Newcomers' Biographical Explanations: The Self As An Adjustment Process*

The newcomers' situation necessarily involves change and a variety of adjustment processes. In this situation the self may come into question and become an object of conscious reflection and definition. This paper focuses on the processes of change and continuity in the newcomer's self-concept during the first year after moving to a new locale. Data are drawn from a broader longitudinal study of 30 newcomer families in an Australian city and are interpreted from a symbolic interactionist perspective.