Abstract
Despite the multicultural nature of African societies, there is still very little knowledge about acculturation and its
association with identity on this continent Acculturation processes and outcomes are strongly associated with identity The
objective of this article is to relate different models of acculturation (unidimensional, bi-dimensional, multidimensional)
with the tri-dimensional model of identity (personal, relational, and social) Social identity components, such as ethnicity,
religion, and culture, suggest a need for modification of Western models of acculturation to embrace the multifaceted
realities of non-Western multicultural societies The social complexity and the continuous transition within African
societies provides unique opportunities to examine and further develop the multidimensional acculturation models to take
into account the social complexity which informs identity issues both within and across different African nations.