Journal of Happiness Studies
Volume 16, Issue 4, 2015, Pages 857-870

Perceived Discrimination and Well-Being in Romanian Immigrants: The Role of Social Support (Article)

Fernández I.* , Silván-Ferrero P. , Molero F. , Gaviria E. , García-Ael C.
  • a Departamento de Psicología Social y de las Organizaciones, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Juan del Rosal, No 10, Madrid, 28040, Spain
  • b Departamento de Psicología Social y de las Organizaciones, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Juan del Rosal, No 10, Madrid, 28040, Spain
  • c Departamento de Psicología Social y de las Organizaciones, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Juan del Rosal, No 10, Madrid, 28040, Spain
  • d Departamento de Psicología Social y de las Organizaciones, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Juan del Rosal, No 10, Madrid, 28040, Spain
  • e Departamento de Psicología Social y de las Organizaciones, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Juan del Rosal, No 10, Madrid, 28040, Spain

Abstract

In this study, carried out with Romanian immigrants (N = 202), the aim was to test the extent to which discrimination in the workplace, health and legal contexts is linked to an important aspect of psychological well-being: self-acceptance. The results showed that immigrants had a relatively low level of perceived discrimination and good scores in self-acceptance, except for those who were unemployed. In addition, we examined the role of seeking social support in the relationship between perceived personal discrimination and self-acceptance. The structural equations analysis provided evidence that the postulated models fit the data well. Thus, it was confirmed that the higher the perceived personal discrimination, the lower the self-acceptance. The data also indicated that seeking social support mediates between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being. These findings demonstrate the protective effect of social support for the mental health of immigrants. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Author Keywords

Social support Romanian immigrants Self-acceptance Perceived personal discrimination

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84934438948&doi=10.1007%2fs10902-014-9537-0&partnerID=40&md5=07710b83b72eae4df57360c29fe37219

DOI: 10.1007/s10902-014-9537-0
ISSN: 13894978
Cited by: 7
Original Language: English