Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
Volume 35, Issue 3, 1994, Pages 240-253

The psychological adjustment of young immigrants in Norway (Article)

SAM D.L.*
  • a Research Center for Health Promotion, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

Abstract

In order to examine the adjustment of young immigrants to their new cultural environment, questionnaires were administered to young Third World immigrants living in Norway. Responses (N= 568) obtained from these children aged 10 through 17 years old, indicated that even though they evaluated their health and present life as satisfactory, a good deal of low self‐image, depressive tendencies and psychological and somatic symptoms were present among them. Approximately between 11 and 14% of the children were found to have from high to extreme levels of symptomatology. Anti‐social behaviors were on the other hand almost entirely absent among the sample, a situation believed to be an artifact of the measuring instrument used. While no differences were observed between boys and girls with respect to how they evaluated their health and present life, girls were found to report more disorders than boys. Boys on the other hand reported engaging in more anti‐social behaviours than girls. Using Norwegians of similar age as a reference group, these children were found to be worse off than their native peers. The children's psychological disorders were found to be related to their mode of acculturation, and that integration may be the most adaptive mode of acculturation. Copyright © 1994, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved

Author Keywords

Psychological adaptation Adolescents immigrants

Index Keywords

depression Norway developing country Developing Countries human Adaptation, Psychological Psychological Tests Adolescent male Acculturation female adaptive behavior self concept cultural factor psychologic test Article Support, Non-U.S. Gov't migration Emigration and Immigration Child

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0028504261&doi=10.1111%2fj.1467-9450.1994.tb00948.x&partnerID=40&md5=5459d70a67a8cab95c6d0f16efebf24f

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.1994.tb00948.x
ISSN: 00365564
Cited by: 39
Original Language: English