International Journal of Intercultural Relations
Volume 57, 2017, Pages 19-29

Perceived workplace discrimination, coping and psychological distress among unskilled Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia (Article)

Noor N.M.* , Shaker M.N.
  • a Department of Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, 53100, Malaysia
  • b Department of Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, 53100, Malaysia

Abstract

Migrant workers face many migration-related stressors that may affect their mental health. This study examines workplace discrimination in relation to psychological distress, and the role of coping among unskilled Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. In a sample of 119 workers (39 males and 80 females), results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that workplace discrimination was positively related to psychological distress. Both problem-oriented coping and emotion/avoidance coping were predictive of distress. While problem-oriented coping was associated with lower distress, emotional/avoidance coping was related with higher distress levels. In addition, low emotion/avoidance coping was found to buffer the adverse effect of discrimination on distress. These results are discussed in relation to the literature on coping as well as the social-cultural context of the migrants and the host country. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Author Keywords

Perceived workplace discrimination Migrant workers Coping Psychological distress Collectivist culture

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85012299173&doi=10.1016%2fj.ijintrel.2017.01.004&partnerID=40&md5=9d143697112a60c9d2440d8cac1795b4
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2017.01.004
ISSN: 01471767
Cited by: 5
Original Language: English