The Role of Social Support and Acculturative Stress in Health-Related Quality of Life Among Day Laborers in Northern San Diego

Abstract

There is evidence to suggest that Latino day laborers experience higher levels of acculturative stress than Latinos in employment sectors in the US. Given the stress-buffering role that social support plays in minimizing the negative physical and mental health outcomes of stress, this study examined this relationship in a sample of 70 Latino Day laborers in the northern San Diego area (100% male, mean age = 27.7, SD = 9.1). Results from multivariate regression analyses showed that there was a significant interaction effect between social support and acculturative stress (P = 0.025) on physical health, indicating that higher levels of social support buffered the negative effects of acculturative stress on physical health. Acculturative stress and social support were not associated with mental health status. Overall, these findings suggest that fostering social support may be an essential strategy for promoting health among Latino male day laborers.

Contextual Approach to Acculturative Stress Among Latina Immigrants in the U.S.

“…We argue that while acculturative stress is inherent in an individual's efforts to culturally adapt in a new country, discrimination is related to one's ethnic background and socioeconomic status [3,20]. Aiming at a clearer understanding of the immigration challenges impacting Latina immigrant women's mental health, and consistent with previous studies [31], we exclude discrimination from our acculturative stress measure. …”

“…Early research suggests that the degree of acculturative stress depends on the difference between the immigrants' host and innate culture [4,31]. While cultural differences can be viewed as an external factor, they also influence internal expectations regarding family relationships.…”

“…Studies on acculturation or cultural adaptation and a reduction of cultural conflict 5 have shown an inconsistent relationship between acculturation and mental health among Latino immigrants [14][15][16]. An attempt to explain this inconsistency has led to the consideration of the concept of acculturative stress-the stress related to the struggle reconcile the culture of origin with the host culture [31].…”

“…While variables can be theoretically viewed as external or internal, the ecological models recognize that there is a potentially ongoing interaction between these contexts that influences how life events are experienced by family members. For example, two families may be experiencing grief over the loss of a grandmother, but the effect of the loss is experienced differently [31]. For one family, the death of a grandmother may represent a major family disruption due to cultural values, familial codes, and needs that may have placed the grandmother at the emotional center of the family.…”

“…Her childcare support would also be an important economic resource. A second family might not experience this major disruption because the grand mother in this family lived in a different city and the family subscribed to a set of values which deemphasized grand parents' role in child care [31].…”