Television usage and the cultural adjustment of Nigerian women in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area

As a result of a variety of political and economic reasons, there are thousands of Nigerian women immigrants living in the United States of America today. This study is an investigation of the adjustment of these Nigerian women immigrants to the United States culture. It is an assessment of whether and how television usage contributes to this adjustment.;The data for this study were obtained from a purposive (and convenience) sample of Nigerian women immigrants in the Washington, D. C. Metropolitan area. The survey instrument was distributed to Nigerian women immigrants in different Nigerian churches, social clubs, and cultural and political organizations in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area. This method of data collection was considered the most appropriate because religious, social and ethnic meetings present the researcher the best opportunity to reach a diverse number of the women immigrants.;The study found among other things that: (1) Length of stay in America significantly and positively correlates with Nigerian women immigrants' cultural adjustment; (2) New Nigerian women immigrants perceived television as a useful companion and they used television as a companion; (3) There are no significant relationships between television viewing and Nigerian women immigrants' perception of men's traditional cultural roles; (4) Television usage is associated with the desire for educational success. Among Nigerian people in the United States and in Nigeria, western education is perceived as the passport to good life. Education is seen as paramount for social respectability and political inclusion. Therefore, it is not surprising that research findings here indicate that there is a strong correlation between the use of television and desire for educational success; (5) Perceived television programs are significant in cultural adjustment. This means that not all types of programs help Nigerian women immigrants adjust culturally in the United States. Only those programs they identified to be pertinent to their needs were significant to their adjustment; and (6) Nigerian women perceive themselves to be culturally adjusted on issues of sex and sexuality. In human communication, self-perception is paramount to people's communication style: choice of language, tonality, and attitude toward others. Hence, the women's perception of their adjustment on issues of sex and sexuality affected their ability to communicate sexual interest and sexual feelings.