All individuals grow up within certain cultural expectations that more or less prescribe their roles or 'place' in life.
Understanding and making the necessary adjustments within one's original culture may be a very difficult emotional task.
In these times of frequent transition between very different cultures and nations to new cultures and different roles, this is particularly frequent.
What works in a 'home' culture may not work abroad or at a different stratum in one's home culture. New stressors may therefore arise wth such changes.
Once-stable relationships may break up, there are communication problems between parents and adolescent children, or a sense of failure by individuals.
In the case of immigration, self-esteem often suffers among foreign-trained professionals whose credentials and experience are undervalued in a different environment.
Such experiences may be humiliating especially since they do not accurately reflect personal character and talent.
