The Relation between Acculturation and Psychological Well-Being among Adolescents of Asian Origin

Abstract

The current study aimed to test the direct and indirect effects of acculturation on the psychological well-being among the adolescent children of Asian origin. Subgroup analysis was conducted to compare these effects between Asian refugee and non-refugee children. Data were from the follow-up survey of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS). The analytic sample included adolescents from Asian refugee families (N = 563) and non-refugee families (N = 779). Adolescent acculturation was assessed by three proxy measures: nativity, time in the United States, and U.S. preference. Family dynamics were measured by adolescents’ perceptions about parent-child conflict and family cohesion. Multi-group structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings suggested that the direct effects of acculturation on psychological well-being were dependent upon the proxy measure of acculturation and the immigration type. Mediation analyses showed that higher level of acculturation was generally related to higher parent-child conflict and lower family cohesion, which, in turn, were associated with lower psychological well-being in the refugee subsample, but not the non-refugee subsample. Our findings call for programs that can take advantage of the protective role of family cohesion and reduce the negative impact of parent-child conflict. Special attention needs to be paid to the refugee population from Asia.