Indicators of Identity and Psychological Well-Being in Immigrant Population

Abstract

Multiple research has indicated that group identity processes are critical to understanding the dynamics of psychological well-being linked to migration. However, few studies have analyzed the relationship between identity from different theoretical perspectives, and the mental health of migrants in the Latin-American context. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between several identity indicators such as ethnic identity, collective self-esteem, identity fusion (with the country of origin and the host country) simultaneously, and different dimensions of psychological well-being of Colombian migrants living in Chile. The sample consisted of 887 Colombian migrants, of whom 435 (49%) were men and 452 (51%) were women. Participants were residents of the cities of Arica (n=204; 23%), Antofagasta (n=469; 52.9%), and Santiago (n=214; 24.1%) in Chile. The results revealed by structural equation modeling indicate that collective self-esteem and ethnic identity show positive relationships with almost all dimensions of psychological well-being, while identity fusion with Colombia only showed a positive relationship with the dimension positive relationships and identity fusion with Chile only showed a positive relationship with the dimension autonomy. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed at the end.

Ethnic Identity and Collective Self-Esteem Mediate the Effect of Anxiety and Depression on Quality of Life in a Migrant Population

“…In this context, the aim of the present research is to evaluate the mediating effect that both ethnic identity and collective self-esteem may have on the inverse relationship between the presence of symptoms associated with mental health problems and QoL. We believe that there could be a mediating effect of ethnic identity and collective self-esteem since it has been found that these variables have been able to absorb the negative effect that various variables may have on indicators of well-being in other studies in a similar population [ 23 , 26 , 28 ], possibly exercising a protective role through the strengthening of individual self-esteem, which could be extrapolated to the case of quality of life.…”

Behaviour change interventions to promote health and well-being among older migrants: A systematic review

“…Positive migrant identities buffer against the distress experienced by migrants and seem to be invariant across ethnicities [ 11 – 14 ]. Migrant identities are essential for the well-being of people experiencing other cultures [ 15 ]; indeed, they seem to be associated positively with health and well-being [ 16 – 18 ]. They can be seen as an aspect of acculturation, which involves physical, psychological, cultural, and social changes (e.g., learning a new language, establishing new social connections, shifting old cultural expectations) as people adjust to the cultures of their host countries [ 19 ].…”