The influence of social support on the wellbeing of immigrants residing in Italy: Sources and functions as predictive factors for life satisfaction levels,sense of community and resilience

Moving from one country to another involves not only separation from the country of origin, but also the tiring process of integration into a new physical, institutional, and sociocultural context, which may expose migrants to acculturation stress. The loss of former support networks, or at the very least their transformation, presents immigrants with the need to rebuild their social support systems in the host country, involving an active search for support. Therefore, the aim of study is to analyze the structure of informal social support and its capacity to predict immigrants’ sense of community, resilience, and satisfaction with life. The results confirm that social support predicts satisfaction with life, sense of community, and resilience. Our findings highlight the way sources and frequency of support, and the satisfaction with which they are associated, have different degrees of predictive value on the dependent variables under investigation. In this study, it can be concluded that social support is an important factor in the well-being of migrants and their integration into the host community. The results have an important practical value in promoting interventions that improve immigrants’ support networks and, consequently, increase their satisfaction with life, sense of community, and resilience.     

Interethnic relations at work: Examining ethnic minority and majority members’ experiences in The Netherlands

Using qualitative methods, this study explored ethnic minority and majority members’ perceptions of the interethnic relations in their work unit. A total of 219 ethnic minority and majority employees and managers were interviewed, divided over 15 Dutch organizations. It was found that interethnic relations were less harmonious when ethnic differences were perceived to affect people's sense of achievement (e.g., work goals), their sense of belonging (e.g., unity of the group), and their sense of equality (e.g., procedural justice). Such problems were reported more often when ethnic differences were associated with other types of diversity, such as information diversity and value diversity. Less harmonious interethnic relations were reported by ethnic majority group members and in low-skill settings where actual ethnic differences were large. The findings suggest that ethnic differences per se do not necessarily affect interethnic relations in a work setting, but do so only when they are meaningful to individuals or within a particular context.     

Complex but integrated: Exploring social and cultural identities of women Third Culture Kids (TCK) and factors predicting life satisfaction

The 21 st century, defined by cultural diversity and global mobility, has triggered an unprecedented increase in multicultural individuals, defined as people who internalised more than one culture. Contrasting evidence related to multiculturalism calls for more explorative research to understand cross-cultural identities. The present study explored social and cultural identities of adult female Third Culture Kids (TCKs) (n = 122), multicultural individuals who live mobile lives, and adjustment factors of a global mindset, social inclusiveness and essentialism to find predictors of life satisfaction. We classified social identity into four we-concepts: we-group, we-category, we-attributive and we-axiological, and cultural identity into three configurations: integration, categorisation and compartmentalisation. Our results suggested that TCK define social identity predominantly based on passport country (we-category) and relationships with family and friends (we-group). We indicated that axiological (value-based) social identification and global mindset buffered essentialism and categorisation known to disturb cross-cultural relationships. There was a general tendency for integrated cultural identity, with cultural configurations of categorisation and compartmentalisation correlating positively with essentialism. Hierarchical regression analysis evidenced that integrated multicultural identity, global mindset, and social inclusiveness were significant positive predictors of life satisfaction for female TCK. These results feed into a better understanding of the TCK configurations of collective identities and highlighted new factors related to TCK well-being.     

Moderators of Acculturative Stress in Pakistani Immigrants: The role of Personal and Social Resources

International migration research has focused on the immigrants’ mental and physical health issues with little attention paid to factors that facilitate adjustment. Recently cross-cultural researchers have tended to focus on certain psychological and social moderators of stress that differentiate between migrants perceiving higher stress and those remaining relatively unscathed. The present study examined the moderating impact of coping resources (sense of coherence and perceived social support) and coping strategies (problem-focused and emotion-focused) on the relationship between acculturative stress and psychological well-being (positive functioning and negative health outcomes) in stress-coping model. On a final sample of 308 Pakistani immigrants residing in Greater Toronto Area a series of moderated hierarchical regression analyses were performed separately for positive and negative health outcomes. Results indicated that sense of coherence and perceived social support moderated between acculturative stress and positive functioning (self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, personal growth), and acculturative stress and negative health outcomes (depression, psychosomatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction).The current findings have implications for clinicians, researchers, and policy makers for the identification of resource factors that help to understand the resistant power of growing immigrant population to maintain positive functioning.     

Tolerance towards difference: Adaptation and psychometric properties of the Spanish version of a new measure of tolerance and sex-moderated relations with prejudice

The present research aims at adapting to the Spanish context and language a measure of tolerance toward diversity recently developed, at analyzing its psychometric properties, and at examining the moderating effect of participants’ sex on the relations between tolerance and prejudice. We conducted two studies considering two Spanish samples taken from the general population. In Study 1 (N = 586; 70.5 % females; M_age = 37.77, SD = 12.34) we confirmed the three-factorial structure of the questionnaire (i.e., acceptance of diversity, respect for diversity and appreciation of diversity) and their invariance across sex groups. In Study 2 (N = 333; 60.4 % females; M_age = 36.20, SD = 13.36) evidence of validity based on the relations of tolerance with prejudice (modern racism, hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism) are presented. Additional findings reveal the role of the appreciation of diversity dimension to reduce prejudice, as well as differences between men and women in this relation: when participants express low appreciation of diversity, men show more hostile sexism and modern racism than women. Such differences did not emerge for those who highly appreciate diversity. The implications of using this multidimensional questionnaire to measure tolerance are discussed.     

Learning and adaptation with regard to complementary medicine in a foreign context: Intercultural experiences of medical students from different cultural backgrounds

Little is known about challenges and transition that medical students from different cultural backgrounds face with regard to complementary medicine (CM). This paper explores such students’ experiences and perspectives of socio-cultural and academic difference with regard to CM and experiences of intercultural relations. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, 30 in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with medical students across 10 Australian medical schools. The data were rigorously analysed through a systematic process of coding, categorisation and theoretical development. The findings indicate that students adapted considerably to the host culture. Students with Western backgrounds integrated better socio-culturally and academically compared to students with non-Western backgrounds. Although nationality represented cultural identity, students’ construction of cultural difference was informed by their perception of diverging value systems within the specific educational environment. These values were, in turn, reflected in students’ reported behaviours, attitudes, and levels of engagement in socio-cultural and academic aspects of university life. Adaptation employed by students was evidenced largely due to their conflicting sense of responsibility towards familial culture regarding CM and focus on fitting in. While students’ tendency to gravitate towards cultural peers was evident, most students adapted to their host environment regarding CM to fit into normal intercultural encounters during medical school. In conclusion, students’ intercultural contact with regard to CM was both complex and problematic. At a time of significant diversification within the higher education student body, this paper highlights the role medical education institutions can play in fostering intercultural and academic guidance and support.