The relationship between acculturation and mental health of 1st generation immigrant youth in a representative school survey: does gender matter?

Abstract

Background: Although gender plays a pivotal role in the psychological adaptation of immigrant youth, its association with acculturation strategy and mental health among 1st generation immigrant adolescents are still scarce and inconsistent. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to investigate gender-related differences in acculturation patterns and their association with mental health (internalizing and externalizing problems). Methods: Self-reported data of immigrant adolescents (N = 440) aged between 12 and 19 years (M = 16.2; SD = 1.6) was collected in a representative German school survey. Fifty-one percent of the sample were female (n = 224). Almost half of the sample was born in the Former Soviet Union, followed by Poland (9.3%). Sociodemographic variables, acculturation strategies, and internalizing as well as externalizing problems were assessed by questionnaires. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-dimensional model of acculturation styles (assimilation, integration, separation and marginalization). Whereas girls more often showed an integration pattern, boys scored higher on the separation and marginalization scale. After adjusting for age and educational level, regression analyses revealed for both gender that marginalization was associated with more internalizing problems. Separation was related to more externalizing problems. Conclusion: 1st generation adolescents experiencing a lack of belongingness to German society, socioeconomic and educational disadvantages might be particularly vulnerable to mental distress. Findings are discussed in terms of gender-related differential socialization processes in context of immigration.

School Satisfaction in Immigrant and Chilean Students: The Role of Prejudice and Cultural Self-Efficacy

“…An interpretation could be that social and cultural conditions might be more decisive than time in their adjustment to the new context ( Raabe and Beelmann, 2011 ; Hernando et al, 2013 ; Titzmann et al, 2015 ). Results also showed that immigrant girls presented higher levels of self-efficacy in mixing satisfactorily with other cultures, which coincides with previous reports ( Berry et al, 2006 ; Motti-Stefanidi et al, 2008 ; Güngör and Bornstein, 2013 ; Klein et al, 2020 ) that have claimed that girls are more likely to develop positive attitudes toward intercultural exchanges than boys, presenting higher self-efficacy in social interactions with different others ( Caprara et al, 2004 ; Bagci, 2018 ). Gender differences were also found regarding immigrant students’ school satisfaction, agreeing with studies which have established that girls tend to develop a better adjustment to school contexts and tasks than did boys, including immigrant females ( Verkuyten and Thijs, 2002 ; Berry et al, 2006 ; Liu et al, 2016 ).…”

“…An interpretation could be that social and cultural conditions might be more decisive than time in their adjustment to the new context (Raabe and Beelmann, 2011;Hernando et al, 2013;Titzmann et al, 2015). Results also showed that immigrant girls presented higher levels of self-efficacy in mixing satisfactorily with other cultures, which coincides with previous reports (Berry et al, 2006;Motti-Stefanidi et al, 2008;Güngör and Bornstein, 2013;Klein et al, 2020) that have claimed that girls are more likely to develop positive attitudes toward FIGURE 3 | Simple mediation model. Cultural self-efficacy's effect on the relationship between prejudice and school satisfaction in Chilean students.…”

The Impact of Migration Status on Adolescents’ Mental Health during COVID-19

“…As migration background in Europe is not, in general, a predictor for higher behavioral or emotional problems [ 8 ], potential differences among immigrant groups are required. As a few examples, the country of origin, reasons for immigration, gender, acculturation style [ 51 ], attitudes towards immigrants among the majority of the population [ 9 ], immigrant policies [ 7 ], and social contexts—e.g., school culture—within which adolescents are living [ 4 ] should be analyzed in future studies. Although individuals with migration background and those without migration background did not differ with respect to gender and age, they differed with respect to region and school type.…”

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on quality of life and mental health in children and adolescents in Germany

“…Particularly children with low socioeconomic status and preexisting mental health problems may be exposed to cumulative risks. This assumption is based on a solid body of previous research demonstrating that a low socioeconomic status of children [9][10][11], low parental education and migration status [12,13] are risk factors for mental health problems among children. Also when experiencing home confinement, it can be assumed that children living in small apartments are more stressed-concluding from the literature indicating that limited living space can affect mental health [14].…”