Journal of Adolescent Health
Volume 57, Issue 6, 2015, Pages 587-594

An internationally comparative study of immigration and adolescent emotional and behavioral problems: Effects of generation and gender (Article)

Stevens G.W.J.M.* , Walsh S.D. , Huijts T. , Maes M. , Madsen K.R. , Cavallo F. , Molcho M.
  • a Utrecht Centre for Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.140, Utrecht, 3508 TC, Netherlands
  • b Department of Criminology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
  • c Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
  • d Department of School Psychology and Child and Adolescent Development, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
  • e National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, København, Denmark
  • f Department of Public Health and Paediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
  • g Health Promotion Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

Abstract

Purpose Although the potential consequences of immigration for adolescent problem behaviors have been addressed in many former studies, internationally comparative research is scarce. This study investigated the impact of immigration on four indicators of adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems in 10 countries, taking into account gender and immigrant generation as moderating factors. Methods Analyses were based on data from 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old adolescents participating in the Health Behavior in School-aged Children study in Denmark, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United States, and Wales (total N = 53,218). Results Both first- and second-generation immigrant adolescents reported higher levels of physical fighting and bullying and a lower life satisfaction than native adolescents, whereas second-generation immigrant adolescents reported more psychosomatic symptoms than native adolescents. Effect sizes varied considerable for the different outcomes, and similar effects were found for first- and second-generation immigrant adolescents. Differences in these indicators of emotional and behavioral problems between immigrant and native adolescents did not vary significantly with the receiving country. With two exceptions, effects of immigrant status were similar for boys and girls. Although no differences in psychosomatic symptoms were found between first-generation immigrant and native girls, first-generation immigrant boys reported less psychosomatic symptoms than native boys. Furthermore, both second-generation immigrant boys and girls reported higher levels of physical fighting than their native peers, but differences were more pronounced for boys than for girls. Conclusions Overall, the results of this study support a risk perspective on the impact of immigration on adolescent problem behaviors. © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.

Author Keywords

International comparison Immigration Gender Immigrant generation Emotional and behavioral problems

Index Keywords

multicenter study Europe European human immigration sex difference effect size Internationality priority journal comparative study international cooperation ethnology Mental Disorders mental disease bullying Surveys and Questionnaires United States social status migrant psychology Humans Adolescent life satisfaction male Emigrants and Immigrants female questionnaire Article Adolescent Behavior Social Environment Sex Factors irritability visual analog scale
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84947912252&doi=10.1016%2fj.jadohealth.2015.07.001&partnerID=40&md5=f2c25ec69d6149b758c1946817b27f94
DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.07.001
ISSN: 1054139X
Cited by: 31
Original Language: English