaffiliates negotiate acculturation to mainstream secular society. Specifically, the study investigated how a sample (N=256) of U.S.-based Ultra-Orthodox disaffiliates relate to both the mainstream (secular society) and heritage (Ultra-Orthodox) cultures, and how these processes shape identity and psychological adjustment. Participants completed a series of self-report measures assessing aspects of their acculturation process, self-concept, and psychological well-being, as well as two open-ended projective self-concept measures. Results of a mediated path analysis indicated that simple participation in either culture did not in itself buffer psychological distress; however, they intersected with psychological processes that were critical to shaping mental health outcomes. Acculturation facilitated social connectedness and sociocultural adaptation, while enculturation enhanced self-continuity and clarity of self-concept, all of which were predictive of psychological adjustment. Additionally, push factors (i.e., adverse experiences within the religious community) undermined the enculturation process by impeding healthy engagement with the past, thereby disrupting self-continuity, self-concept clarity, and psychological adjustment. These findings provide empirical support for the relevance of acculturation and its impact on important psychological and identity-related variables. Clinical implications, limitations of the present study, and future directions are also discussed.

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