The Role of Emotional Intelligence and Sociocultural Adjustment on Migrants’ Self-reported Mental Well-Being in Spain: A 14 Month Follow-Up Study

José Luis González-Castro, Silvia Ubillos Landa, Alicia Puente Martínez and Maria Vera Perea
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José Luis González-Castro: Educational Science Department, University of Burgos (Spain), C/Villadiego 1, 09001 Burgos, Spain
Silvia Ubillos Landa: Health Science Department, University of Burgos (Spain), P Comendadores s/n, 09001 Burgos, Spain
Alicia Puente Martínez: Social Psychology and Methodology Department, Basque Country University, Avda. Tolosa, 70, 20018 Gipuzkoa, Spain
Maria Vera Perea: Department of Education and Social Psychology, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Ctra. de Utrera, km. 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: The analysis of mental and psychological health is a relevant public issue in modern societies. Migration is a process that may have a lasting impact on a person’s mental well-being. In this study, perceived health, emotional intelligence, sociocultural adjustment and the participants’ perceived general situation, not only economical, were analyzed to attest their impact on psychological distress as a measure of mental well-being. Sixty-three migrants from Romania and Ecuador were contacted twice during a 14 month period in a middle-sized Spanish city. Attrition analyses show no significant differences in perceived psychological distress between those who participated only one time or who participated in both waves. Less psychological distress is related to less attention to one’s feelings and higher mood repair in both data waves. Stronger behavioral adjustment is also linked to less distress. Less distress in time 1 led to better perceived health, sociocultural adjustment and a perception of a better general situation in Spain in comparison to their home country in time 2. In general, more attention to negative feelings triggered more perceived psychological distress, whereas mood repair elicited less psychological distress, in time 2. The relevance of understanding the impact of emotional intelligence to health promotion programs with migrants is discussed.

Keywords: migration; mental well-being; emotional intelligence; public health; follow-up study; sociocultural adjustment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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