Article information
Abstract
The present study examined the link between perceived discrimination, depressive symptoms, cultural identity and social support at school reported by immigrant adolescents. Participants were 214 mostly male, immigrant adolescents in grades 9 through 13 of high schools in two small cities in northern Italy. Results showed that discrimination has a significant detrimental effect on psychological well-being of foreign-born adolescents. Additionally, the current study outlined that the only protective factor for depressive symptoms, among the analyzed variables concerning cultural identity and school social support, was social support from teachers. None of the analyzed moderators buffered the relationship between discrimination and depressive symptoms reported by immigrant adolescents. These results have implications for preventive interventions for immigrant adolescents and suggest a protective role for teachers. Future research should detect strategies to reduce discrimination and prejudice toward immigrant adolescents and detect factors that may buffer detrimental effects of discrimination on psychological well-being.
Keywords:
cultural identity
depression
discrimination
immigrants
Italian immigration
late adolescence
social support
Resumen
El presente estudio examina la relación entre discriminación percibida, síntomas de depresión, identidad cultural y apoyo social percibido en una muestra de 214 estudiantes adolescentes inmigrantes. Todos ellos cursaban estudios entre los grados 9 y 13 en institutos de enseñanza secundaria de dos pequeñas ciudades del norte de Italia. Los resultados confirmaron que la discriminación posee un efecto perjudicial significativo en el bienestar psicológico de los adolescentes nacidos en el extranjero. Además, el presente estudio confirma que el apoyo social por parte de los profesores es un factor protector contra los síntomas de la depresión. En cambio otros potenciales moderadores analizados, como identidad cultural y otras fuentes de apoyo social, no mitigaron la relación entre discriminación y síntomas de depresión en los adolescentes inmigrantes. Estos resultados tienen implicaciones para el diseño de intervenciones preventivas con adolescentes inmigrantes puesto que subrayan el papel protector del profesorado. Futuras investigaciones deberían centrarse en detectar estrategias para reducir la discriminación y prejuicios hacia los adolescentes inmigrantes y detectar los factores que puedan mitigar los efectos perjudiciales de la discriminación en el bienestar psicológico.
Palabras clave:
adolescencia tardía
apoyo social
depresión
discriminación
identidad cultural
inmigrantes
inmigración en Italia
Full text is only aviable in PDF
References
[Bacallao and Smokowski, 2007]
M.L. Bacallao, P.R. Smokowski.
The costs of getting ahead: Mexican family system changes after immigration.
Family Relations, 56 (2007), pp. 52-66
[Blank et al., 2004]
Measuring racial discrimination,
[Benner and Kim, 2009]
A.D. Benner, S.Y. Kim.
Experiences of discrimination among Chinese American adolescents and the consequences for socioemotional and academic development.
Developmental Psychology, 45 (2009), pp. 1682-1694
[Berkel et al., 2010]
C. Berkel, G.P. Knight, K.H. Zeiders, J.Y. Tein, M.W. Roosa, N.A. Gonzales, D. Saenz.
Discrimination and adjustment for Mexican American adolescents: A prospective examination of the benefits of culturally related values.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20 (2010), pp. 893-915
[Berry et al., 1987]
J.W. Berry, U. Kim, T. Minde, D. Mok.
Comparative studies of acculturative stress.
The International Migration Review, 1 (1987), pp. 491-511
[Berry, 2003]
J.W. Berry.
Conceptual approaches to acculturation.
Acculturation: Advances in theory, measurement and applied research., pp. 17-37
[Berry et al., 2006]
J.W. Berry, J.S. Phinney, D.L. Sam, P. Vedder.
Immigrant youth: Acculturation, identity, and adaptation.
Applied Psychology: An International Review, 55 (2006), pp. 303-332
[Bettencourt and Dorr, 1997]
B.A. Bettencourt, N. Dorr.
Collective self-esteem as a mediator of the relationship between allocentrism and subjective well-being.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23 (1997), pp. 955-964
[Bourhis et al., 2009]
R.Y. Bourhis, G. Barrette, S. El-Geledi, R.S. Schmidt.
Acculturation orientations and social relations between immigrant and host community members in California.
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40 (2009), pp. 443-467
[Brand et al., 2003]
S. Brand, R.D. Felner, M. Shim, A. Seitsinger, T. Dumas.
Middle school improvement and reform: Development and validation of a school-level assessment of climate, cultural pluralism and school safety.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 95 (2003), pp. 570-588
[Branscombe et al., 1999]
N.R. Branscombe, M.T. Schmitt, R.D. Harvey.
Perceiving pervasive discrimination among African Americans: Implications for group identification and well-being.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77 (1999), pp. 135-149
[Brondolo et al., 2009]
E. Brondolo, N.B. ver Halen, M. Pencille, D. Beatty, R.J. Contrada.
Coping with racism: A selective review of the literature and a theoretical and methodological critique.
Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 32 (2009), pp. 64-88
[Burton et al., 2004]
E. Burton, E. Stice, J.R. Seeley.
Prospective test of the stress-buffering model of depression in adolescent girls: No support once again.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72 (2004), pp. 689-697
[Caldwell et al., 2002]
C.H. Caldwell, M.A. Zimmerman, D.H. Bernat, R.M. Sellers, P.C. Notaro.
Racial identity, maternal support, and psychological distress among African American adolescents.
Child Development, 73 (2002), pp. 1322-1336
[Cemalcilar, 2010]
Z. Cemalcilar.
Schools as socialization contexts: understanding the impact of school climate factors on students’ sense of school belonging.
Applied Psychology: An International Review, 59 (2010), pp. 243-272
[Cohen, 1988]
J. Cohen.
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (second ed.).
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, (1988),
[Cohen et al., 2003]
J. Cohen, P. Cohen, S.G. West, L.S. Aiken.
Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences.
3rd, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, (2003),
[Cristini et al., 2010]
F. Cristini, A. Vieno, L. Scacchi, M. Santinello.
Migrant families and adolescence: parenting style, internalization and externalization problems [Famiglie migranti e adolescenza: stili genitoriali e problemi di internalizzazione ed esternalizzazione].
Journal of Family Studies [Rivista di Studi Familiari], 2 (2010), pp. 60-81
[Crockett et al., 2007]
L.J. Crockett, M.I. Iturbide, R.A. Torres Stone, M. McGinley, M. Raffaelli, G. Carlo.
Acculturative stress, social support, and coping: Relations to psychological adjustment among Mexican American college students.
Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13 (2007), pp. 347-355
[Currie et al., 2008]
C. Currie, M. Molcho, W. Boyce, B. Holstein, T. Torsheim, M. Richter.
Researching health inequalities in adolescents: The development of the HBSC Family Affluence Scale.
Social Science & Medicine, 66 (2008), pp. 1429-1436
[Currie et al., 2001]
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: A WHO Cross-National Study (HBSC), Research Protocol for the 2001/2002 Survey,
[Demaio, 2008]
G. Demaio.
Gli studenti di cittadinanza estera in Italia [Foreign students in Italy].
Immigrazione: dossier statistico 2008, XVIII rapporto [Immigration: Statistical dossier 2008, XVIII report], Edizioni Idos, (2008), pp. 239-247
[Edwards and Romero, 2008]
L.M. Edwards, A.J. Romero.
Coping with discrimination among Mexican descent adolescents.
Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science, 30 (2008), pp. 24-39
[Erikson, 1968]
E. Erikson.
Identity, youth and crisis.
Norton and Co, (1968),
[Fuertes and Westbrook, 1996]
J. Fuertes, F. Westbrook.
Using the social, attitudinal, familial, and environmental (S.A.F.E.) acculturation stress scale.
Measurement & Evaluation in Counseling & Development, 29 (1996), pp. 67-76
[Galanaki et al., 2008]
E.P. Galanaki, S.A. Polychronopoulou, T.K. Babalis.
Loneliness and social dissatisfaction among behaviourally at-risk children.
School Psychology International, 29 (2008), pp. 214-229
[Garcia Coll et al., 1996]
C. Garcia Coll, K. Crnic, G. Lamberty, B.H. Wasik, R. Jenkins, H. Vazquez Garcia, H.P. McAdoo.
An integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children.
Child Development, 67 (1996), pp. 1891-1914
[Garnefski et al., 2002]
N. Garnefski, J. Legerstee, V. Kraaij, T. van de Kommer, J. Teerds.
Cognitive coping strategies and symptoms of depression and anxiety: A comparison between adolescents and adults.
Journal of Adolescence, 5 (2002), pp. 603-611
[Grzywacz et al., 2006]
J.G. Grzywacz, J.D. Hovey, L.D. Seligman, T.A. Arcury, S.A. Quandt.
Evaluating short-form versions of the CES-D for measuring depressive symptoms among immigrant Latinos.
Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 28 (2006), pp. 404-424
[Hamm, 2000]
J.V. Hamm.
Do birds of a feather flock togeher?. The variable bases for African, American, Asian American, and European American adolescents’ selection of similar friends.
Developmental Psychology, 36 (2000), pp. 209-219
[Hatch and Dohrenwend, 2007]
S.L. Hatch, B.P. Dohrenwend.
Distribution of traumatic and other stressful life events by race/ethnicity, gender, SES and age: A review of the research.
American Journal of Community Psychology, 40 (2007), pp. 313-332
[Helms, 2007]
J.E. Helms.
Some better practices for measuring racial and ethnic identity constructs.
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54 (2007), pp. 235-246
[Heyfron, 2006]
J.E. Heyfron.
Immigrants in the labour market.
Cambridge Handbook of Acculturation Psychology, pp. 439-451
[Huynh and Fuligni, 2010]
V.W. Huynh, A.J. Fuligni.
Discrimination hurts: The academic, psychological, and physical well-being of adolescents.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20 (2010), pp. 916-941
[Hurd and Zimmerman, 2010]
N.M. Hurd, M.A. Zimmerman.
Natural mentors, mental health, and risk behaviors: A longitudinal analysis of African American adolescents transitioning into adulthood.
American Journal of Community Psychology, 46 (2010), pp. 36-48
[Juang and Cookston, 2009]
L.P. Juang, J.T. Cookston.
Acculturation, discrimination, and depressive symptoms among Chinese American adolescents: A longitudinal study.
The Journal of Primary Prevention, 30 (2009), pp. 475-496
[Juvonen et al., 2006]
J. Juvonen, A. Nishina, S. Graham.
Ethnic diversity and perceptions of safety in urban middle schools.
Psychological Science, 17 (2006), pp. 393-400
[Kiang and Fuligni, 2010]
L. Kiang, A.J. Fuligni.
Meaning in life as a mediator of ethnic identity and adjustment among adolescents from Latin, Asian, and European American backgrounds.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39 (2010), pp. 1253-1264
[Kurlaender and Yun, 2002]
M. Kurlaender, J.T. Yun.
The impact of racial and ethnic diversity on educational outcomes: Cambridge, MA school district.
The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University, (2002),
[LaFromboise et al., 1993]
T. LaFromboise, H.L.K. Coleman, J. Gerton.
Psychological impact of biculturalism: Evidence and theory.
Psychological Bulletin, 114 (1993), pp. 395-412
[LaRusso et al., 2008]
M.D. LaRusso, D. Romer, R.L. Selman.
Teachers as builders of respectful school climates: Implications for adolescent drug use norms and depressive symptoms in high school.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37 (2008), pp. 386-398
[Le et al., 2009]
T.N. Le, M.H. Lai, J. Wallen.
Multiculturalism and subjective happiness as mediated by cultural and relational variables.
Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15 (2009), pp. 303-313
[Lopez and DuBois, 2005]
C. Lopez, D.L. DuBois.
Peer victimization and rejection: investigation of an integrative model of effects on emotional, behavioural, and academic adjustment in early adolescence.
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34 (2005), pp. 25-36
[Loukas and Murphy, 2007]
A. Loukas, J.L. Murphy.
Middle school student perceptions of school climate: Examining protective functions on subsequent adjustment problems.
Journal of School Psychology, 45 (2007), pp. 293-309
[Mandara et al., 2009]
J. Mandara, N.K. Gaylord-Harden, M.H. Richards, B.L. Ragsdale.
The effects of changes in racial identity and self-esteem on changes in African American adolescents’ mental health.
Child Development, 80 (2009), pp. 1660-1675
[Masten et al., 2006]
A.S. Masten, K.B. Burt, J.D. Coatsworth.
Competence and psychopathology in development.
Developmental Psychopathology: Vol. 3. Risk, disorder and psychopathology, 2nd, pp. 696-738
[Molcho et al., 2010]
M. Molcho, F. Cristini, S. Nic Gabhainn, M. Santinello, C. Moreno, M. Gaspar de Matos, P. Due.
Health and well-being among child immigrants in Europe.
Eurohealth, 16 (2010), pp. 20-23
[Murry et al., 2007]
V.M. Murry, C. Berkel, G.H. Brody, M. Gerrard, F.X. Gibbons.
The Strong African American Families program: Longitudinal pathways to sexual risk reduction.
Journal of Adolescent Health, 41 (2007), pp. 333-342
[Pascoe and Smart Richman, 2009]
E.A. Pascoe, L. Smart Richman.
Perceived discrimination and health: a meta-analytic review.
Psychological Bulletin, 135 (2009), pp. 531-554
[Phinney et al., 2006]
J.S. Phinney, J.W. Berry, P. Vedder, K. Liebkind.
The acculturation experience: Attitudes, identities and behaviors of immigrant youth.
Migrant youth in cultural transition: Acculturation, identity, and adaptation across national contexts, pp. 71-116
[Phinney and Devich-Navarro, 1997]
J.S. Phinney, M. Devich-Navarro.
Variations in bicultural identification among African American and Mexican American adolescents.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, 7 (1997), pp. 3-32
[Phinney and Ong, 2007]
J.S. Phinney, A.D. Ong.
Conceptualization and measurement of ethnic identity: Current status and future directions.
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54 (2007), pp. 271-281
[Romero et al., 2007]
A.J. Romero, S.C. Carvajal, F. Volle, M. Orduña.
Adolescent bicultural stress and its impact on mental well-being among Latinos, Asian Americans, and European Americans.
Journal of Community Psychology, 35 (2007), pp. 519-534
[Sabatier, 2008]
C. Sabatier.
Ethnic and national identity among second generation immigrant adolescents in France: The role of social context and family.
Journal of Adolescence, 31 (2008), pp. 185-205
[Sellers et al., 2006]
R.M. Sellers, N. Copeland-Linder, P.P. Martin, R.L. Lewis.
Racial identity matters: The relationship between racial discrimination and psychological functioning in African American adolescents.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16 (2006), pp. 187-216
[Smetana et al., 2006]
J.G. Smetana, N. Campione-Barr, A. Metzger.
Adolescent development in interpersonal and societal contexts.
Annual Review of Psychology, 57 (2006), pp. 255-284
[Smokowski et al., 2009]
P.R. Smokowski, M. Bacallao, R.L. Buchanan.
Interpersonal mediators linking acculturation stressors to subsequent internalizing symptoms and self-esteem in latino adolescents.
Journal of Community Psychology, 37 (2009), pp. 1024-1045
[Suarez-Morales et al., 2007]
L. Suarez-Morales, F.R. Dillon, J. Szapocznik.
Validation of the Acculturative Stress Inventory for Children.
Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13 (2007), pp. 216-224
[Suarez-Morales and Lopez, 2009]
L. Suarez-Morales, B. Lopez.
The impact of acculturative stress and daily hassles on pre-adolescent psychological adjustment: Examining anxiety symptoms.
Journal of Primary Prevention, 30 (2009), pp. 335-349
[Tajfel and Turner, 1986]
H. Tajfel, J.C. Turner.
An integrative theory of intergroup conflict.
Psychology of intergroup relations, pp. 2-24
[Vieno et al., 2008]
A. Vieno, J. Kiesner, M. Pastore, M. Santinello.
Antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms: Longitudinal and concurrent relations.
Adolescence, 43 (2008), pp. 649-660
[Vieno et al., 2009]
A. Vieno, M. Santinello, M. Lenzi, D. Baldassari, M. Mirandola.
Health status in immigrants and native early adolescents in Italy.
Journal of Community Health, 34 (2009), pp. 181-187
[Walsh et al., 2010]
S.D. Walsh, Y. Harel-Fisch, H. Fogel-Grinvald.
Parents, teachers and peer relations as predictors of risk behaviors and mental well-being among immigrant and Israeli born adolescents.
Social Science & Medicine, 70 (2010), pp. 976-984
[Walsh et al., 2006]
S. Walsh, S. Shulman, Z. Bar-On, A. Tsur.
The role of parentification and family climate in adaptation among immigrant adolescents in Israel.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16 (2006), pp. 321-349
[Ward et al., 2001]
C. Ward, S. Bochner, A. Furnham.
The psychology of culture shock.
2nd, Hove, UK, (2001),
[Ying et al., 2000]
Y.W. Ying, P. Lee, J. Tsai.
Cultural orientation and racial discrimination: Predictors of coherence in Chinese American young adults.
Journal of Community Psychology, 28 (2000), pp. 427-442
[Yoo and Lee, 2005]
H.C. Yoo, R.M. Lee.
Ethnic identity and approach-type coping as moderators of racial discrimination/well-being relation in Asian Americans.
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52 (2005), pp. 497-550
Versión en castellano disponible en [Spanish version available at]: www.psychosocial-intervention.org
Copyright © 2011. Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid
