A systematic review of third culture kids empirical research

With globalization and technological advances, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people living cross-culturally with mobility. With this, the number of children living mobile crossnational lives, often termed Third Culture Kids (TCKs), is also increasing. TCKs are defined as those who have accompanied their parents for work or study overseas during their significant developmental years, before 18. They are often described as people who build relationships to all of the cultures they have lived in, but not having a full ownership in any. To gain an overall understanding of the current research landscape on this population, a systematic review was conducted on the literature of empirical research on Third Culture Kids (TCKs). The search utilized the EBSCO PsycINFO database and focused on psychosocial issues. An initial yield of 399 articles were further curated based on inclusion and exclusion criteria with consensus by two psychology researchers, resulting in 31 research publications. The content analysis review included comparisons across years, types of publications, authors, research design and analytical methods, sample age and definition, and frequency of the domains and themes. This systematic review compiled descriptive tables of studies and reviewed key findings of the three mostresearched domains-emotional, relational, and identity development. The paper also highlighted discussions about the lack of standardization in TCK definition, challenges in TCK research, and suggestions for future directions.

Automated summary

With globalization and technological advances, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people living cross-culturally, leading to a rise in the population of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) who accompany their parents abroad during significant developmental years. A systematic review of empirical research on TCKs was conducted to gain an overall understanding of the current research landscape, focusing on psychosocial issues. Key findings from the review underscored challenges faced by TCKs in emotional, relational, and identity development, along with discussions on the lack of standardization in TCK definition and suggestions for future research directions.