Growing up as a third culture kid and its impact on identity and belonging

Abstract

In an increasingly globalised world, understanding the experiences of individuals living interna-tionally mobile and cross-cultural lives is vital. Third culture kids (TCKs) are individuals who have lived outside of their parent(s) passport country for more than a year, before the age of 18 for tem-porary reasons, such as a parent’s work or advanced training. This systematic review of empirical literature aimed to investigate the extent to which growing up as a TCK impacts identity and be-longing. An initial yield of 509 articles was found across seven databases. Using inclusion and ex-clusion criteria, the final six research articles were used for analysis. The content analysis revealed three themes for identity: identity negotiation, cultural multiplicity, and a pervasive otherness from their passport country and three themes for belonging: belonging everywhere and nowhere, a home with other cross-cultural individuals, and a home in identifying as a TCK. Therefore, growing up as a TCK was found to have an impact on identity and belonging in several ways. Contrary to pre-vious knowledge, this review found that TCKs are not confused by the multiplicity of their identity, rather it does not fit the current social construction of identity. Limitations and directions for future research were discussed.