The impact of emotional intelligence on depression among international students studying in China: The mediating effect of acculturative stress

Psychological resources such as emotional intelligence are claimed to act as protective factors against negative psychological adjustment outcomes of acculturative stress and depression for international students in their intercultural transition in the host country despite the dearth of substantial empirical evidence. With this in mind, the study was conducted to investigate the relationships between emotional intelligence, acculturative stress and depression. The study recruited international university students (N = 506) who were purposefully drawn from seven Chinese universities located in Wuhan. Participants completed three self-report questionnaires: Emotional Intelligence Scale, Acculturative Stress for International Students scale and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The result of the study revealed that students with a higher level of acculturative stress were found to have greater depressive symptoms. The study also indicated that emotionally intelligent students were likely to experience a lower level of acculturative stress and fewer depressive symptoms. The finding of the study further suggested that students with a higher level of emotional intelligence were likely to experience a lower level of acculturative stress and consequently appeared less depressed. Findings of the present study may assist university communities to have an insight into the nature of emotional intelligence and its impact on acculturative stress and depression, and then make the best use of this insight to work on facilitating the psychological adaptation of international students in the new environment. Implications, limitations, and future research directions for the study are discussed.     

Acculturative stress in Latino Immigrants: The impact of social, socio-psychological and migration-related factors

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that predict acculturative stress in a nationally representative sample of Latino migrants. The participants in this study were 2059 Latinos. Among them were 868 Mexicans, 577 Cubans and 614 other Latinos. The subcategory other Latinos consisted of immigrants and refugees from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Nicaragua. The participants took part in face-to-face interviews, which were conducted with computer-assisted interviewing software in Spanish and English. Findings revealed that acculturative stress decreases with an increase in the English proficiency index, the context of migration exit index, and the social network index. Furthermore, acculturative stress was lower for US citizens versus non-citizens; immigrants who wanted to migrate to the US versus refugees who had to leave their country of origin; and later generation immigrants. Acculturative stress increases with a higher native language proficiency index and a higher discrimination index.     

Acculturation orientations and mental health when facing post-migration stress: Differences between unaccompanied and accompanied male Middle Eastern refugee adolescents,first- and second-generation immigrant and native peers in Germany

ObjectiveThis study examined the mental health of Middle Eastern male unaccompanied refugee adolescents in Germany in relation to the mental health of accompanied refugee peers, first- and second-generation immigrant and native peers. In particular, it was investigated whether differences in the mental health of unaccompanied and accompanied refugees and immigrant peers were related to differences in the perception of post-migration stress, and whether this association changed with different acculturation orientations.MethodIn a cross-sectional study, 193 adolescents (M_age = 18.1 years, SD = 1.74 years; n_refugees = 74, n_migrants = 59, n_natives = 60) completed self-report measures of mental health, trauma, acculturation styles, and post-migration stress.ResultsAnalyses of variance revealed that unaccompanied refugees suffered most from internalizing and trauma symptoms, while accompanied peers, first- and second-generation immigrant and native adolescents did not differ significantly in internalizing symptoms. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that more integrated adolescents were generally associated with lower internalizing symptoms and integration also buffered against detrimental effects of post-migration stressors. Marginalized adolescents showed more internalizing symptoms, especially in the lights of more post-migration stress. Both assimilation and separation had no direct effects on internalizing symptoms. However, assimilation buffered against detrimental effects of post-migration stress on internalizing symptoms, whereas separation amplified these effects.ConclusionAn involvement in host society and an orientation towards the host culture fosters mental health of acculturating Middle Eastern adolescents in Germany when post-migration stress is perceived, particularly for unaccompanied refugee adolescents. Moreover, additionally maintaining the culture of origin seems to be in general most beneficial.