Migrant Ethnic Identity and Psychological Distress

Abstract

Although a considerable amount of research has addressed aspects of refugee and migrant adjustment to their new country of residence, little attention has been given to the causal impact of migrant ethnic identity on the adjustment process. To assess this issue, a model of migrant psychological distress was developed in which ethnic identity was predicted to influence personal coping resources (i.e., self-esteem, self-mastery, interpersonal trust) and external coping resources (i.e., tangible, appraisal, esteem, and sense of belonging social support) that, in turn, were predicted to influence migrants' psychological well-being. The model was tested on a sample of 270 male and female Vietnamese migrants. The results revealed that ethnic identity was a significant but not a strong predictor of migrant distress, via self-esteem. The implications of the findings for theories of identity and migrant adaptation are discussed.