African Americans: Immigrants of African Origin

Abstract

The number and percentage of immigrants and refugees from Africa to the United States have increased substantially since the mid-1990s. Though still a relatively small percentage of the immigrant population, immigrants from Africa encounter many challenges that are important for social work professionals to address. This entry examines two groups of immigrants from Africa: legal migrants (immigrants) and refugees. It provides information on distinctive characteristics of recent African immigrants, reasons for emigration from Africa, challenges they face in the United States, and their settlement (geographical distribution) patterns. While black Africans are the focus of this entry, the research literature does not provide clear distinctions within the group of African immigrants. The emphasis is on black African immigrants to the United States as their experience is unique in terms of their race in America and the types of stigma and discrimination they face as a result. Critical issues for social work practice are examined through a case example of Somali refugees, followed by implications for social work practice and research.

Exploring moderators to understand the association between vertical collectivism and psychological well-being among Asian Canadian students.

“…Scholars also have suggested cultural conflict, or the degree of clash between two cultures perceived as incompatible, as a potential moderator for the association between collectivism generally and psychological well-being (Hovey et al, 2006; Iwamoto & Liu, 2010). Specifically, Asian immigrants may struggle to preserve values, norms, and behaviors associated with their collectivistic heritage culture; concurrently, they may feel compelled to adopt individualistic values, which are embedded in Western cultures (Ross-Sheriff, 1992; Sam & Berry, 2006). Relatedly, a process of acculturation whereby one synthesizes multiple, cultural identities has been deemed more adaptive than viewing the cultures as mutually exclusive (Berry, 1997; Chen, Benet-Martinez, & Harris Bond, 2008; Phinney et al, 2001).…”