Affective acculturation and psychological well-being of children: The case of children from multicultural families in Korea

Hyejeong Oh and Jinho Kim

Children and Youth Services Review, 2021, vol. 129, issue C

Abstract: Over the past two decades, there has been a growing number of immigrant-origin children and adolescents in South Korea, often referred to as multicultural adolescents. This study examines whether and how multicultural adolescents’ affective acculturation shapes psychological well-being. Using data from the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS) 2012–2015, a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of multicultural adolescents and parents, this study uses fixed-effects regression models to reduce the chances of bias due to individual-level heterogeneity. Results suggest that affective attachment to the host country is positively associated with life satisfaction and negatively associated with depressive symptoms among multicultural adolescents. Results from Sobel-Goodman mediation tests suggest that school adjustment factors including friendships and engagement in learning activities explain nearly 60 percent of the association between affective acculturation and psychological well-being. Findings of this study suggest that efforts to facilitate the social incorporation of multicultural adolescents in schools would also improve their psychological well-being.

Keywords: Affective acculturation; Life satisfaction; Depressive symptoms; School adjustment; Multicultural adolescents; South Korea (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:129:y:2021:i:c:s0190740921002863

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106210

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