Social support as a moderator of acculturative stress among refugees and asylum seekers

Abstract

N = 63 refugees and asylum seekers, 27 women and 36 men with a mean age of 33.08 years (SD = 10.3) from Chechnya and Afghanistan were granted sponsorships for six months and were randomized to an intervention and a waiting-list control group. Only participants with a history of traumatization benefited from the intervention. For the traumatized sub-sample, sponsorships led to a significant and stable decrease in anxiety, depression, and psychological problems as compared to the control group, with effect sizes comparable to those of psychotherapy. The effects being rather palliative than instrumental, however, sponsorships did not instigate improvements in acculturation, societal contact, or coping capability. Women benefited more from the intervention than men, and Afghans more than Chechen.

Influence of a community‐based stretching intervention on the health outcomes among Korean‐Chinese female migrant workers in South Korea: A randomized prospective trial

“…The acculturative stress, however, can be reduced by social support (Berry, Poortinga, Breugelmans, Chasiotis, & Sam, ) and a recent correlative study of KC migrants supports the positive influence of social support on reducing acculturative stress, as well as improving mental health (Joo, Kim, Cho, & Kwon, ). Evidence from an intervention study of at‐risk refugees from Chechnya and Afghanistan also suggests that social support is helpful in reducing acculturative stress and in improving mental health and adaptation in these populations (Renner, Laireiter, & Maier, ). During the maintenance phase of the current study, no intervention for social support was delivered, except for the three acculturation workshops that were provided monthly for the EI group only.…”

Impact of Social Support and Coping on Acculturation and Acculturative Stress of East Asian International Students

“…Pedersen () stated that international students who do not have enough support from family and peers might experience serious acculturative stress in the dominant culture. Researchers (e.g., Ra, ; Renner, Laireiter, & Maier, ; Yeh & Inose, ) also have asserted that international students who perceive effective social support have less acculturative stress. Moreover, Lazarus and Folkman () conceptualized coping as “constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person” (p. 141).…”

Estrés por aculturación y estrategias de afrontamiento en una muestra de refugiados y solicitantes de asilo en Lima (Perú)

“…Las estrategias de afrontamiento en población refugiada o similar más comunmente encontradas en la investigación son: el apoyo familiar, social o comunitario (Aref y Tummala-Narra, 2015;Finklestein, Laufer y Solomon, 2012;Goodman, 2004;Guribye, 2011;Huijts, et al, 2012;Hovey, 1999;Puvimanasinghe et al, 2014;Renner, Laireiter y Maier, 2012;Torres et al, 2017); la religiosidad, la vida espiritual, rezar (Bentley et al, 2014;Finklestein at al., 2012;Goodman, 2004;Puvimanasinghe et al, 2014;Torres et al, 2017); los procesos cognitivos, como la evitación o los esfuerzos para detener pensamientos no deseados (Goodman, 2004), dar un significado al hecho traumático (Puvimanasinghe et al, 2014), valorar las propias capacidades para afrontar la adversidad (Ai et al, 2007;Clarke y Border, 2014;Rae, 2016) o su situación migratoria ; el altruismo, la colaboración o ayuda a otros (Huijts et al, 2012;Puvimanasinghe et al, 2014); la búsqueda activa de soluciones a las dificultades de la migración (Huits et al, 2012;Tobin et al, 1989en Cano et al, 2007Villacieros, Berástegui y Aza, 2016;Walsh, 2004); la búsqueda de ayuda profesional (Clarke y Border, 2014; Horyniak, Higgs, Cogger, Dietze y Bofu, 2016); hablar o expresarse sobre las situaciones que viven (Boucher, 2009); adoptar actitudes positivas de la cultura de destino o comprometerse con el nuevo entorno (Clarke y Border, 2014); y la distracción .…”

“…Frente a los estresores mencionados se utilizaron diversas estrategias de afrontamiento. Algunas de estas estrategias -como la búsqueda de apoyo social, la vida espiritual y la expresión de emociones-se encuentran en hallazgos de investigaciones previas (Aref y Tummala-Narra 2015;Bentley et al, 2014;Finklestein et al, 2012;Goodman, 2004;Guribye, 2011;Huijts, et al, 2012;Hovey, 1999;Puvimanasinghe et al, 2014;Renner et al, 2012;Torres et al 2017), indicando que poblaciones refugiadas en diferentes contextos pueden hacer uso de estrategias similares.…”

“…Asimismo, los entrevistados señalaron que buscaron apoyo de otras personales, principalmente de su familia y amigos. La búsqueda de apoyo social como estrategia de afrontamiento ante el estrés ha sido ampliamente demostrada en diversos contextos de asilo (Aref y Tummala-Narra, 2015;Finklestein, Laufer y Solomon, 2012;Goodman, 2004;Guribye, 2011;Huijts, et al, 2012;Puvimanasinghe et al, 2014;Renner, Laireiter y Maier, 2012;Torres et al 2017). Estudios previos mostraron que el apoyo de comunidades de origen de personas desplazadas funcionó como familias sustitutas brindando protección espontánea (Guribye, 2011) y que personas con altos niveles de apoyo social tenían bajos niveles de estrés (Finklestein et al, 2012).…”