In this article, I would like to explain the definitions and various categories of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and Cross-Cultural Kids (CCKs). I didn’t learn about this until I was in my 40s, and it was a game-changer for my self-understanding as a TCK and for my personal development. At the end, you will find a series of book recommendations and references to additional blog posts on this topic.
Third Culture Kids
The term was coined in the 1950s by American sociologist Ruth Hill Useem of Michigan State University. She traveled to India with her husband to research how Americans living and working there interacted professionally with the locals. They referred to this intermediate world as the ‘Third Culture’. Useem placed a special focus on the children.
In 1999, David C. Pollock took up this definition and developed it further (see book recommendations at the end of the article!). In 2017, the definition was refined by Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael V. Pollock as follows:
“A traditional Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who spends a significant part of his or her first eighteen years of life accompanying parent(s) into a country or countries that are different from at least one parent’s passport country(ies) due to a parent’s choice of work or advanced training.”
Three essential factors are interplaying:
- Developmental years: TCKs move back and forth from one culture to another before they have completed the critical developmental task of forming a sense of their own personal or cultural identity.
- Lived in different countries, at least two
- Work-related or for advanced training
Characteristical: Highly mobile world: not only the TCK moves around a lot, but also their friends move away frequently.
Note: A person that grew up as a TCK but is now an adult is called “Adult Third Culture Kid” (ATCK).
Below are the various TCK categories, which are continuously being expanded:
TCK Categories
Why "Third Culture“?
The term is often mistakenly associated with Third World – it has absolutely nothing to do with that.
I may also be misunderstood as the personal culture mix of each TCK – a blend of all the cultures on has lived in. But that‘s not what is meant.
The definition has evolved over the years, this is the latest version. The term “Third Culture” refers to a way of life that is neither like the lives of those living back in the home culture nor like the lives of those in the local community, but is a lifestyle with many common experiences shared by others in a similar way.
TCKs live in a Neither/Nor World – never fully belong in either culture.
At the same time, TCKs connect easily with other TCKs and quickly create a new culture with each other – a Third Culture – the very definition of transculturality. You can immediately feel the TCK vibe in an international school. That‘s where they often feel most at home.
“Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.”
― Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
Cross-Cultural Kids
I would like to draw your attention to the umbrella model that includes TCKs.
While the concept of the TCK was well-studied, it sparked significant debate over who actually fit the definition. As globalization added new layers of cultural complexity, it became clear that a broader, more inclusive framework was needed.
The Cross-Cultural Kid (CCK) Model was created by Ruth van Reken in 2002 and updated in 2017. Her definition:
“A Cross-Cultural Kid (CCK) is someone who has been significantly influenced by two or more cultural environments during their developmental years.”
Early research on TCKs laid the groundwork for examining other cross-cultural experiences, allowing experts to pinpoint what makes each group unique. As overarching patterns came to light, valuable insights and tools could be exchanged across all categories. Ultimately, stepping back to view the bigger picture made the specific challenges of each subgroup stand out even more clearly.
Commonalities
- Embody a great cultural diversity within
- Feelings of not fitting in or belonging to the culture they feel the “should” belong
- Relating well to others with similar experiences
- It’s fair to say most, if not all, CCKs have struggled with questions of belonging, finding home, understanding their roots and where you come from.
Identity Crisis
One of the reasons it can be so hard to navigate different contexts as a cross-cultural kid, is because often times we don’t even realize that we’re doing it, we don’t always have the language for it, and we have very little resources to help us understand our complex and evolving identities. Certain life experiences tend to catapult us into identity crisis.
Cultural Mosaics
This CULTURAL MOSAICS series on Cross-Cultural Kids (CCKs) was originally posted on Instagram in September 2023 as a collaborative project by Beatriz Nour @inbetweenish.pod (dear friend, CCK, podcaster) and myself, Wiebke Homborg @chameleon_coaching. If you have Instagram, we encourage you to check out the original posts for its great visuals, audios, reels and storytelling. You will also find the full series of articles on CCKs here on my blog.
Through our work, we want to raise more awareness about the different kinds of Cross-Cultural Kids, as they do not all receive as much attention as the Third Culture Kids where the Cross-Cultural Kids Model by Ruth Van Reken originated.
We hope that CCKs and adult CCKs, parents, caretakers, educators, coaches and therapists all over the world will benefit from this series. Cross-Cultural Kids are becoming more and more common and who knows if not some time in the future all children will be CCKs?
Dive deeper with these other blog articles about Cross-Cultural Kids:
Cross-Cultural Kids Part 1 – Introduction
Cross-Cultural Kids Part 2 – Exploring 4 different CCK types: Bicultural Children, Multicultural Children, Children of Mixed Heritage and Internationally Adopted Children
Cross-Cultural Kids Part 3 – Exploring 4 different CCK types: Third Culture Kids, Domestic Third Culture Kids, Educational Cross-Cultural Kids and Children of Borderlanders
Cross-Cultural Kids Part 4 – Exploring 4 different CCK types: Children of Immigrants, Children of Refugees, Children of Marginalized and Privileged Minorities
Cross-Cultural Kids Part 5 – Exploring 3 famous examples with their respective CCK types
Book Recommendation and other Resources
Third Culture Kids – Growing Up Among Worlds (3rd ed.), David C. Pollock/Ruth Van Reken/Michael V. Pollock (2017), London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Ruth Van Reken’s Webseite https://www.crossculturalkid.org/
Raising Up a Generation of Healthy Third Culture Kids: A Practical Guide to Preventive Care, Lauren Wells (2020), Independently published
Raising Global Teens, Dr Anisha Abraham
Unstacking Your Grief Tower: A Guide to Processing Grief as an Adult Third Culture Kid, Lauren Wells (2021), Independently published
Families in Global Transition – A welcoming forum for globally mobile individuals, families, and those working with them. Annual virtual conferences. www.figt.org
TCK Resource List, online: http://tckresources.com/resources/
TCK-Songs: “Layers” by Naïka & “No Roots” by Alice Merton
Hi, I'm Wiebke,
As an intercultural coach with firsthand experience as a TCK, I provide the tools you need to find your inner sense of home, make sense of your TCK or CCK journey, and proudly embrace and celebrate your multicultural mosaic using the practical Inner (Multicultural) Team method.
Together, we’ll turn your unique cross-cultural journey into your greatest strength, helping you build a grounded sense of belonging wherever you are.
Ready to make sense of your story and fully embrace every piece of your multicultural mosaic?