Acculturative Stress, Perceived Social Support, and Mental Health: The Mediating Effect of Negative Emotions Associated with Discrimination

Abstract

The role of perceived social support in the acculturation process of immigrants remains unclear. In this study, we jointly evaluated the associations between acculturative stress and negative emotions associated with discrimination as antecedents of anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms in 283 immigrants living in Chile. Three competing models were tested via structural equation modelling to assess (1) the association among these variables and mental health symptoms and (2) to clarify the role of perceived social support. The third model was theoretically more adequate, showed a better fit, and explained 42.7% of the variance of mental health symptoms. In this model, perceived social support was associated with acculturative stress by reducing mental health symptomatology. Moreover, a direct relationship and an indirect relationship were found between acculturative stress (through negative emotions associated with discrimination) and mental health symptomatology. These results contribute to the understanding of the acculturation process experienced by immigrants in Chile and provide empirical evidence to be used to improve migration policies.

Analysis of the Mental and Physical Health Symptomatology Scale in a Sample of Emerging and Migrant Adults in Chile

“…Mental and physical health symptomatology scale (MPHS-Scale) [ 31 ]. This scale is composed of eight items that assess the frequency of health symptomatology.…”

“…Higher scores reflected a greater presence of this type of symptomatology. A previous study [ 31 ] revealed the presence of two factors, one grouping the first three items in terms of mental health symptoms and the rest in terms of physical symptoms. It also showed that the correlation between the mental health symptoms factor and physical health symptoms was high.…”

“…For this study, the mental and physical health symptomatology scale [ 31 ] and a sociodemographic questionnaire were used to characterise the sample.…”

“…Scientific evidence has corroborated that this process presents various difficulties that extend from the pre-migration phase and the migration journey itself to the arrival and settlement in the host country [ 29 ]. Research has linked migration processes to symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, psychosomatic symptoms (e.g., headaches and stomach problems) and mental health disorders in general [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ].…”

Mediation analysis of mental health characteristics linking social needs to life satisfaction among immigrants

“…The postmigration circumstances (e.g., acculturative stress, employment, cultural and linguistic barriers) experienced by immigrants often affect their mental health and quality of life ( Derr, 2016 ; Noh & Kaspar, 2003 ). For instance, acculturative stress, a term used to describe postmigration challenges such as limited access to healthcare, jobs, and housing, has been linked to higher mental health problems, including psychological distress (i.e., anxiety and depression) ( Baeza-Rivera et al, 2022 ; Derr, 2016 ). Immigrants who are unemployed or lack food tend to have high burdens of psychological distress such as anxiety and depression ( Dou et al, 2022 ; Kirmayer et al, 2011 ; Shekunov, 2017 ; Walther et al, 2020 ).…”